Ainigma
Diluvium

The so-called Krautrock represents one of the most avant-garde and extreme branches of European rock in the late 60s and early 70s: bands like Amon Düül II, Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Neu!, Faust, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Grobschnitt, and many others dominated the German scene, with torrential jams, cosmic music, and loads of psychedelia. In the depths of this immense forge of ideas, the fame of many artists considered "minor" was probably undermined by excessive derivation from British and American models (except for the Scorpions, who nonetheless managed to achieve worldwide success): among these, a special mention is deserved by the two musicians Manuel Rigoni and Richard Schoenherz, authors of the magnum opus Victor (1975, Bacillus Records) (a "symphonic poem" which I will discuss in a future review) and AINIGMA, one of the most "hard" and obscure bands of German '73.

Formed in 1972, the trio consisted of Willi Klüter, the main vocalist and keyboardist of the group, Wolfgang "Wolfi" Netzer, a jack-of-all-trades musician engaged in electric guitar and bass, and the drummer Michael Klüter, brother of Willi. The name choice fell on the ancient Greek word AINIGMA, which meant "mystery," and they remained active until 1974; the band had time to play several covers of Atomic Rooster before releasing a single album in 1973, Diluvium (1973, ARC ALPS - 2006 Garden Of Delights), but sales and fortune did not smile upon the trio, who, after recording several demos, eventually disbanded. Perhaps the musicians' inexperience (at the time they were between 15 and 17 years old!), practically nonexistent advertising, and not exactly stellar production barred them from any chance of success, or perhaps Krautrock still needed that psychedelic and innovative vein characteristic of Neu!, Can, and Schulze... the fact remains that, irrespective of all that, Diluvium is an album with a devastating sound.

And the first track does nothing to hide it: right from "Prejudice," the listener will indeed realize what awaits them. After a brief and esoteric organ intro by Klüter, the sound is permeated by the aggressiveness and violence of Netzer's riffs, which seem almost to overwhelm all the other instruments; returning to the production discussion, this might be one of the album's major weaknesses: a raw and dirty sound could be acceptable, but the modulation of the sound of the instruments often appears totally off, affecting the overall quality of the album. Willi himself will, in fact, assert that the post-production was practically nonexistent, and they were forced to send the record label a work recorded almost directly, with few opportunities for controls and retakes. Klüter's voice, moreover, often appears timid and uncertain, even unsuitable for a "hard rock" group, as are the lyrics, naive but nevertheless justified, given the young age of the musicians. After the explosive, but perhaps monotonous, feast of "You Must Run," and the "hard-ballad" represented by the underrated "All Things Are Fading," we arrive at the highlight of the LP: the torrential Diluvium occupies the entire B-side, a sort of psychedelic suite lasting 17 minutes, which truly showcases all the musicians' abilities; if the first tracks presented several references to their idols, Atomic Rooster, Diluvium gets closer to Krautrock, especially in the central part, composed of a long instrumental jam session, where Netzer and Michael Klüter showcase their remarkable technical prowess.

Recently rediscovered, the album was then re-released by other labels, which also offered two interesting bonus tracks: "Thunderstorm," a fragment of a concept based on Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth," never published precisely because, during the recording, Rick Wakeman released a live album based on the same famous book, and a completely instrumental version of the track "Diluvium." Perhaps better production and a new, more mature album could have given AINIGMA greater follow-up, but both bad luck and inexperience relegated the band to a niche phenomenon, which certainly deserves to be rediscovered.