LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

• Edition: Official remastered reissue
• Packaging: Gatefold sleeve

I Turned to See Whose Voice It Was was Gomorrha’s final album and one of the most powerful examples of early-1970s German heavy progressive rock.

Formed in Cologne during the late 1960s, Gomorrha initially played melodic beat and psychedelic rock. By the time of this 1972 album, however, the group had developed a considerably darker and heavier identity based around distorted twin guitars, Hammond organ, forceful rhythms and Peter Otten’s intense English-language vocals.

The sessions were produced and engineered by Conny Plank, whose imaginative use of echo, phasing and studio effects gives the record an unusually spacious sound. Heavy guitar and organ passages frequently give way to acoustic sections, psychedelic improvisation and unsettling spoken or sung narratives.

“Dance on a Volcano” opens with a crushing combination of guitar and organ before moving through quieter acoustic passages and extended instrumental development. “Opening of the Sealed Book” introduces the album’s apocalyptic concept through biblical imagery, repetitive guitar and a tense, ritualistic atmosphere.

The compact “Dead Life” returns to direct hard rock, with aggressive guitar work and pounding drums. On the second side, the title track moves between atmospheric psychedelia, acoustic textures and heavy progressive passages.

“I Try to Change This World” stretches into an extended psychedelic jam dominated by Hammond organ and acid guitar, while the closing “Titish Child” delivers some of the album’s most intense twin-guitar playing.

The album’s lyrics deal with religion, death, destruction and visions of the Apocalypse, creating a mood comparable to Aphrodite’s Child’s 666. Musically, Gomorrha combine German experimental rock with elements of Black Sabbath, Procol Harum, heavy blues and West Coast psychedelia.

Originally released by Brain Records in 1972, I Turned to See Whose Voice It Was has become a recognised classic of heavy Krautrock and underground progressive rock. This official Long Hair edition presents the complete album in a gatefold sleeve.

Track listing:

Side A
1. Dance on a Volcano – 9:59
2. Opening of the Sealed Book – 5:45
3. Dead Life – 3:57

Side B
1. I Turned to See Whose Voice It Was – 7:48
2. I Try to Change This World – 9:32
3. Titish Child – 6:59