Reviews (page 5 of 8)
You are not cream bro
First two songs sound decent, probably because they are covers. The rest genuinely sounds bad to me.
Good 60s/70s blues. Nice covers.
Never heard of this before. I liked it
this was a good album. i researched a little bit and multiple articles claim that this band was very loud during their concerts, and their song "summertime blues" really set the heavy metal movement. also, their band name was apparently inspired by their favorite brand of LSD. they performed until 2009, when their lead singer and bassist, dickie peterson, passed away. they played alongside the jimi hendrix experience, chuck berry, and other rock bands on may 18, 1968, at the miami pop festival. and their spotify description says they were referred to as being "louder than god," which i found ironic since i did not think they were that loud when i listened—but of course, it was not a concert. after listening to "second time around" on my headphones, it did this weird thing to my ears where i kind of felt half-deaf in one ear. my favorites were "summertime blues"—which apparently is a cover of a song co-written by eddie cochran and his manager—"rock me baby," "doctor please," and "parchment farm." overall, a+ of an album. i am happy that this website recommends small indie heavy metal bands who thrived during the 60s movement. 🎸💜
Not good, but at least it was short.
Holy power trio Batman.
3.5/5
Would not listen again; first couple of songs were ok but the rest not my thing; high two?
Sounds like a metal cover band of The Who. Can’t stop hearing Roger Daltrey. Fun for beers and a chuckle.
Vincebus Eruptum was the debut album from Blue Cheer, and is regarded as one of the first, if not the first, heavy metal album. Blue Cheer's over-amplified, bass heavy cover of "Summertime Blues" could be described as a one-hit wonder, but the song, and this album, was quite influential to down-play as "one hit." The band laid down the elements of a heavy metal band - distorted guitar solos, driving bass lines, and near-screaming vocals. They created a great sound, but didn't create a particularly great collection of songs.
One of the many albums on this list that was completely new to me AND helped round out my understanding of more current bands I am already into.
Decent late 60s hard rock/proto heavy metal, charmingly shaggy.
Just because something was first doesn't mean it is the best. I understand this being included for historical purposes but it isn't really very good.
When thinking about different singular aspects of this album, it seems like I should like it. The guitar playing often felt very Hendrix. The vocals often sounded very Robert Plant. And yet, I found myself getting bored and not particularly paying much attention as the album played through. Perhaps on a different day I’d have enjoyed this more, but my best rating after one listen is that it was fine. It wasn’t bad, but not exactly great either.
4/5
Bravo Vince.
Good fun, and I enjoy it a bit, but I understand why someone could be put off by this. Saying that, it's also nothing special. Maybe because it was early, it might be, but nowadays there's not much in it.
Unemployment line Jimi Hendrix
Raw, Creamy, Sabbathy and rocking! A good album, glad to have found it.
Fine for what it is.
Just a great 60s psychedelic rock record with fantastic guitar riffs. Did feel a little one note at times, but I still really enjoyed this.
I bet this was amazing in '68 when it first got released, but in 2025, its a dusty remnant of the past. Summertime Blues is still cool, but the rest is a product of a time and didn't age that well. 2⭐
Short with a high proportion of covers.
How does an album that's barely a half-hour long seem to go on forever?
I hear more Zeppelin than Sabbath. Not bad.
I can see why it is said they are the beginning of Heavy Metal, but keep in mind that doesn’t mean it’s “good”. I liked it, but definitely not a Sabbath or similar album in skill and lyrics.
Sick
2.667
The internet tells me that these guys basically invented hard rock. It does rock pretty hard for the time, so credit where it's due. This one is consistently fine, but doesn't do anything particularly spectacular or interesting at any point. Perfectly middle-of-the-road. Favorite song: Summertime Blues Other: Rock Me Baby, Out of Focus 3/12/25
If you took the first 3 minutes of each song this'd be fine. Every song seems to finish with some mad noodling but it's not particularly musical noodling. Compare with Neil Young's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere for an example of a similar kind of thing but executed much better. By contrast this album feels a bit like listening to some guys jamming in one of their basements. Or a pub band maybe. They're clearly enjoying themselves but it doesn't really do anything for me
Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum This is the equivalent of Led Zeppelin if they started making metal music in the 70's instead of rock. The fact that Blue Cheer were the ones who pioneered into what heavy metal would eventually become is quite awesome. Has some quite great riffs here and there, really surprises you every time they play the guitar, it catches you off-guard, while they just goofing around making some good music. Overall, this is really good! 1.- Summertime Blues = 10/10 2.- Rock Me Baby = 8/10 3.- Doctor Please = 9/10 4.- Out Of Focus = 7/10 5.- Parchment Farm = 8/10 6.- Second Time Around = 8/10 FINAL SCORE: 8.3/10
For all intents and purposes, this is where “heavy” music starts. Before Helter Skelter and before Black Sabbath, there came Blue Cheer. 3.8/5
This was not the best music I've ever heard. In fact, far from it. It wasn't absolutely awful, but it was pretty eh. 5/10
Almost metal, liked it a lot.
Summertime Blues
Lots of distortion
This feels more historically important than enjoyable to listen to. It's really interesting proto-metal, but I got bored and tired by the end of the album.
LOUD, 70's hard rock. Never heard of them before, they are intense. If you're in the mood, it's a keeper.
Good, reminded me of jimi Hendrix
I have never heard of this ban before. They are quite good, very proto metal.
"Originators of heavy metal", "influential in the development of...". Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you. They may have done it early but they sure didn't do it well. The rhythm section keeps changing tempo for no apparent reason, the guitarist is school-band level with delusions of being able to play like Jimi Hendrix. He keeps on launching into off-key solos that bear no relationship at all to the song the rest of the band is playing. The vocalist is OK, just. Live, in a field in California and off my head on acid, maybe. Sunday morning, sitting at home with some headphones on. Nope. Terrible. 1/5.
I had never heard of Blue Cheer. Awesome rough sound.
Starts and ends reasonably well (emphasis on reasonably) and some nice guitars but unfortunately overall just found it quite dull.
🎧This is poorly recorded and not very good.
1.5 Just did nothing for me. Extremely mediocre rock. Sorry Blue Chew.
summertime blues 3/5 rock me baby 2/5 doctor please 2/5 out of focus 2/5 parchment farm 3/5 secon time around 2/5
2.5/5. I was not very impressed.
Very fun and I'm so happy to have heard it! :)
The blues tracks give me white stripes vibes, then it goes more proto metal stuff, I didn’t hate it 3/5
First? 3,5 /5 Again? 2,5/5
Just too noisy / gruff for me. I don't like listening to this type of music. It did make me want to listen to other versions of Summertime Blues, though!
Like a stoned teenage garage band recorded live. In the garage.
Psyke rokkia, ilmeisesti heavy metallin juuria. On tässä sillein aika raskas ja matala kitara tone. Tulee myös Black Sabbath niistä ajoittain mieleen. Parhaat: Doctor Please, Out Of Focus, Second Time Around
Didn't do it for me. It was okay at best.
Good old (original) heavy metal. Cool to hear the bluesy roots. Eventually it all starts to run together, but I think about half an hour is the sweet spot.
meh. once again not a lot of vocals
Enjoyable, nonsensical stuff, though the best song is the Eddie Cochran cover. It would never have occurred to me to think of this as the birth of metal, though I can kind of see it. Even claimed as the birth of punk, which I cannot.
Nice and heavy. Not like Sabbath but equally good. I like the riffs and the jam character of most of the songs.
I wouldn't classify this as heavy metal or proto metal as the wiki says. This is more sludge rock and akin to a forerunner of grunge like Soundgarden.
Raw and wriggling rock.
Interesting for the novelty of it being the first hard rock album (supposedly). But it didn’t do much for me personally. 2/5
This is tough for me. I can appreciate that it’s historically an important album as a progenitor for “heavy metal,” but I don’t like metal and I can’t stand blues rock. So none of this does anything for me. It might be more powerful if the recording were better, or if I were alive when it came out. But listening to it now… it’s pretty flabby, the drummer needs more practice, and it’s just freaking boring. Blooz lick after blooz lick, “Awwww yeah babyyy!!” Led Zeppelin type stuff. And yeah I don’t like Led Zeppelin either. There are a couple of sections that leave blues behind, though, and almost get into 80s indie punk territory with how they repeat, and droning guitar, bass and drum line. Those kick it up from 1 to 2 stars.
Zajebiste. Dobry klimat początków heavy metalu, nawet jeśli o tym nie wiedzieli. 5/5
Meh.
Anyone: "Black Sabbath started heavy metal." Some pedantic asshole: "Ackshuulllly, Blue Cheer were active in the 60s and Sabbath didn't come out till 1970." To my ears, I don't hear any similarities between the two bands. Sure, there's a gnarly guitar tone on this album. But this guy plays nothing like Tony Iommi. If anything, the guitar work on this sounds more like Hendrix... in which case why not just say Jimi Hendrix started heavy metal if you're going to start naming random bands that chronologically came out before 1970. If you want to say that these guys were an influence on somebody - The break beat bass lines about 2 minutes into "Parchment farm" sound exactly like "Hello, I love you." by the Doors... Oh god, here comes that pedantic asshole again. Yes, I know the Doors didn't have a bass player.
I straight up like the rock'n'roll versions of these songs way more than what's in this album.
It sounds like something from the 70s! Can recognise the mastery with the guitar, but not my favourite style
Holy crap this was terrible
This was not what I was in the mood for. I like CCR, but this album confirms to me that that's the exception, not the rule.
I'm all for a jam sesh, but this was a little too half hazard for me, 2/5
Had to change to mono and it sounds much better. Some of the instrumental bits feel a bit like 60s and early 70s king crimson, which is great. A lot bluesier than anything else like this at the time, (like any black sabbath I've heard). Guitars are very interesting, they use a squarish distortion which almost makes some of the lead parts sound like a synth which is very interesting. Lots of time signature messing but kinda just feels a bit sloppy and dissonant in comparison to say, King Crimson. Favourite song: parchment farm Overall around 5/10
Good shit
[1/10] This sounds like shit
Actually loved this. There was something dark about it, enjoyed throughout
3 - man this was pretty intense, unsure if I wasnt in the mood but it was just really noisy and chaotic
not really much of interest for the 2025 ear. Noisy, I'm sure this ruffled feathers in 1968. 2.8/5
I'd think Vincebus Eurptum would have all the makings of something I'd enjoy, I mean, it has the fuzzy, heavy and psychedelic sound that defined a lot of proto-heavy metal and generally I think it has a neat heavy sound (if the fact that it's upload on streaming sounds kinda weird which clearly seems like this should be played Mono, especially because my left ear did not like having a feedbacky guitar screech for 30 mins without any balance to it), but all the songs just blend in so much I can barely tell what's what besides the Opener, which is really good. Just kinda forgettable but interesting if you like noise rock or metal
Blue Cheer was obviously shooting in to the same vein as Hendrix. They even have a track about shooting your ol' lady down.(Parcent Farm). It's cool to hear another band who was in that bridge from heavy blues to heavy metal..
Decent
Blue Cheer's debut album, *Vincebus Eruptum*, released in 1968, is a landmark of raw, high-volume rock and roll that is often cited as a precursor to heavy metal, grunge, and stoner rock [1]. The album's impact stems from its unique sound, a blend of blues-based rock with intense amplification and distortion, creating a sonic experience that was both groundbreaking and controversial [2, 7]. **Music and Production** *Vincebus Eruptum* is characterized by its heavy, distorted sound, achieved through the use of fuzzboxes and cranked-up Marshall amps [1]. The production, by Abe "Voco" Kesh, aimed to capture the band's live sound, resulting in a raw and abrasive quality [2]. The album's sound is often described as an "orgy of heaviosity" [2], with a focus on energy and power over subtlety or finesse [7]. The band's approach was to play at near maximum volume, and the recording aimed to capture that [2]. The result was a sound that was both groundbreaking and, to some, overwhelming. The album consists of six tracks, split evenly between cover songs and originals [2]. The tracks include: * "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran cover) * "Rock Me Baby" (B.B. King cover) * "Doctor Please" (original) * "Parchment Farm" (Mose Allison cover, often misspelled "Parchman Farm") * "Out of Focus" (original) * "Second Time Around" (original) The album's most famous track, "Summertime Blues," is a cover of Eddie Cochran's classic, but transformed into a heavy, distorted rocker [1, 6]. The band replaces the call and response of the original with a wall of noise, giving the song a more nightmarish quality that reflected the divisive times [5]. Other covers, like "Rock Me Baby" and "Parchment Farm," are similarly given the Blue Cheer treatment, transforming them into heavy, driving rock songs [1, 3]. The original tracks, such as "Doctor Please," "Out of Focus," and "Second Time Around," showcase the band's heavy sound, with distorted guitar riffs, powerful drumming, and raw vocals [1, 3, 4]. "Doctor Please" is a nearly eight-minute "mind-bending mess of rickety racket" [3], and "Second Time Around" is known for its chaotic energy, including a manic drum solo [3, 4]. **Lyrics and Themes** The lyrical content of *Vincebus Eruptum* is not always the focus, as the band's emphasis was on creating a powerful sonic experience [2]. However, some themes are apparent. "Summertime Blues" deals with teenage angst and frustration, while "Doctor Please" is rumored to be about the singer's first experience with LSD [1]. Other songs touch on themes of defiance and rebellion. **Influence** *Vincebus Eruptum* had a significant impact on the development of heavy rock music [1, 6]. Blue Cheer is often cited as one of the first heavy metal bands, paving the way for groups like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath [1]. The album's influence can also be heard in the grunge and stoner rock movements [1]. Bands such as Rush and many Seattle bands have cited *Vincebus Eruptum* as a major influence [1, 7]. The album's raw, loud, and distorted sound, combined with its blues-based approach, was a departure from the more polished rock music of the time [2, 6]. Blue Cheer's music was "forward-thinking musical destruction," and its impact was felt by those who heard it at the time [4]. **Pros and Cons** **Pros:** * **Groundbreaking sound:** *Vincebus Eruptum* introduced a new level of heaviness and distortion to rock music [2, 7]. * **High-energy performance:** The album captures the band's raw energy and power [2]. * **Unique interpretations:** The band's covers of blues and rock songs are transformed into something new and exciting [1, 6]. * **Historical significance:** The album is a significant milestone in the development of heavy metal and other genres [1, 6]. * **Raw and honest production**: The album was produced in a way that captures the band's live sound, giving it a raw and honest feeling [2]. * **Forward Thinking**: The album was described as "forward-thinking musical destruction", which made it stand out and is a reason it is still regarded as a classic today [4]. **Cons:** * **Lack of subtlety:** The album's focus on power and volume can be overwhelming at times, and it lacks subtlety [7]. * **Repetitive at times**: Some may find the album repetitive in its approach [4]. * **Vocals**: Dickie Peterson's vocals are not always the most technically skilled, which may be a turn off for some listeners [3]. * **Polarizing**: The album's extreme sound can be polarizing, with some listeners finding it abrasive or even off-putting [7]. **Conclusion** *Vincebus Eruptum* is a landmark album that is as important as it is flawed. It is a raw, powerful, and groundbreaking record that influenced many genres of rock music [1]. Its lack of subtlety is both a pro and a con, making the album a unique listening experience [7]. While it may not be for everyone, it is a must-hear for those interested in the history of heavy rock music and its many subgenres. The album's influence is undeniable, and it remains a powerful example of the raw, untamed energy of rock and roll [1, 6].
Not my thing
Meh.
bored...
Good but not personally memorable
Another day, another album on this list claiming to be the birth of heavy metal. Maybe I’m just getting old but it just felt a bit muddled and focused on making unmelodic noise to be anything particularly interesting. I’ve never played the guitar and yet I feel if someone handed me one I could probably just move my hands over it for 5 minutes and come out with some similar nondescript noise! Just felt a bit pointless. And gave me the start of a headache. Don’t think I’ll be listening again any time soon.
Didn’t like the cover versions, but the rest had some great vibes.
I do think it’s rather stretching it to say this had a major influence on heavy metal. Yeah they turned their amps up to 11, but it feels way more of a continuation of Cream/Hendrix style heavy blues rock, but just with more and louder unhinged feedback, than any particularly novel style. The song writing is really weak as well (covers aside). Generous 3 as it’s generally my sort of thing and sounds like they’re having a great time.
I think in their bio it says this album is the very first hard rock or heavy metal album ever (which of course is very mellow by todays metal standards.) So of course, I have to give them credit for playing loudly against the carefully constructed class of their time, however Hendrix was also playing before this came out and Blue Cheer’s riffs kinda sound like Walmart Jimi
A pretty good album, but no standouts songs.
Dug it - it’s not bad at all - but many bands did it better
Can hear it's influence especially on Black Sabbath but they took it to the next level
It may be the origin of heavy metal (stateside) but Sabbath did it better. An interesting piece of music history.
Garbage.
Boring mediocre late 60s rock
extremely stupid hole in my knowledge, and the closest thing ive personally heard to a whole record of helter skelter. dont wanna overstate that tho, the similarities are kind of superficial lol and this is actually much more earnestly like a proto-metal venture i think? the slower bluesier passages could deffo find some space on a sabbath record, and theres even some faster flashier stuff that's less typical of a standard 60s guitar master and more recognizably heavy metal. the Soul of metal as an aesthetic exploration clearly beyond rock music prob still originates in full flight on the sabbath debut , but theres a lot more purely musical stuff being prodded at and exposed to the sun here than i expected! definitely a fun record
Lacks the excitement of other lofi projects in the 60s and the ambition of later sludge metal LPs Favourite Track: Out of Focus Least Fav Track: Rock Me Baby
Don’t you ever just want to throw caution to the wind, have fun and make some goddamn noise? Apparently not, judging by the reviews here. It’s time to lighten up, kids… Bow down unto the church of acid rock.
I can definitely see how this gets credit as the first "heavy metal" album. I dug it.
Pretty decent.
Sounded familiar, but didn't care for this at all.
This sounds exactly like Jack White.
Every song sounds very much the same. And the vocals are like nails on a chalkboard. Hard pass.
2.5
Sounded like 60’s heavy metal meets blues
Weird classic rock album
loud distorted blues? interesting though given its release date.
What is it about the song "Summertime Blues" that's had it covered by everyone from these guys, to The Who, to Alan Jackson, to Joan Jett, to Brian Setzer? This record is what you get when you're not burdened by perfection and instead just make pure unadulterated rock and roll. It's not a pretty album, but it punches you in the gut with primal vocals, howling guitars, bombastic drums and massive bass.
2* boring
It's ok.
Fairly amusing
Add this to the list of albums that I really like the production on, but feel like the vocals reduce my enjoyment of.
I enjoyed this! It's quite heavy and loud for the time it was released - it certainly doesn't strike me as a 60s record. The mixing is strange - Summertime Blues is a strong start, but why were the vocals so much louder than the instruments? I'm also not a fan of the wide stereo seperation in some cases; I ended up changing my settings so it'd only play in mono. I'm wondering if Spotify has taken tracks from multiple sources, or certain tracks have been remastered. Out Of Focus sounds a lot better than many of the others, for example. Additionally, while this was generally a great album, some of the tracks did end up "dragging on" a little bit, and not everything fully stood out. Some songs here just faded into the background noise a bit, but maybe it's my fault for listening to these while at work. This was a very good album that did impressive things for 1968. I think I'll come back to this one, but I think I'd try and seek it out in mono. Or maybe the stereo version would sound better on bigger home speakers. Favourite: Second Time Around
This is absolutely rockin
Not for me. 1/5
Probably super important in the history of rock (and maybe even metal), but it doesn't do it for me at all.
Oh the days of driving hard rock with angry white-man vocals. This has everything. The requisite culturally appropriated blues track, the near 8-minute guitar riff overloaded love song, and echoes of the Stones and Hendrix (wait, who came first?). Hold my beer and pass the hookah, it is 1968.
Starts well with the covers and there is some real promise in some of the bass but self indulgence wins out. Decent, not great
As one half of UK cover band Houmous & Chutney, I know a thing or two about taking a great song and doing a terrible cover and almost ruining it. 3.7
Electric blues stripped to its most basic elements, and I mean that in terms of instrumentation, songwriting and recording quality. Feels longer than its 32 minutes.
They should probably try to re-record that once they're sober again. Complete torture.
Not great but the brevity of this album saved it from a 2
Sounds like a jam session with the boys! Nothing stood out to me
i listened yesterday but it felt like nothing special tbh
Well that was unexpected, can't believe I haven't heard of this album before. These guys could easily hold their own with MC5.
This was a welcome addition to my brain. I love tracking music back to its source and seeing the morphing of jazz and blues into heavy metal was fascinating.
2.5
Day328 - the first two cover songs were good but i really got into it after “out of focus”. the drumming on this album is excellent. i’ve never heard of them but this seems like a pretty influential album
Proto metal, it was cool to listen to, but i wouldn’t go back to it really.
It is usually fun to discover the pioneers of new ideas and see exactly when some genres might have been born. Unfortunately, most of the time these are not that great outside of their context and were quickly overtaken by their successors. The same thing can be said here. While it's good to listen and know, it doesn't really do anything for me and I can't imagine picking it up again any time in the near future. Hard to rate it - 2.5/5 as a neutral rating
Yeah, this is pretty good.
Historically interesting. The songwriting and playing is fairly basic but I still enjoyed enough
I like hippie rock but this doesn't bring anything interesting.
Pre69 violence
So the 'first heavy metal album' started with two cover songs followed by two songs that took ten minutes to write. Still, they got it out a full year before Led Zeppelin 1, but a year after 'Are you experienced' and there's massive Hendrix influence in here. Seems meandering though. 2 stars, can understand why people might like it, but don't want it.
Loved it. It's the precursor to a large majority of music I like, though, so that makes sense.
I liked this but something about the sound was holding me back from really enjoying it. I think I'd enjoy a remastered version more.
Deep sounding hard rock
Never heard of this band. Album cover led me to expect something like early Pink Floyd, but was more like early Black Sabbath. With that in mind, and given the time it was produced, this is great stuff. Also, as other reviewers have stated, this could pass as a Jack White album, so still plenty of modern appeal.
Ok, so that’s where that sound came from..
This didn't catch my attention even once.
Rock psicodélico. Ni fu ni fa.
psychedelic rock, acid rock. Año 67.
While listening to this all I could think of was that this sounds like some crappy local band who had just enough juice to be popular on the local bar/bowling alley circuit and who peaked when they went on a tour of more bars and bowling alleys four or five towns over.
Favorite Track: Summertime Blues
Garage rock roots! the best!
No
You can tell it's the beginnings of an offshoot of a genre. It's not bad, but it's like a photo that hasn't fully developed. That also means that it's kind of the perfect length at a little over 30 minutes. Any longer and it would need to have a lot more variety in sound or style. The end of Second Time Around does end up being some of that needed variety, but it grows out of a song that sounds much like all the others on the album. That all sounds a little harsher than my feelings on the album. Overall, it's pretty good. I don't think it's particularly great though. A contextually and historically important album. Favorite Song(s): Rock Me Baby
Nothing stands out about this
A very 'live' sounding overdriven guitar/blues album, lot of parallels with Jimi Hendrix, MC5, etc. I enjoyed it but its very much of its genre, not sure there was anything new to grab me. 2.5.
More like Milk than Cream. Other than Summertime Blues, I didn't really get it. Pseudo-psychedelic rock, but without enough going on. Didn't mind the album, and it was short.
This was kinda like cream but not as good...... Milk? I do like the blues rock sound though, just not sure why if this really blew me away 3.5 is fair
The year is 2004. You're 14, and headed to your buddy Tim's house for a sleepover. Gonna watch Lord of the Rings and gorge on some pizza. Tim shows you in through his garage. Tim's dad, let's call him Rolph, has a band. They're practicing in the garage. The three of them are a combined 13 Michelob Ultras deep. It's 7 pm. You like music, so you strike up a conversation with Rolph, wherein he says something to the extent of, "Yeah we're really just trying to keep rock n roll alive man. I think we're pretty solid, kind of just waiting on our big break. There's still an audience for our sound." Rolph is very much aware of his age, but he leaves that out of the conversation. Rolph is 54. He is the lead guitarist (the bassist sings) and plays an Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature model run through of 2 Marshall Stacks. The band is called Demon Resistance. It's fucking cool. You nod and accept what he's telling you. Maybe you even compliment the band's sound. You're really into bands like Led Zeppelin and Cream, and they sound a lot like those guys. Rolph throws you guys 20 bucks and says, "Have fun fellas." Then you go inside and proceed to order your pizza. That's the last you see of Rolph, even though you hear the practice continue until about 10. You fall asleep halfway through Two Towers. Anyway if Rolph's band ever made a studio album I'd bet it would sound like this one.
A thunderous, groundbreaking prototype of heavy metal that roars with primitive power, even if it sounds quaint compared to the genre's later sonic sophistication.
I get that it's innovative but it's not for me
4/5
too "frickly" and noisy for my taste
this is one of those albums that allegedly helped usher in an important genre, but the artifact itself is so underwhelming and even sometimes bad that i'm just like ugh. UGH. BLERG.
welp, this was pretty bad. i almost gave it one star but given that it's responsible for influencing the sound of a bunch of bands i actually like, i concede that it may hold an important place in history. unfortunately, it sounds like it was recorded on the same cheapo amp i used when i was learning guitar in middle school, and played with about the same level of skill and songwriting prowess. blech. favorites: summertime blues (which is a cover, of course)
Not my thing
Obviously very influential but nothing special these days
So I quite enjoyed listening to this as it was harder and heavier than I expected it to be for the time it came out. But I'm not sure it was anything special. After going on their wiki it seems this was the "first" metal album, which makes sense as to why it was heavy, but it feels like it's on this list because of that rather than the quality of music, I guess it's a 3
Started with a surprise cover, ended with disappointment.
A little rough around the edges for me.
I like the heavy blues sound, engineering pretty bad, needs a remaster.
Pretty solid album all the way through, great instrumentals and vocals, some really good riffs and drum fills mixed in
I've never heard of Blue Cheer or Vincebus Eruptum before, but apparently their cover of 'Summertime Blues' is one of the earliest heavy metal songs. Honestly, this is one of the only "first" metal songs that I can get behind - both 'You Really Got Me' and 'I Can See For Miles' have metal elements, sure, but I was pretty flabbergasted that 'Summertime Blues' is a metal bues song through and through. In 1968! On the rest of the album, Blue Cheer deliver heavy, psychedelic blues driven in large part by the ferocity of Paul Whaley behind the drums.
The earliest examples of metal is sometimes attributed to everyone from The Who to The Beatles and The Kinks. And while those bands definitely was an early influence on the genre, Blue Cheer just went straight ahead and played heavy metal - no influence needed.
frabær timi þegar allir vildu hljoma eins og bitlarnir
Old school cool. A very heavy sound with nice rythms. They switch from some kind of proto-metal in one song to a heavy blues in the next. This was an interesting listen but not something I will go back to anytime soon.
mid
Classique du rock des 60 ! Je connaissais déjà Summertime blues car c'est clairement un tube. J'aime bien les autres chansons, mais on sent que c'est un peu toujours la même chose... Les riffs et même les mélodies à la voix sont très similaires à leur hit. Mais globalement très cool !
Who invented Heavy Metal? Consensus would say Black Sabbath but detractors simply point to Blue Cheer's version of Summertime Blues. Earlier yet the sdame heavy riffs. But not quite, I'm firmly in the Sabbath camp. However, the originality of the 'sound' created by Blue Cheer here is absolute;ly worthy of acknolwedgment. No screaming banshees or Satanic lyrics but that guitar soundf is...heavy. In fact, I think you could make a great case that Blue Cheer invented a sub-genre called Stoner Metal. This is a s heavy as the blues will ever get and its brilliant.
Not my favourite
Early metal? Edgier Stones? 60s but make it aggressive? Yeah, I dig it
2.5 - it's mostly okay, but sometimes it's just annoying, like near the end.
neutrální, horší kvalita zvuku, po zjištění vice o albu historicky zajímavé, 5/10
1. bluez - 0 2. rock - 1.5 3. pleaze - 1 4. focuz - 1 5. farm - 1 6. around - 1.5
Photo metal
..
The album has more signifcance for its time than quality. Summertime Blues is a good song and they cover it quite well here. The rest is incredibly boring. None of the other 7 tracks are any good, and it’s a chore to get through
Steppenwolf trifft Stoner-Rock. Scheint mir eher für die Musikgeschichtsinteressierten spannend zu sein.
Heavy. Blues. Sometimes self-indulgent.
Blues into rock. A nice listen, some what forgettable.
not my style i guess
I'm surprised that I didn't like this as much as I thought I would. I like a lot of the elements in this album but I found it kinda boring and sloppy (this coming from someone who loves the fuzziness of most garage rock). I don't know man, maybe it just sounds so much like other hard rock/early metal/ bluesy bands of the 70s to me?? Favorite song: Summertime Blues Least favorite: Doctor Please Knew before? No
Þetta var rokkplata sem byrjaði vel með coverlagi en restin féll fljótt í gleymskunnar dá. Sem sagt fín tónlist en ekkert sem stendur þannig séð upp úr svo ég mun aldrei muna eftir að setja hana aftur á
Well, I did actually sort of enjoy this. I think. Not the best quality recording, and imagine they would have sounded far better (louder) live. Reminded me of The Doors in places - but not as good. In any way. I had never heard of them, so found it an interesting listen. Could have done with a bit (lot) of editing - the freestyle jams at (nearly all) times seemed pretty pointless and not an enjoyable experience for the listener. But, I suppose that was kind of the point? Anyway, not much fun. Unless you were actually there in the audience.Or Playing. Or on drugs. Or a combination of those things. As I say, an intresting listen, but doubt I have enough time left in my life to listen to those jams again.
Cochran x Hendrix = a heavy blues-rock soup! Nothing stands out until the final track 'Second Time Around' which was cool. Not cool enough for me to ever play this again though!
“We have Jimi Hendrix at home”
Cool to listen to some early heavy metal but I can’t see myself coming back to this.
LP
Loud, not good
Aight
Vincebus Eruptum is promising but disappointing at the same time, it's late 60s rock moving towards metal and has good ideas but not great execution, and given Hendrix was doing some of this stuff lightyears better before this came along, it doesn't really stand up to being included in a must-listen list. High 2, it's too rough to deserve another listen and not as influential as people think it was/is.
This is interesting, it's got some cool moments, proto metal type stuff, and I quite like it - it's got a bit more edge than a lot of stuff that was floating around at the time. That said, there's plenty from that era that did this better, it's too rough and the production is painful in places. Think it deserves a 3, I enjoyed it, but it's a low one.
Interesting artefact, and to hear the roots of metal, but the record itself is heaving going
I do love a power trio.
Proto-metal. Heavy Acid Rock. I have a weakness for 60's era fuzzy guitar and I think I just OD'd. They are obviously channeling Cream and trying to take it to the next level. The results are mixed at best. This is a studio album that sounds live. I read someone's comment that said it is the missing link between Cream and Black Sabbath and I kind of agree although its not nearly as accomplished as either. It sounds like the generic scene setting music being played in the background of a house of ne'er do well hippie druggies in a 60's police drama. The album is short but feels long, which is never a good sign. Some tunes, in excessive effort to make them seem epic, go on way too long. Others seem like they are not fleshed out ideas that start and end with no real development. However, for me, they completely hit the mark with their cover of Summertime Blues. Its one of the 1st songs I remember listening to over and over on my own albeit the Eddie Cochran version. Later on I loved The Who's version. But when I heard this around 10 years old, I think my head exploded; I loved it. On the strength of that song, and the inarguable fact that this album is a priceless museum piece, I give it a 3.
One of the early forerunners of heavy metal, but certainly not as interesting as what came after. Droning and repetitive.
Not for me. I debated giving it 2 stars but towards the end, it was tiresome & repetitive.
Je comprends pourquoi j’ai jamais entendu parler d’eux; dès que Led Zep sont débarqués, Blue Cheese ont pris le bord
I didn't mind the sloppiness and I can definitely get down with some proto-stoner metal riffage. I am, however, pretty sick of hearing blues standards. I know it was fresh and new on the first day of 1968 when this was released, and I bet the live shows were fun...but I got bored with the twelve bar nature of it pretty quickly.
Some great musical ability on display. But. I think the problem is a vocal performance and lyrics that lack emotion depth. Like a 70s metal band…if you like those you will like this.
Storied band that can hardly be described without "proto-" as a descriptor. In context, significant. More than fifty years removed, it feels like they were progenitors very quickly passed up by their contemporaries.
Not quite sure what this is…
Started strong, and I was hopeful of more of the same. But what I thought was going to be a bit of fun, psychedelic rock devolved into more noise pollution and clunky rhythms behind vocals that were more akin to an alley cat wailing on a hot summer night.
Bridge between genres
Back in the 60s, all you had to do was go "Wait a second, what if we play the guitar like 10% faster" and you've invented a whole new genre and are considered a genius. Now you can build a brand new instrument in your garage using alien scrolls dug up in the swamps of Tenochtitlan and sample the sound of the Big Bang itself, and people will be like "Hmm yes, this sounds like Berlin School Avantgarde with a smidgen of Post-Minimalistic Neoclassical Darkwave. Very formulaic, very generic." What I'm trying to say is that all three guys in this band look like imperfect clones of Pink Floyd members.
For its time, very loud and chaotic. I found it too sloppy at times. Respect the innovation, but likely wouldn’t listen again.
Blues rock jams, a good cover of Summertime Blues and, apparently, the birth of hard rock and the power trio. Who knew.
My score has wavered from a generous 4 to a more realistic 3 to a, perhaps, even more realistic 2. Blue Cheer have got that sixties Cream / Hendrix sound but unfortunately they don't have the musicality. Some of the guitar solos made me wince. And I don't like the singers voice, which is always the nail in the coffin for me liking one of these albums. So, overall I like the tone but not the music and probably won't listen to this again.
Really enjoyed this….
Really good fuzzy, bluesy, psych-rock on display here. Very strong open with Summertime Blues, best track on the album but the remaining tracks are also solid. Made in ‘68 I gotta imagine this had a huge influence on the fuzz rock scene. 4 stars
Wow, this was bad. 2/10
A bit dated but still very good
What an amazing album, straight out of the gritty demonic psychedelic 60s. The self penned songs are really great and the covers are the hardest takes of said songs at the time. Its not really heavy metal but it's Cream or Jefferson Airplane turned to 11.
Awesome new album/band I’ve never heard of before. Guitar is great, but the lead singers voice gets a little old fast. Almost a 4.
This album isn't for me, it sounded boring and samey and just sounds like a lot of noise most of the time.
3.5
Poor man’s Cream.
70s hard rock. Not really my thing
It's okay
Boring blues rock album
Cool. Truly. Alas, it's not being played from a wall of amps at a volume that makes my shirt flutter so I'm lacking the visceral reaction that could make me appreciate this in more ways than just as a historical artifact anticipating other, later, simply better music.
#321. I've never heard of them before, but I thought it was decent. I can see why it wasn't as popular as other similar stuff, but there's nothing too bad here. 3/5: acceptable. Song added to playlist: Summertime Blues I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link
Ain't no cure for the summertime blues... the supposed beginnings of what would become heavy metal are sprawling and numerous, yet when one hears Blue Cheer's Vincebus Eruptum there appears to be an acceptable enough answer to when and where it began. It might not look like much these days but the six track album does more than what was needed to get its point across. Rock and roll was mutating at a rapid-fire pace and in a way that couldn't have been anticipated more than a decade previous. Music such as Vincebus Eruptum is part of why. Favorites: Summertime Blues, Doctor Please, Parchment Farm, Second Time Around.
Top tip: definitely don't listen to this one sharing a pair of earphones between you! They go hard on the stereo on this and we had a very different experience depending on whether we were left or right. Standard 60s fare. Summertime Blues is a great song but otherwise nothing stood out significantly to us.
I know this CD by reputation as an influence on early-developing hard rock and heavy metal. But boy is it rough. It makes some garage bands I know look like Van Halen. Some of their guitar solos sound like someone making fun of terrible guitar players. From the perspective of a 21st century listener, it's basically only a historical curiosity, like a museum exhibit showing a proto-mammal that laid eggs and had scales.
On paper this should tick a lot of boxes, yest I found it a bit soulless.
Ekki mjög spennandi. Feður þungarokksins? Má vera en 2,5.
Dirty sound. Если бы блюз хуярили с силой
I never heard of them! Surprised. Enjoyed.
This didn't make it onto the Garage band compilations I was listening to in the early 00s. Plus I already have Guitar Wolf's ridiculously loud cover of Summertime Blues. But whereas that's balls to the wall silliness, this is more chunky and slow, not in a bad way. The next cover, (presumably BB King?) is chunky blues rock, not my bag. None of the originals really stand out. It's garage rock so it's entertaining enough but basically ephemeral.
Mostly a historical document showing how three acid-rock musicians unwittingly birthed a style later known as heavy metal. With also clear connections to stoner rock, possibly even contributing to the style's name given the huge amount of drugs Blue Cheer reportedly took between takes. The band plays loud, the near-atonal moments are indeed prophetic, and I have to admit that the guitar solo overdubbed by a *second one* during "Out Of Focus" made me laugh, as it perfectly encapsulates the excessive aesthetics of the other bands who would follow Blue Cheer's footsteps later. The musicianship is good, even though the three members of Blue Cheer don't always sound as if they're really listening to each other, which might come off as either pleasantly unhinged or annoying depending on your mileage. And speaking of "sound", the one of this debut is extremely paper-thin, with very barebones production values--which can admittedly have a very "retro" charm as seen from 2024. No track particularly stands out. The cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" (miles away from the famous original, or even The Who's version), "Doctor Please", "Parchment Farm" and the noisy, full-blown chaotic conclusion of closer "Second Time Around", all have nice moments to offer... but they're not bangers either, in all honesty. And since we've heard way *way* more loud and violent music since 1968, whatever stuff in that realm was striking for that year sure gets lost in translation today. Blue Cheer also released another very interesting LP right after this debut, by the way. *Outsideinside* is admittedly not as wild and not as "extreme" for the time period as *Vincebus Eruptum*, but it's not watered down either--and it nicely splits the difference between slapping hard rock and the psychedelic influences of the day. That sophomore album has better production, better performances, and better songwriting overall. So maybe you should include that other record in your own list as well. Or none of them. After all, "being there first" doesn't automatically mean you're a genius at what you're doing. Some magmatic eruptions do not start with a bang, but with a short pop. 3/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential" albums 8/10 for more general purposes (5+3) Number of albums left to review: 95 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 390 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 229 (including this one) Albums from the list I certainly won't include in mine: 286
good, not bad
This album is kinda fascinating for a few reasons. It sounds distinctly ‘60s (vocally and stylistically), yet it was entirely boundary pushing for the metal genre. It oozes personality through its oddball takes on various songs that already existed, especially the boisterous opener, “Summertime Blues,” which is handily my favorite version of the track. Every song on here makes choices you just wouldn’t expect, which very much makes it preemptive of what was to come for metal in the ‘70s. While it was in a primitive state at the time, feeling like a bridge between ‘60s rock and ‘70s metal, it finds itself as an interesting piece of musical history, on top of the fact that it’s incredibly enjoyable as well.
This has “we have Deep Purple at home” vibes. The last half of the last track just sounds like filler to get over the 30 minute mark. I liked it - but it wasn't over the top.
while the ideas presented are pretty nice, i think they get overshadowed due to the album's production style. the stereo version pans the guitar and drums on opposite channels, making it sound uneven. i'm sure the mono version sounds way better. 3.2/5.
This was a rough listen, literally. The audio quality is notably just rough. I can respect what these fellas achieved but the entire album felt like a chore. Best - Summertime Blues Worst - Doctor Please, Parchment Farm, and Second Time Around 2.50/5
Kind of unremarkable. I do dig the audio quality, though - I genuinely think it enhances the songs.
Rough and ready ponderous blues rock from an overrated pub band.
Bloody awful blues rock. Singer wasn't great and the sound was muddy, I'm putting it down to poor production. There are a lot better albums of this genre (I believe we have listened to them all on this list) didn' t need it.
Proper dirty 60s bluesey pub rock. Sounds like it was recorded in a pub, but that kinda works
Yet another 3 Star thing. It makes the argument quite strongly that the whole idea of there being 1001 albums that are worth listening to before you die is stupid. This album has little effect on me emotionally, and if you ask me who Blue Cheer are in 6 months, I am very unlikely to remember that they were some kind of seventies band with wailing guitars and drum solos. Hey, future me: Just listen to some Led Zeppelin instead.
A short and enjoyable listen. I'm a bit critical that it's 6 tracks and half of those are covers, so more like a rough & ready EP.
Either this band influenced a significant number of classic rock bands or they're decent at imitating other bands styles. 2/5
I understand and appreciate the historical significance/influence, but probably wouldn’t listen again.
A little too old school for me
3.5
Hey, what if we put everything through a fuzz pedal and recorded this with a potato?
Ich kenne "Blue Cheer" gar nicht, aber nach dem ersten Anhören gefällt mir das Bild, die Band ist das Bindeglied vom Blues zu Heavy Metal. Auch dass sie der Funken für Black Sabbath seien. Alles nachvollziehbar. Harter Blues, lange Solis, anspruchsvolle Arrangements, was ist mit da entgangen.
Summertime Blues - one song - a career. There was never anything more, and there's nothing more on this album.
Wild, uneven garage rock.
Not my taste
Meh. Felt like a record you recorded in your garage right after you learned how to play guitar and got obsessed with playing Jimi Hendrix poorly.
Yay drugs! Summertime Blues is okay.
Proto metal blues with a bit more soul
Very late sixties rock. Taking tones from Hendrix and moving it to harder rock. Not bad!
2.5
psychedelic rock, acid rock. Año 67.
This felt so much longer than 32 minutes. I guess it was the mix of the sludgy, distorted rock sound with some of the long instrumental breaks thrown in. I would say that there is some merit to this album basically laying the foundation of what would become the "heavy metal" sound, but it was a bit of a mess otherwise.
psychedelic rock, acid rock. Año 67.
Like early Sabbath. Loved it.
That was definitely one of the albums of all time
When I was 13 or 14 I went to a small gig in the community centre back home in Welwyn Garden City. The gig was for a small rock/metal outfit which included a brother of a friend I went to school with. I remember vividly wearing a t-shirt with "it is better to have loved and lost" on the front and "than be stuck with a psycho for the rest of your life" on the back. Turns out a girl I had unceremoniously dumped a week ago spent the gig standing behind me and spent an hour reading "than be stuck with a psycho for the rest of your life" in front of her. It wasn't intentional, I just thought it was a cool shirt, or someone had got it for me or something. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that I remember just as much of the gig with my friend's brother in it as I will of this album.
Ruined by too much proggy guitar noodling
Just kind of blends in with others like it.
Lyder som meget man har hørt før men solidt
Aldrig hørt om det før, og det er lidt en skam! For vild guitarlyd for en 60er plade
Fed tung blues lyd! Minder _lidt_ om Cream og Black Sabbath
Not for me.
Reminded me of the band cream based on their style. Was ok. No track stood out though
vincebus eruptum blue cheer 1968 1. summertime blues: 3.5/10 2. rock me baby: 3/10 3. doctor please: 4.5/10 4. out of focus: 6/10 5. parchment farm: 4.5/10 6. second time around: 3.5/10 overall rating: 4,1/10
CAUTION: the second you press play to this album, you cause an earthquake. “Vincebus eruptum” is a dense, heavy album with really enjoyable songs and mysterious vibes. While listening, I couldn’t believe that this was released in 1968. The guitar tone tempestuous - something that you can hear on Queens of the Stone Age 40+ years later. Before Sabbath and Zeppelin, there was Blue Cheer. Let it sink.
Hmm. I think most fans of heavy metal will be disappointed in this album if they read the Wikipedia page. It’s not very heavy. More bluesy - maybe “heavy blues” instead of heavy metal. I am not a metal head and found this album to be alright to listen to, but nothing earth-shattering. Maybe if I were listening to it in 1968 my mind would have been blown.
Loud and a bit psychedelic blues / hard-rock
i support animal testing, throw this one to the litter of piglets
a little more harsh than Foo for me...
Kinda glad this one was only 30 min. Something about it just didn't sit well with my ears.
Great hard rock sound throughout
Great rendition of summertime blues! Awesome guitars. Lots of electronic gimmickry going on. BTW seeing the picture of these pathetic looking old dudes on Spotify while listening to the album took some of the magic away 😂.
Solid 3, enjoyment is a 2.
So did the who cover them out did they come the who with summer time blues? I'm guessing this was the original. This seems like the beginnings of punk taking shape. Enjoyed, but not sure I'll go find them to relisten. Ok, just read the wiki. I guess summertime blues was Eddie Cochran, and this was the roots of heavy metal. Closer enough for me.
Interesting mix of early heavy metal with some other elements, mostly psychedelic rock and blues. The way they used catchy guitar riffs reminded me of bands that came later, like AC/DC or Black Sabbath. Two tracks stood out to me, the bluesy 'Rock me baby' and the catchy hook in 'Parchment Farm'. Lyrically it wasn't very inspiring, but my ears liked what they heard for the most part... Plus the production was really good, especially considering that this was released in 1968. 3.5 stars
I can see how this album may have influenced the beginnings of heavy metal. The drums especially sound like Bonham at times. Musically interesting for the time it was recorded, but I probably wont be going back to this often.
A great pre-metal album that was really ahead of its time.
It did sound a bit "old" to me, not bad, just not fresh, very 1960's. Austin Powers 1960's.
Pretty cool
Great version of “Summertime Blues”. Considered possibly the 1st Heavy Metal Band? Cool. Heavy and Bluesy. I’d even write it was educational.
ik kan me voorstellen dat dit 55 jaar geleden heel wat straffer klonk... maar ook nu staat het overeind... solide plaatje
Meh.
I'm not a big fan of most music from this period. Wasn't a bad album but I didn't much care for it.
New to me, good listen. Doesn't hold as well for me as other similar records from this time. Will I listen to again: 20%.
I think everything was great. Except for the lyrics. The lyrics are boring and uninspiring. Great musicians tho
For as long as Black Sabbath has been the "first" metal band, there have been many music nerds attempting to stake a claim in which band was actually the "first". Summertime Blues certainly has a certain heaviness to it, especially with the guitar solo that attempts to melt face, but I find it falls just short of being a proper metal song. Blue Cheer feels like a less-realized version of the Jimi Hedrix Experience. It's fairly competent blues/acid rock for the '60s but it's also not that good either. Is it influential? Probably, but that doesn't mean I have to love it.
Great to listen to this. Fits well with the concept of the dope smoking hippies era... Would have been very righteous for the time
Proto-metal is an underrated genre. With albums like Vincebus Eruptum, you can hear the melodic precision that was so favoured by critics in the late 60s, along with the pent-up energy that would soon explode into popularity. We have some great (but very simple) riffs in tracks such Rock Me Baby, accompanied by Robert Plant-esque blues wailing and in-sync drum/bass. Not terribly much letting loose and going all-out metal jam – but then, I doubt the album would have sold as well if they had taken that approach. Plenty of precursor elements of metal (and hard rock) are still present here, and considering it was 1968, this must've been pretty darn wicked to spin in front of your horrified parents. Interesting texture. A distinctly 60s mix, with vocals and drums panned to the right and lead guitar primarily on the left. Additionally, there isn't actually much going on at once. It's very easy to hear the complexities in all instruments, unlike music like Steely Dan where there's so much complex interweaving sound that it can't be mentally separated (though it still sounds great). Reminds me of the Doors. The texture often picks up during the allocated "jam" portions of the songs – for example, in the middle third of Doctor Please – even though no vocals are present. Good music, though dated and limited by the technologies and societal preferences of the time. 4/5 Key tracks: Summertime Blues, Out Of Focus, Second Time Around
sqee
Bra