(KrautRock) Paternoster - Paternoster (1972) Austria - 1972, FLAC (tracks+.cue)

Legendary, rare, dark & doomy progressive/psychedelic artifact that was recorded in Austria, 1972, and released on CBS (!) records (catalogue LP CBS 64958), original copies of which now trade hands for up to EUR 1500. Paternoster originated from Vienna, and existed for only two years in the early 70s, disbanding after the release of this album of sinister heavy psych with savage guitar, doomy keys and howling vocals. This 2004 reissue on the Ohrwaschl label sounds superb, faithfully reproducing the contents of the original LP without any added "bonus" material. Please enjoy this dark progressive, psychedelic masterpeice.

The Reviews
Review 1:
Upon throwing this record on, I was immediately drawn into a dark, vivid opera clad with churchesque organs(creating a nice and almost ironic accompaniment to the album's recurrent theme of religious skepticism), howling, throat-burning vocalizations and a hint of krautrock influenced basslines. The first track of Paternoster's self-titled 1972 album, 'Paternoster' begins with a Latin chant that progresses into a frustrated, poetic recitation over the consistent drones of a church organ, soon becoming a short jam that sounds like the Doors drowning underwater(trust me, this description fits it). The following tracks live up to the album's initiation with the exception of Old Danube, which seems blatantly misplaced.
The album gracefully closes with the clever 'Mammoth Opus O, whose last 25 seconds deliver one of the most memorable conclusions to an album in the history of Progressive or Psychedelic rock in that it concludes the album with a sudden shift to a light sound that seems to literally laugh at the listener out of complete insanity. It is almost indispensable that every Progrock collector hears this album for its beautiful themes and elements that are guaranteed to provide a moving experience.

Review 2:
Rather unknown from a large audience, Paternoster is in the leading line of the strangest krautrock bands which appeared during the 70’s. This Austrian quartet released only one album in its whole career, supporting an effective, brilliant depressive heavy “psych” rock sound. The “church” like organ sequences are beautifully ethereal, the guitar parts are totally freak out and the singer is near to commit suicide. The opening composition offers a “garage” bluesy rock improvisation with “vintage” organ interludes. “Stop this line” is a claustrophobic, intoxicated track supported by plaintive organ / guitar duets and a tortured voice…my favourite despite that the voice is sometime difficult to support. “Blind Children” is an other desperate composition closed to the previous one. The "pope is wrong" is really near to the psych / weird experiences of early krautrock. A negative mood prevails all along this album, it remains an avenue of agonised expressions…those who have a “melancholic” temper should avoid this one. The album remains a distinctive & unforgotten musical experience.
“Morning peace dusty air / Clean your teeth and comb your hair Dressed in clothes you always wear / Go to work I won’t be there Lunchtime snackbar eating chips / Ketchup’s running down your lips Deadeyed waiters selling bibs / Which you have to fix with clips Sitting waiting find an end / Meaningless with no comment Is this life in your own hand / People are like grains of sand” Imagine these lines sung by a guy that sounds as if his only motivation in life is the fact that he can commit suicide whenever he chooses. The supporting music is heavy, slow paced, melancholic and dominated by the organ. That is Paternoster. This is truly a concept album about misery. The lyrics all deal with misery in one form or another; the misery of modern life, like in the lines quoted, the pollution destroying the environment and the oppressive dogmas of the pope (in the brilliantly titled “The Pope is Wrong”). The music is not that complex (only organ in addition to the usual bass, drums and guitar) and the musicians are not exactly King Crimson material. Still, it is a very good album with a rough underground charm to it (if you like the pessimistic approach).

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 4 from 23. January 2008

EAC extraction logfile from 3. September 2008, 11:23

Paternoster / Paternoster

Used drive : Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-7200S Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Installed external ASPI interface
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 192 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
---------------------------------------------------------
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:56.25 | 0 | 17724
2 | 3:56.25 | 3:34.00 | 17725 | 33774
3 | 7:30.25 | 6:57.37 | 33775 | 65086
4 | 14:27.62 | 6:16.10 | 65087 | 93296
5 | 20:43.72 | 4:15.72 | 93297 | 112493
6 | 24:59.69 | 6:02.03 | 112494 | 139646
7 | 31:01.72 | 8:54.07 | 139647 | 179703

Track 1

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\PT\My Documents\Rips\Paternoster - Paternoster (1972){2004, Ohrwaschl OW-004, Germany}\01 - Paternoster.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC C8936CE4
Copy CRC C8936CE4
Copy OK

Track 2

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\PT\My Documents\Rips\Paternoster - Paternoster (1972){2004, Ohrwaschl OW-004, Germany}\02 - Realization.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.46

Peak level 98.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 3F8540ED
Copy CRC 3F8540ED
Copy OK

Track 3

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\PT\My Documents\Rips\Paternoster - Paternoster (1972){2004, Ohrwaschl OW-004, Germany}\03 - Stop These Lines.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.56

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 26533BCC
Copy CRC 26533BCC
Copy OK

Track 4

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\PT\My Documents\Rips\Paternoster - Paternoster (1972){2004, Ohrwaschl OW-004, Germany}\04 - Blind Children.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.65

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC ACEC875F
Copy CRC ACEC875F
Copy OK

Track 5

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\PT\My Documents\Rips\Paternoster - Paternoster (1972){2004, Ohrwaschl OW-004, Germany}\05 - Old Danube.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:00.32

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 60B3AC75
Copy CRC 60B3AC75
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Track 6

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\PT\My Documents\Rips\Paternoster - Paternoster (1972){2004, Ohrwaschl OW-004, Germany}\06 - The Pope Is Wrong.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.54

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 322AD3B5
Copy CRC 322AD3B5
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Track 7

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\PT\My Documents\Rips\Paternoster - Paternoster (1972){2004, Ohrwaschl OW-004, Germany}\07 - Mammoth Opus O.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.21

Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 2CE89807
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No errors occurred

End of status report