Apocalypse ‘The Spirit’

Shindig! writer STEVE KRAKOW has unearthed a rather special demo from his native city Chicago’s mid-70s prog-rock scene

The Castle is 38 minutes of pure prog-rock magic: male/female harmonies, violin, mellotron and fuzzed-out guitars/keys. It was recorded in 1976 as a demo by Windy City band Apocalypse. In the words of Krakow: “Apocalypse used their double-neck guitars to create chamber prog suites about faraway castles. With their lenghty and tuneful musical odysseys, their music conjures the golden mid-70s progressive period of Renaissance, Soft Machine, ELP, Gentle Giant and Genesis.”

Although this five-song, 38-minute demo was an amazing showcase for the collective progressive rock leanings of Apocalypse, The Castle remained an unreleased artefact until 2021 when the reel-to-reel master tape of the presumably long-lost relic was rediscovered by band member Michael Salvatori in a dusty old basement storage bin.

The band consisted of brothers Tom and Michael Salvatori along with Michael’s wife Gail Salvatori and Tom’s classmate Scott Magnesen.

Buy Apocalypse’s Castle here. For more on Out-Sider music visit their site.