May Blitz sounds like the exact moment the peace-and-love dream of the sixties curdled into something heavier and more dangerous. It is the sound of a power trio firing on all cylinders, where the blues foundation is stretched thin by psychedelic exploration and then hammered flat by proto-metal aggression. The guitar work is jagged and unpredictable, often dissolving into feedback-laced freakouts that feel genuinely unhinged.
What truly sets them apart is the rhythm section, specifically Tony Newman's drumming. Unlike the steady thud of many hard rock contemporaries, Newman brings a frantic, jazz-adjacent energy that keeps the songs leaning forward, almost threatening to outrun themselves. The production is thick with the characteristic 'Vertigo Swirl' warmth, making the bass feel like a physical weight in the room while the cymbals shimmer through a haze of analog tape saturation.
Start with their 1970 self-titled debut. It captures the band at their most potent, balancing tight, heavy riffs with the kind of expansive, improvisational spirit that defined the best of the UK underground. It is essential listening for anyone who thinks they've heard everything the early 70s had to offer.
May Blitz was a Canadian-British hard rock power trio that was active in the early 1970s. The group was formed in 1969 by bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keith Baker, the rhythm section of the blues-rock trio Bakerloo, both of whom left the group when guitarist Clem Clempson departed to join Colosseum. Jamie Black joined the group on vocals and guitars but both Poole and Baker left the group before it recorded, Poole and Baker joining Vinegar Joe and Uriah Heep respectively. Black then added fellow Canadian Reid Hudson on bass and Tony Newman, who had played with Jeff Beck, The Hollies and Sounds Incorporated, on drums. After playing UK pubs, the group signed with Vertigo Records (in the US they were on Paramount Records) and released their debut album in 1970. A second album followed in early 1971, but due to lack of commercial success the trio disbanded in late 1971. Black and Hudson, both originally from Canada, returned to their native country while Newman joined Three Man Army, founded and led by the Gurvitz brothers, Adrian and Paul. Newman later went on to a long career as a session drummer, including for David Bowie, Donovan, and George Harrison, and others.
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); raspy, intense, raw (vocal style)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording, reverb heavy (production style)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); basement show, dive bar, festival (atmosphere)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); basement show, dive bar, festival (atmosphere)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording (production style)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); intense, restless, rebellious (moods)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording (production style)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); raspy, intense, raw (vocal style)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); basement show, dive bar, festival (atmosphere)
Shares hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording (production style)
Shares blues rock, progressive rock, raw, psychedelic rock (subgenre)
Shares blues rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock (subgenre)
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