III

These guys have sometimes been described as a -like band, and the name itself invites a comparison. Yet if that had any validity at the start of their career, by this, their third album, they really sounded more like solid mid-level British than satanic . This is really closer to early and territory than , given their lengthy, shifting compositions; stress on forceful organ and vocal harmonies; substantial , , and influences; and the color supplied by ' sax and flute. Not that is that close to , and the tunes on aren't nearly as stick-in-the-brain as the songs penned by those two groups in their early days -- but they're respectable within that style. Perhaps some of their supposed satanic mindset is still evident in the opening three-part epic divided into The Onslaught, If a Man Should Die, and Survival sections. Otherwise that isn't evident, and occasionally the tunes are rather cheerful, as on The lack of annoying stentorian qualities in 's lead vocals removes this further from standard territory. There are even some traces of to be heard in although it was a bad idea to end that tune with quotes from This was reissued as a 180-gram gatefold LP by in 2000. ~ Richie Unterberger