Legendary German hard rock/prog band Epitaph is scheduled to release its first studio album in the United States in over 20 years with Remember The Daze (due June 26th from MVD Audio). The new twelve-song album features founding members Cliff Jackson on vocals and guitars and Bernd Kolbe on bass along with two long-time band members, guitarist Heinz Glass and drummer Achim Wilert-Poret.

Formed during the winter of 1969/1970 by British vocalist and songwriter Jackson along with bassist Kolbe and drummer Jim McGillivary, Epitaph took its early cue from the fledgling prog-rock movement, especially the music of Yes and Colosseum. Adding a second guitarist in Klaus Walz, this line-up recorded two albums: the band’s self-titled debut (1971), and Stop, Look & Listen a year later.

McGillivary had left the band by the time of 1973’s Outside The Law, and with new drummer Achim Wilert-Poret in the fold, the band pursued a heavier rock direction. Influenced by Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, Epitaph incorporated its undeniable progressive roots and instrumental skills into creating a sound that today might be considered prog-metal.

Unfortunately, Epitaph was signed to the independent Billingsgate for its US releases and the label went belly-up after the release of Outside The Law, tying up the band’s music in bankruptcy purgatory. Stranded during a 1974 tour of the United States, the band was forced to sell its gear to return home and, in 1975 with no label and seemingly no future, Epitaph disbanded.

However, in 1977 Jackson unveiled a new Epitaph line-up that featured himself and guitarist Heinz Glass, and a couple of years later the “new” Epitaph released Return To Reality. Working with a full band, including a keyboardist, Epitaph moved further towards a melodic hard rock sound, playing off the six-string chemistry shared by guitarists Jackson and Glass. The band released See You In Alaska in 1980 and, met with overall commercial indifference, once again disbanded. A lone live album featuring Jackson and Glass would be released in 1981.

Taking one more shot at the brass ring, Jackson appealed to original Epitaph members Kolbe and Walz and, along with former drummer Norbert “Panzer” Lehmann, recorded the band’s swansong, Danger Man, which was released in 1982. Although commercially unsuccessful at the time, the album later became an influence on many New Wave of British Metal bands and is an important early example of the combination of prog-rock and heavy metal. Epitaph members would go onto other bands, frontman Jackson to Kingdom and Domain before launching his own Cliff Jackson Band and, later, Cliff Jackson & the Crazy Cats.

Through the years Epitaph had played a number of one-off “reunion” shows, even releasing Live The 21st Century Show as a limited edition CD for fans in 2001. That live line-up – featuring Jackson, Glass, Kolbe and Wilert-Poret – is the same that recorded the band’s “comeback,” Remember The Daze. Featuring the band’s first acoustic song, the lush, intricate “Ships (In The Dark),” the album spotlights the individual member’s instrumental talents. “East Of The Moon” kicks off with Raga-like guitars intertwining to create a mesmerizing sound while “Evermore” shows a rich prog-pop sound that would appeal to any fan of melodic rock.         

Thirty-seven years in the making, Remember The Daze will go a long way towards cementing Epitaph’s reputation as one of the more innovative and underrated “Krautrock” bands from the ‘70s/80s and will perhaps earn them the larger US audience they’ve long deserved.

Click here to go to a great Epitaph fan site with rare photos and an annotated discography of the band.

(Click on CD cover to order Remember The Daze from Amazon.com)