This album, Arzachel (1969), was the sole album released by the band Uriel using the name Arzachel. The band is a psychedelic blues rock band from England, and the musicians in the group began their career playing covers of group’s like Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, and The Nice. The group landed a deal to record a one-off psychedelic album, as the genre was quite popular at the time. The album has since become a rare collector’s item to enthusiasts of the genre, and has been reported to have been pirated/bootlegged multiple times in the decades after it was released. I’m pretty excited to check out this album, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Garden Of Earthly Delights” immediately catches my ears with an upbeat psychedelic sound with the keyboards and guitar that produces a very inviting sound at the start of the track. Oh wow, I really dig the rhythm section in the track; the bass keeps grooving the track along while the drums have a super tasty psychedelic swing to them. Oh wow, the song goes into a different movement that consists of the electric guitar sounding as though it’s building up to something massive, as the rest of the instrumentations have quieted down a bit. Great track, and I’m stoked to hear the rest of the album.
Oh wow, “Azathoth” starts out with some sort of eerie organs that seem to brightly swirl around in a manner as though they’re from a church organ inside an old mansion of sorts. Oh wow, the vocals and bass line changes up and further increase the general eeriness of the overall sound. Holy smokes, the original vocals come back on and feel as though they release a massive amount of tension. Oh wow, the organs and guitar have gotten quite discordant at this point, and I’m really digging the result. It vaguely reminds me of gong as the sounds become sort of spacey in a very eerie way. Oh wow, the original line from the beginning of the song comes back in and sounds extremely sweet after the discordant section. Great tune.
Holy smokes, “Queen St. Gang (Soul Thing)” has such a tasty feel at the beginning with a sort of funky style with strong backbeat. Oh wow, the rest organs have such an interesting swirl that seems to walk the tune along a line of sorts. Oh wow, the drums have picked up a bit of action in the cymbals, creating a certain airiness in the soundscape that I really dig. The bass has a massive sound from underneath, as though the bass is Atlas carrying the music on its back. I really dig the simple accentuations from the electric guitar in the form of some super flavorful chord progressions that have a sort of psychedelic garage blues rock timbre. Awesome instrumental track.
Oh wow, “Leg” starts out with some interesting keyboards that have a kind of wet, drippy, and spacey quality to them. Oh wow, the guitar seems to meander about for a moment before finding a super tasty blues lick that seems to drop the tune right in place. Oh wow, the bluesy jam in this track is super flavorful, and reminds me a fair deal of Cream and even the bluesy style of Stevie Ray Vaughn to some extent. Holy smokes, the organs/keyboards have come back into the track to join in this epic, groovy jam, and have dialed the flavor up even higher. Oh wow, the track breaks down into a chaotic spacey section with feedback and other effects near the end that I really dig. Great tune.
“Clean Innocent Fun” starts out in a super tasty blues rock style with the vocals and the guitar matching up really nicely, and the track slowly develops a more psychedelic sound with the organs taking the tune out there. Holy smokes, the jam in this track has such a groovy, dark, and psychedelic bluesy flavor that my face has contorted into all sorts of strange positions due to the epic sound produced by the instruments. Holy smokes, the spacious beat is super strong, the organs slam and swirl about in a super groovy manner, while the electric guitar plays some far-out psychedelic blues that seem to get chaotic and reeled back in with a super natural feeling. Oh wow, the bass guitar seems to almost be steering the drums from the background at this point, taking the tune even further out there while the organs and electric guitar add even more sweet psychedelic blues flavors to the soundscape.
Oh wow, the tune has entered an almost blissful state with the drums and bass having locked into a groove, while the organs seem to reverberate a bright chorus of flavor that brings an almost angelic quality to the track. The guitar almost has a distant sound to some degree while the playing from the guitar seems to intensify and pervade throughout the soundscape. Holy smokes, the tune drops back into the original bluesy line from the beginning of the song at end the tune. Great track.
Oh wow, “Metempsychosis” starts out with some far-out, spacey effects that remind me a lot of Gong. Holy smokes, out of the chaos seems to be some semblance of a structure to a tune with some slowly, and nearly ominously building sounds from the guitar and organs. Oh wow, the drums and bass seem to have a super flavorful groove going, which almost has a bit of a primal feel to it, reminding me a bit of “When the Music’s Over” by The Doors. Oh wow, the guitar seems to have gotten into a groove with the drums and bass while the keyboards take the tune into spacious territory for a moment.
Wow, the tune has changed up so much since that start of the song. Most of the instrumentation has faded away except for what might be just the hum of an amplifier at the moment. Oh wow, some somewhat eerie organs come in alongside a background chorus of vocals in a Gregorian chanting style of sorts. Oh wow, the tune has mellowed out so much to a point that it’s nearly relaxing me, though there are some slight disturbances from little bits of feedback and the eerie, nearly ghoulish background chorus vocals, which seem to hint at the tune being far from over.
Oh wow, the drums have been reintroduced with the bass guitar. It sort of reminds me of how the Grateful Dead’s “Drums > Space” section of their live shows. Holy smokes, everything but the bass guitar has faded out, allowing the bass to play a sort of muddied, far-out bass solo that I’m really digging. Oh wow, this track has been both reeled in and taken further out with the slamming of guitar chords on one side, while the organs swirl into a chaotic section on the other side of the soundscape, and the drums and bass make the tune feel both primal and locked into a groove. Wow, this jam is awesome. Holy smokes, all of the instruments seem to be syncing up as the tune comes to a massive crescendo to tie together both the far-out, spacious jam that is this song, and the album altogether. Oh wow, the music seems to wind down super quickly in a really sweet way. Great tune, and a great way to end the album.
Wow, this album is pretty sweet, and I can understand how the record has become a collector’s item to enthusiasts. The psychedelic blues jams felt like a prime example of the genre, and there were spacious sound effects, timbre, and style that brought the music even further out into psychedelic territory than it already was. If you’re a fan of psychedelic blues from groups like Cream and spacey psychedelic jams from groups like Gong, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A