Miguel García Baró Sócrates

Socrates - initially known by the more unwieldy moniker Socrates Drank the Conium - were one of the best-known Greek rock bands of the early to mid-‘70s, and one of the few to earn a reputation in the rest of the world. On their first three albums they pursued a tough but technically proficient brand of post-psychedelic hard rock that occasionally revealed a touch of prog influence, but on their 1976 release, Phos, the band underwent a major stylistic shift, and embraced those prog leanings with open arms. The main facilitator for this change was famed keyboardist Vangelis, whose prog ensemble Aphrodite's Child preceded Socrates as Greece's rock ambassadors to the wider world. Vangelis came on board as producer and keyboardist for Phos…

On The Wings is one of those records where you just have to shake your head in disbelief every time you listen to it, absolutely face-melting guitar work. Hard to believe this came out in 1973. Bands like Wishbone Ash were already doing full-on, well-composed intricate rock arrangements with two guitars and bass all playing something different (and both ably backed with excellent drummers), but this album predates and almost predicts the classical melodies later employed by bands such as Iron Maiden, though some of the tempos and changes are more manic than Maiden or any other NWOBHM band or any metal band up until Venom (though for a comparison of competency, Slayer would be a more apt reference point). The vocals sound almost strained at times, but it adds to the desperate power of these songs…