Back On My Hill is the title of the second album by German symphonic band Faithful Breath. Despite their 1973 debut album having been hailed in some quarters as a masterpiece, it was 1980 before the follow-up saw the light of day. Bass player Horst Stabenow quit in 1975, only to return to the band a couple of years later. In the interim, Jurgen Renfordt had been recruited as lead vocalist during 1976. The self-released single Back On My Hill, backed with Stick In Your Eyes, was released in May 1977 shortly before Stabenow's return. The new 5-piece recorded the remainder of the album in January 1978, but much legal wrangling delayed its release for a further two years.
The music on this album consists of highly melodic rock sung in English, nicely orchestrated and firmly grounded in the symphonic tradition. Certainly it's not as deep as the band's first album, with the Zeitgeist clearly having influenced the four short songs that open the album. In fact, all four of these songs plus the bonus track were released as singles in one form or another. However the epic Judgement Day had been in the band's repertoire since 1974, and at almost 17 minutes is a fully developed symphonic piece. ~seventhsojourn | ~progarchives.com
