Den Of Iniquity/Finding My Way Home/Everything You See (Mr Armageddon)/When I Come Down/Bourgeois/ Rabbits/Life Is So Unkind
Norman Haines was the keyboard player in the Birmingham progressive group Locomotive. He then formed his own band whose sole album release was Den Of Iniquity, after which they soon disbanded.
“This obscure heavy psych/progressive rock record is a nice totality even if it's not one of the strongest releases of either of those genres. The album has lots of solid guitar work and organ, and they've succeeded with the songwriting quite well. I guess Rabbits is the best part but the other songs are all more or less enjoyable.”
“Some really cool progressive rock, showcasing a nice lead guitar augmented with some nice wah-wah Hammond. A little psych and a little blues, but overall good prog rock.”
“The styles waver throughout the album, going from, proto-prog, psychedelia, jazzrock and even one track which is unadulterated folk. Yet, where many bands that have this ambivalence of generic styles, the Norman Haines band possess an overall ethos which binds the contrasting styles into one, cohesive whole.”
“This is a classic proto-prog and psychedelic minor masterpiece, with lengthy instrumental improvisations, great vocals and above all excellent melodies. An absolute must to all early prog fans.”
“Den Of Inquitywas the only album recorded by the band and was a dark and heavy affair with superb compositions that included a reworked version of Mr. Armageddon, the excellent title track and the epic thirteen minute long Rabbits. An excellent keyboard dominated progressive rock album.”
“Stylistically this is very diverse, and it takes awhile to get its sea legs. The title track and When I Come Down are the highlights of the first side. With side two we get a splendid near ten minute jam, that truly catches a groove and allows for some excellent guitar soloing over the tranced out organ led rhythms. Not lost is the longish electronic oriented piece with fuzz organ and electric piano that closes the album.”
“If you value quality music, you found it here. Passionate white blues with prog and psych, wrapped up in working class poetry, scorn, and music magnificence.”
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