Product Details

Released on January 16, 1968, Vincebus Eruptum is the deafening, high-volume debut LP by American power trio Blue Cheer. Widely cited as ground zero for heavy metal, proto-metal, and stoner rock, the album features a raw, distorted blues-rock sound driven by heavy fuzz bass, crashing drums, and shrieking guitar. Track list and Musical Style The record consists of just six tracks—split evenly between blistering original compositions by bassist/vocalist Dickie Peterson and blown-out, aggressive covers of blues and rock standards: Side One: "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran cover)"Rock Me Baby" (B.B. King blues standard)"Doctor Please" (Original)Side Two: "Out of Focus" (Original)"Parchment Farm" (Mose Allison/Bukka White style cover)"Second Time Around" (Original)Legacy and Impact The Sound: Produced by Abe "Voco" Kesh, the band used cranked Marshall amps and massive fuzz boxes to capture a distortion-heavy attack that contemporaries described as loud enough to "turn the air into cottage cheese". Commercial Success: Their frantic, distorted cover of "Summertime Blues" became a major hit single, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the LP itself reached number 11 on the Billboard 200.Genre Blueprint: While arriving during the tail end of the 1960s psychedelic and "Summer of Love" era in San Francisco, Blue Cheer traded smooth harmony for unhinged speed, chaos, and volume—foreshadowing heavy metal, grunge, and punk decades ahead of their time.