A Quest for Prog 24: Hawkwind – Warrior On The End Of Time

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Hawkwind – Warrior On The End Of Time (1975)

Produced by Hawkwind

Michael Moorcock – Vocals

Dave Brock – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals & Bass Guitar

Nik Turner – Saxophone, Flute & Vocals

Lemmy (Ian Kilmister) – Bass Guitar

Simon House – Violin & Keyboards

Simon King – Drums

Alan Powell – Drums

Track listing:

Side One:

01. Assault and Battery (Part 1) (5:36)

02. The Golden Void (Part 2) (4:33)

03. The Wizard Blew His Horn (2:00)

04. Opa-Loka (5:40)

05. The Demented Man (4:20)

Side 2

01. Magnu (8:40)

02. Standing at the Edge (2:45)

03. Spiral Galaxy 28948 (3:55)

04. Warriors (2:05)

05. Dying Seas (3:05)

06. Kings of Speed (3:25)

Released in 1975 “Warrior On The Edge Of Time” is the fifth album by English band Hawkwind.  The band were formed in 1969 by Dave Brock and are one of the originators of the Space Rock genre.  The band has released 26 studio albums over its 40 year existence with Dave Brock being the only constant member of the band.

The album begins with the almost dancey “Assault and Battery (Part 1)”.  The song opens with keyboards and a bass and drum groove.  The melody has a 60’s pop feel but with a sinister edge to it.  The song is dense with guitars and features some nice flute.  It is quite sloppy in places and reminded me of a mix between Syd Barrett and Flying Nun records Bands.  Cool tune.

“The Golden Void (Part 2)” follows straight on and is a dreamy keyboard lead track similar to Eloy.  The song builds and get’s heavier as it goes along and the Saxophone gives a song a night time feel.  The vocals are really strong on this track as well. 

The first of three spoken word passages “The Wizard Blew His Horn” is next.  The vocals are heavily delayed and delivered in an almost Beat Poetry style.  Lyrically it’s pretty silly but it enjoyed it because of that.

The groovy “Opa-Loka” follows.  This track has a great Space Rock feel with a really nice groove from the drums and the bass.  The track has allot of movement and really drives along.  It reminded me of Evil Heat era Primal Scream.  Awesome tune.

“The Demented Man” starts with a nice guitar picked passage with feedback and seagull sounds overlayed.  Again this tune has a similar feel to Eloy and Pink Floyd.  The melody really drives the track with is Bass and Drum free.  The keyboards are quite atmospheric and feature some interesting Coral sounds.  Really nice way to finish the side.

Side two starts with “Magnu” a 70’s rocker with a cool eastern feel.  The track is quite schizophrenic and manic with an interesting mix of instruments.  The vocals on this track are really heavily processed with lots of delay and reverse delay.  The mix is the real let down off this track with back really low and the vocals, strings and Saxophone really high in the mix.  This is none the less a great tune that be better served by a more balanced mix.

“Standing at the Edge” is the second spoken word track and is similar to “The Wizard Blew His Horn” but with more of a Sci-Fi feel to it.  Again the lyrics are silly with some great lines like “We are the soldiers at the edge of time, were tired of making love”.  Strange little tune.

The almost baggy “Spiral Galaxy 28948” follow’s on.  The track is spacey with groovy drums and wah way guitars.  The song takes some interesting directions folky flutes and squealing keyboards.  Baggy and Space Rock is a cool mix.

The third and final Spoken Word passage “Warriors” is the most aggressive of the three.  With Dalek vocals and timpani banging in the background.  Awesome track.

“Dying Seas” is next.  This track is quite strange and sounds like a warped records or worn cassette.  Kind of like a Syd Barrett tune with a grinding backing track.  Didn’t think much of this track.

The album ends with “Kings of Speed”.  This is the most conventional track on the record and it reminded me of The Who.  With a driving piano and what would become an American Indie feel this has the feeling of an attempt at a single.  Fun tune but not as exciting as other on this record.

I really enjoyed this record and bar a few weaker moments there is allot of get from it.  Especially highlights “Assault and Battery”, “Opa-Loka” and “Magnu”.  If you like the Space territories of Prog definitely give this album a listen.

7/10