Nosferatu
Nosferatu

We are still in 1970 and among the lesser-known and less successful groups in the European progressive scene are Nosferatu. The only album they brought to light, "Nosferatu" indeed, is a full-fledged progressive, with winds (sax and flute), keyboards, instrumental interludes of jazz origin, slight blues influences especially regarding the sound. Evidently, this wasn’t enough to seize the spotlight and, in a period when extraordinary bands went overlooked or nearly so (various groups like Cressida, Quatermass, Egg come to mind), releasing a good album and not a masterpiece meant certain anonymity. As if that weren’t enough, the sinister name and the terrifying cover (terrifying in every sense, since it is quite ugly) do nothing but mislead potential listeners who would, quite rightly, expect extremely dark atmospheres, perhaps echoes of Can or Amon Duul (just to name two). In reality, the album is indeed somewhat rough, with a very "rock" dirty voice, and the atmospheres often expand echoing psychedelic moments, yet overall it is catchy and easily accessible to an average progressive listener.

"Nosferatu" opens with "Highway" (track focused on guitars and keyboards) which immediately sets the stylistic tone for the rest of the album: more hard rock parts, interspersed with instrumental parts, as mentioned before, of jazz derivation. Following is "Willie the Fox", the classic 10-minute suite where the rhythm section proves fundamental, with tempo changes succeeding each other, and the flute plays the role of co-protagonist, perhaps the best track, considering that, once heard, the rest is roughly a repetition of the same pattern (the greatest flaw of Ours). "Found My Home" and "No. 4" (instrumental track) flow without particularly moving, "Work Day" has more pronounced blues cadences and stands out slightly from the others. It all ends with "Vanity Fair", in my view the only peak after "Willie the Fox": the soup is the same, but in this case with a pinch more salt it turns out tastier.

"Nosferatu" will be the only production of this German band, a good album overall, with all the described limits, not a piece of history, not a rare gem, but a curiosity to discover and listen to for genre enthusiasts.