Atomic Rooster
Death Walks Behind You
The proto-metal milestone the critic called hyperthyroid noise
Released in the UK in September 1970, Death Walks Behind You became Atomic Rooster's commercial breakthrough. A contemporary hostile review, alongside chart results with their dates.
The verdict at the time
Bangs attacked the record as "a lot of hyperthyroid noise", conceding nothing intrinsically wrong with noise but arguing the best rock noise rests on simple riffs and a big sound; he found Atomic Rooster predicated on technique-flaying that was seldom modest enough to be eloquent and ended up "generally shrill".
Chart peaks
European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.
Sources & context
One critic's opinion, summarised from Lester Bangs' Rolling Stone review of January 1971. The album is now recognised as a foundational proto-metal and heavy prog document, cited by Louder Sound, AllMusic and Prog Archives as a classic of the genre.
