Horslips - Aliens (1977)

The seventh album from this Irish band.

Horslips was a quintet with a lineup of bodhran, guitars, bass, drums, fiddle, concertina, mandolin, flute, tin whistle, keyboards and vocals.

This band started out as a folk rock band on their first albums. They were indeed one of the first folk rock bands from Ireland and the most known of them.

Thin Lizzy had also made it out of Ireland with their mix of heavy rock and Irish folk rock. Most heavy rock, it has to be said. Why do I drag Thin Lizzy into this review ? Because Horslips had now moved on from their folk rock formula and onto something else.

There is a lot of Thin Lizzy in their music. Just listen to the opening full track The Wrath Of The Rain and you get a full on Thin Lizzy riffs. And the vocals are also at times in Phil Lynott modus.

There is also some Jethro Tull lurking around on this album and some country'n'western..... and some folk rock. Irish folk rock.

The music is pretty much standard rock with the influences listed above incorporated. The band had moved on, indeed.....

This is not one of their classic albums and I doubts their fans would rate this album. They would probably rather forget it. But it is still a decent album and not a total waste of forty minutes. There is some good things on this album too. Check it out.

2.5 points