Cardeilhac - Cardeilhac (Reissue) (1971/1996)

Taking their name from a French commune in Haute-Garonne, this Swiss five-piece, heavy progressive band comprised of Rinaldo Häusier (guitars), Denis Angelini (vocals), J-C. Balsinger (bass), Andrö Locher (organ/keyboards) and Gaston Balmer (drums).

Their brief early 70's existence resulted in only one studio album; their poorly produced 1971 eponymous debut, which clearly demonstrated a combined influence of heavy UK proto-prog bands such as Deep Purple with the typically Teutonic 70's hard rock sound, with progressive, and occasionally bluesy touches.

Locher's abilities in bringing the keyboards to the fore, will please fans of ELP, while the chunkier, heavy guitar will bring bands such as The Nice and even Uriah Heep to mind. Ultimately however, their music is considered to have produced little in the way of originality, and nothing is known of the musician's careers after the break up of the band.