Kingdom Come ● Galactic Zoo Dossier

Emerging from the harrowing underbelly of the psychedelic hard rock movement, Arthur Brown and Kingdom Come’s debut album is a relentless collection of spooky spoken word bits, heavy guitar and keyboard riffs, and general far-out freakiness. Galactic Zoo Dossier, first released in 1971 on Polydor Records, represents Brown’s first recorded output following the dissolution of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, owners of a 1968 hit called “Fire.” Removing Brown’s commercial aspirations, Kingdom Come opts instead for a more progressive run through the era’s brush with psychedelia. “Sunrise,” the album’s best song, is a slow-burning dirge that eventually erupts into a furious platter of hard rock mayhem, while “Metal Monster,” “Night of the Pigs” and “Creep”—the titles alone should make you shudder—reveal darker, more sinister themes. Galactic Zoo Dossier is a challenging listen, the uncompromising complexity of the project oftentimes overshadowing the already thin layers of melody and song structure. Kingdom Come survived long enough for two more albums, including 1973’s Journey, supposedly one of the first albums of the rock era to use an electronic drum machine.

Notes: Check out this fantastic footage of Arthur Brown and his band performing at England’s 1971 Glastonbury Fayre. I swear it’s not from This is Spinal Tap, but now you know from where Alice Cooper and Kiss might have drawn their inspiration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyIYGES_U08&feature=related.