Epidaurus -

Epidaurus was a German symphonic-rock band that self-released the album Earthly Paradise in 1977. Three of the members later regrouped in the band Choice.

Members: Christiane Wand (vocals), Heinz Kunert (bass, percussion), Manfred Struck (drums, percussion), Volker Oehmig (drums, percussion), Günther Henne (Hammond organ, Mellotron, piano), Gerd Linke (Hammond organ, Mellotron, piano, synthesizer)

Background

Epidaurus formed in 1975 in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen. The band took its name from a city in ancient Greece. Keyboardist Günter Henne and drummer Manfred Struck hailed from the early ’70s jam-psych band Teraohm, which disbanded after their equipment was stolen. The pair had earlier played in psych-rockers The Strong. The two acts are respectively comped on volumes 9 and 10 of the Psychedelic Gems series, the first of those featuring the Teraohm track “Electric Journey” (13:11).

Bassist Heinz Kunert had several writer/arranger credits on singles by The Guy Gollasch Combo and Pentagon. Vocalist Christiane Wand and multi-instrumentalist Gerd Linke were newcomers to the scene.

Earthly Paradise

Earthly Paradise was self-issued by Epidaurus in 1977. It contains five medium-length songs, including:

“Mitternachtstraum” (6:04) – 5/4 electro-bass loop in Dm; high-pitched Mini Moog theme; frosty undercurrents of Mellotron; phased bridge.
“Andas” (6:16) – Classical piano intro, wheezing/oscillating Moog takeover; brisk, galloping, syncopated ensemble section in Em with rapidfire toms and Leslied organ; washes of Moog, Mellotron; interjections of flexatone, vibraslap, Clavinet, wah-wah guitar.
“Silas Marner” (7:48) – Pt. 1: Pastoral symphonic-folk instrumental: acoustic picking, flute, ocean sounds | Pt. 2: brisk Mellotron-laden passage in Dm, high-pitched female vocals | Pt. 1 reprise.
“Wings of the Dove” (5:08) – Choppy organ-rock intro in Gm; open-cadence piano/Mellotron passage in Cm; galloping bass-driven passage with Moog solo; jerky 7/8 passage in Am with multi-layered Mellotron, Moog; sequence of ascending toccatas; reprise of first movement.

Henne and Linke are both credited with organ, Mellotron, Mini Moog, Clavinet, and piano. The band are augmented on this recording by second drummer/percussionist Volker Oehmig, who’s also credited with the spherical cover design. Musically, the tracks mine symphonic/space-rock territory similar to Eloy and Novalis.

Later Activity

Linke, Henne, and Kunert subsequently teamed in Choice, which issued the album Just a Dream on Rocktopus in 1980. That recording was engineered by Struck, who also notched tech credits on albums by Minotaurus, Rousseau, Billy Cobham, and a host of German pop acts. Linke proceeded to Deutsch-rockers Herne 3, which issued four albums between 1982 and 1986. Oehmig produced and played on recordings by assorted Neue Deutsche Welle acts (Vorgruppe, Disque Omo), sometimes under the nicknames Rabbit and Zeppo.

Earthly Paradise was first reissued in 1991 by archivists Penner Records. It has since been issued multiple times on Garden of Delights and the band’s own Epidaurus Music label. In 1995, Epidaurus returned with the self-issued CD …Endangered.

Discography: