Smoke ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Everything. 1973 MPS

***Reissued May 2026 by Solid / MPS (Japan)

UMR review

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Q-Tape (2004)

12/16/11 (new entry); 6/20/26 (complete)

Ose ~ France ***REISSUED***

Adonia. 1978 Egg

***To be reissued by Bureau B, July 17, 2026

UMR review

Priority: 2

1/29/10; 6/4/26 (complete)

Guruh Gipsy ~ Indonesia ***REISSUED***

Guruh Gipsy. 1975 private (MC)

***Reissued by La Munai Jun 2026

Incredible progressive rock album with strong Yes overtones combined with the local Gamelan musical tradition. This album avoids the lounge music trap that many of their brethren suffer from. The best vintage progressive rock from Indonesia. Interesting to note that Guruh Gypsy were formed by the son of Soekarno, the former president who was ousted by the ruling president of that time, Soeharto (thanks to the comment below!).

Priority: 2

8/30/09 (new entry); 6/3/26 (complete)

Scarab ~ Finland ***REISSUED***

Scarab. 1983 private

While the early 80s neo prog movement would seem solely the provenance of the UK, and most of the known progenitors are from the area, there were other bands drawing similar conclusions from all over the world. Germany and The Netherlands had a pretty strong scene, where Genesis was the lead influence, going back to the late 70s. But there were also some serious obscurities, whose identity have only surfaced in the internet age (not counting the multitude of tapes). Groups like Nexus Erratic and Tempo e Modo come to mind. You can add Scarab to that short list.

While the cover gives the impression a heavy metal album awaits, the album is very much in the vein of Kyrie Eleison, Ivory, IQ, and, of course, Genesis. It was still early days of the movement, in faraway Finland, so they were more likely to be influenced by the originators than the Marillion's of this world. Violin adds a nice touch, recalling Solstice.

Interesting to read multiple reviews pointing to Kansas. Guessing the violin plays a role in that observation. But I'm rather certain Steve Walsh never sounded like Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins. This isn't brash music in that American way, but rather a more subtle European approach. I realize I'm way too immersed into the sound of the American Midwest prog scene, of which Kansas was the torch bearer, so it's just my filters tend to be oversensitive.

The band evolved into Ageness, a group that I've somehow managed to miss all these years.

Was all set to assign a Priority here, when a little further research shows the album was reissued on CD.

It's a bit hidden, but the album was reissued under the Ageness moniker, though the cover features the original artwork. It also features a full concert from 1983 with what appears all original material not found on the LP. 

***Reissued by the band in 1995.

4/16/26 (new entry)

Flame Dream ~ Switzerland ***REISSUED***

Calatea. 1978 Philips
Elements. 1980 Vertigo. (To be reissued on their own label in 2024!)
Out In the Dark. 1981 Vertigo (To be reissued on their own label in 2024!)

***Calatea has just been reissued by the band in Apr, 2026, so we can now close this group off. Finally. One of the most requested bands to have their albums on CD. It was 17 years ago that we added this to the blog, and I can assure you people were calling for these since the 90s.

---5/30/09

One of the more known groups on this list, Switzerland's Flame Dream managed to get their albums distributed pretty well around the world. I've had all three on LP for years. One of the last of the major label progressive bands, debut Calatea and Elements are both very strong symphonic efforts, both with complex melodies and arrangements. Out In the Dark begins to creep slowly into the AOR world, but is still nice enough to consider for reissue. After this, they headed pretty fast into pop irrelevance. Though I'm sure those albums have their fans too.

Priority: 1

5/30/09 (new entry); 4/10/26 (complete)

Lindwurm (76) ~ Germany ***REISSUED***

Fruhjahr 76: Erinnerungen an Klaus. 1976 private

***Reissued by Garden of Delights Dec 2025

---1/15/11

There are two obscure bands from Germany in the 70s and 80s named Lindwurm. Now why would two groups name themselves after a skin rash? Ahh, it turns out Lindwurm is a type of dragon. Which is obvious from the front cover of course. Not.

So let's talk about the first Lindwurm to market, with their incredibly obscure Fruhjahr 76: Erinnerungen an Klaus (translating to Spring 76: Memories of Klaus). Whoa - this is really deep in the basement hard rock right here. Recently I wrote about another very obscure German band called Florian Geyer. They had a single from 1974 named 'Candle of My Burial / Monday Afternoon' that was incredibly crude. Compared to Lindwurm, that single might as well have been recorded and produced by Alan Parsons at Abbey Road.

It's amateur hour all the way. But there's a certain charm in hard rock music such as this. It's not terrible by any means, and there's some excellent guitar work throughout. But they had a long way to go before they would have entered a proper studio.

As for its rarity, yea this one is the real deal. Looks like my friend Lev missed out on a deal at 7000 Euros. Turns out the only copy in the wilds today is going for 10000 Euros and it's never been for sale on ebay - nor have I ever seen it in a rarities catalog going on some 30 years now. That's a lot of balloons!

Garden of Delights announced their intent to reissue this... oh, when was it? After the fall of the Berlin Wall I think. Not really sure it's worth a reissue to be honest, but for deep dive obscurists it certainly will be the only way 99.999% will have a chance to own it properly/legally.

Priority: 3

---1/15/11

Long time Gnosis friend, and German underground expert, Lev Gankine has provided some fascinating data regarding the first Lindwurm listed:

"I've got interesting news about the first Lindwurm LP. I'm just back from Moscow record fair and believe it or not I have seen the record there, but couldn't buy it because the price was way higher than I could afford. But I held it in my hands for a while and even got to listen to the first track, which is pretty amazing power-trio heavy psychedelic blast! Definitely would like to hear the whole LP one day!

What is also interesting is that I now have a tracklist of the album (meticulously copied from the original cover) as well as other bits of the info that were on the LP - and it appears that this Lindwurm was hardly related to the band that did the "Im Windschatten" record. Although the cover doesn't state clearly who plays what on the "Fruhjahr" LP, there's a list of the musicians, and no one from it is on "Im Windschatten" unless they used pseudonyms. The sound is highly different too, according to the first track at least. So currently it is my understanding that there were two bands called Lindwurm in Germany.

By the way, Klaus who they refer to in the album title, is a deceased friend of the band whose photo graces the back cover, and the album is dedicated to his memory.

Hope this will be interesting for you and for your blog's readers!"

---8/7/12

And Lev has confirmed now that it is indeed a different group! Here is his review: "I suspected this for a long time, but now, after getting hold of a copy of this elusive album, can confirm 100% that this is a different band from the one that recorded "Im Windschatten" 5 years later. This Lindwurm is a basic heavy rock combo, for fans of Grave, Arktis, Kaputter Hamster, Rockport and the likes, and the album is dedicated to a deceased friend of the band (pictured right here on the back cover), which probably explains why they are totally ripping it in terms of energy and dedication - they've put their souls into this thing for sure! Actually, this is what ultimately makes the record listenable and even charming in its own way, because musically it's rather meh - bloozy heavy rock that only get saved by a few extended Hendrixoid guitar jams. The recording is rather crude too, and apparently at least a part of this material was recorded live, because at some point I can clearly hear the unforgettable high-pitched squeal of a microphone that was placed too close to a monitor or something like that."

1/15/11 (new entry); 8/7/12 (update); 3/15/26 (complete)

Nucleus ~ Canada ***REISSUED***

Nucleus. 1969 Mainstream 

***To be reissued as part of this box set: https://sundazed.com/v-a-journey-to-the-center-of-the-mind-a-mainstream-records-60s-psych-adventure-10-cd-boxed-set-w-book.aspx

UMR review

Priority: 1

9/18/13 (new entry); 10/3/25 (complete)

McLuhan ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Anomaly. 1972 Brunswick

***Reissued by Think Like a Key, Jun 2025

UMR review and band history

Priority: 1

5/24/09 (new entry); 6/25/25 (complete)

Skywhale ~ England ***REISSUED***

The World at Mind's End. 1977 private

***Reissued by Belle Antique Jun 2025

UMR review

Priority: 1

***Reissued on LP by PQR-Disques May 2025

7/9/15 (new entry); 6/25/25 (complete)

Magi ~ USA ***REISSUED***

1976 Uncle Dirty's Sound Machine

***Reissued by Got Kinda Lost (2021)

From the Elkhart, Indiana area, Magi play a typical brand of Midwest hard edged bar n' roll with occasional guitar jamming. There's definitely a southern tilt to the songwriting. Picking up some early era Styx as well (first four albums), minus the keyboards of course. A3 has some excellent dual guitar work, with complete knucklehead lyrics "Girl I'm only interested in what's below your waist". A4 is a fine instrumental though one would hope for more of a lethal guitar assault. Definitely appreciate the break section though. B1 gives off a whiff of classic Ted Nugent especially the 'Stranglehold' styled solo towards the end. The subject matter certainly would appeal to him as well. B2 is the requisite ballad, because you know, they're sensitive. These guys will try anything to score it would appear.  It's a boring tune BTW.  B4 has a strong finish, but by then it's too late. Seems Magi might have been a killer live act if they let loose for a few minutes. Perhaps a more meaty production coupled with a commitment to original songwriting would have taken this to the first division. Too much crowd pleasing boogie, not enough extended jamming and composition. They had the talent, no question. Solid straightforward hard rock, but inessential I would submit.

Priority: none

4/8/25 (new entry)

Giant Step ~ Indonesia ***REISSUED***

Giant On The Move. 1976 SM (MC). There is an LP that is about half of the tape.

***Reissued by Rockpod (2016)

UMR review

They have many other albums that I should investigate. Their debut has also been reissued.

Priority: 2

3/31/25 (new entry)

Himmelexpressen ~ Denmark ***REISSUED***

Latinamerikansk Olie. 1976 Hookfarm

***Reissued by Hookfarm in 2016

About a decade ago or so, I'd never even heard of the Hookfarm label. Over time, multiple obscure titles began to pop up on my radar. Himmelexpressen was one of those new names for me. By viewing the title of Latinamerikansk Olie, one can probably surmise this to be a Latin jazz rock album. That pretty much sums it up, though there is some really fiery electric guitar solos throughout - way more than is the norm. Also unusual is the steady use of harmonica, which doesn't fit, but it's surprisingly not as annoying as it may seem. Nice flute as well. The Latin and African rhythms along with the guitar style will recall Santana, though more for the cocktail set. A grower.

Priority: 3

3/24/25 (new entry)

Solaris ~ Norway ***REISSUED***

Solaris - Misty Morning. 1977 Apollo

***Reissued by Norsk Album Classics Dec 2022

Solaris play a mix of what is commonly known as West Coast psychedelic mixed with laid back AOR music - and a bit of country rock. A very obscure album, though not necessarily expensive. Misty Morning is something of a disappointment if you're looking for underground progressive oriented sounds. There are, however, a few enjoyable tracks here from a melodic standpoint, though it's more the domain of the American radio mindset. Makes one wonder why these Norwegians were so conservative when they had the opportunity to do whatever they wanted to. As an aside, Ole G Nilssen is one of the members of Solaris, and his solo album World of Dreams is about as rare as Misty Morning.

Priority: none

3/19/25 (new entry)

As noted earlier, I will be publishing new entries of obscurities that have been reissued since 2015.

Think ~ New Zealand ***REISSUED***

We'll Give You a Buzz. 1976 Atlantic

***On Frenzy with eight bonus tracks. This is the same label that reissued the first Ragnarok album.

UMR review 

Priority: 2

3/14/10 (new entry); 2/1/25 (complete)

Rayuela ~ Argentina ***REISSUED***

Rayuela. 1977 Orfeo

***Reissued by Fonocal, Dec 2024

UMR review

Priority: 1

3/16/14 (new entry); 12/10/24 (complete)

Formas ~ Spain ***REISSUED***

Largos Suenos. 1981 Surcosur

***Reissued by 5 Lunas Producciones Dec 2024

Formas also has two cassettes I haven't heard to date.

One of the many Rock Andaluz albums from Spain during the late 70s and early 80s, which Triana had popularized to great success starting in 1975. It can be argued that Formas isn't progressive rock at all, but rather straight up Flamenco rock, with short, compact tunes. The irregular rhythms, hand claps, synthesizer,s and Arabian voices add an exotic flair, and I personally find this style of music highly appealing. This is a second tier work for the style, but a good one all the same, and it's too bad the album missed the first wave of CD reissues coming out of Spain in the 1990s. As with most Spanish albums, it features fetching art work.

Priority: 2

3/18/11 (new entry); 12/7/24 (complete)

Granmax ~ USA ***REISSUED***

A Ninth Alive. 1976 Panama
Kiss Heaven Goodbye. 1978 Panama

***Both albums reissued by Cult Metal Classics (2024)

UMR review

Priority: 2

9/16/24 (new entry / reissue complete)

Tonic ~ Germany ***REISSUED***

This Way. 1980 Peak

***Reissued by Golden Core (Jul 2024)

UMR review

Priority: 2

7/28/09 (new entry); 7/19/24 (complete)

Strongbow ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Strongbow. 1975 Southwind

***Reissued by ProgAOR Jun 2024

I didn't get a chance to feature this fine hard rock / AOR album. The CD doesn't include either track from their excellent 1973 single, but does have three other bonus tracks.

Priority: 3

7/1/24 (new entry / complete)

Joachim Kuhn ~ Germany ***REISSUED***

Joachim Kuhn - Cinemascope. 1974 MPS

There may be other titles to consider but I haven't investigated further

***Reissued by Belle Antique Jul 2024

UMR review

Priority: 3

11/6/09; 6/9/24 (complete)