To most rock bands in communist Romania, having an album-recording career was more a matter of chance than design. With every cultural move under strict control by the regime's Securitate (an organ that acted both as political police and censorship bureau) and a single state-sanctioned record label for all of the country (Electrecord), you'd have to cut your teeth in a vastly underdeveloped live circuit before holding any aspirations of getting your songs recorded (by national radio, in most cases, as there weren't any record facilities you could book or anything), and there would still be quite a way to go before being allowed by the dictatorship to have your songs pressed on vinyl. With all that said, Bucharest's hopefuls Kripton (still spelled with an 'I" instead of the 'Y' of later efforts) sure worked had to get there, including a prestigious slot on Cenaclul Flacara, a cultural event with music and poetry (something of a primitive local version of Loolapalooza, perhaps?) that would make regular tours all over Romania.
The group made its debut on vinyl in 1985, with no less than four songs on the "Formaţii Rock 7" compilation - a yearly release that would highlight the most promising rock acts of the country, though the 'rock' tag should be taken with a pinch of salt here. Their sound was a bit closer to indie/new wave rock back then, though there were perceivable elements of prog and a healthy dose of heaviness added to the mix - a formula that sounds quite oddball at times, but yields mostly interesting results in this particular case. It was a promising start, but it took nearly three more years until Electrecord finally offer the boys the chance of a proper LP to call their own, and their style of choice had changed significantly in the meantime. Eugen Mihăescu (V/G/K) took full responsibility for songwriting duties, and with a little help from his friends Dragos Docan (B), Cristian Sandu (G) and Nicolae Dinescu (D) he came out with "30 Minute". True to his word, the LP runs for exactly thirty minutes, and shows that Kripton wanted to fight hard - if not exactly heavy - for its chance to shine.
Let's make it clear: "30 Minute" is a pleasant enough hard rock album. Not the most exciting and breathtaking piece of sheer creativity ever written, that's for sure - and not the heaviest music ever commited to vinyl as well. Still, it has its moments, with some good heavy rocking riffs and reasonably well-crafted songs, although Mihăescu's voice is less-than-impressive, to be honest. He does a good job on guitar, though, and the other guys don't let us down on the instrumental side of things - especially Dragos Docan, still shy on the composition front, but already delivering the goods as an efficient and resourceful bass player.
"Prietena Mea" is an adequate enough opening track, whereas "Treizeci de Minute" (nearly a title-track) and "Ploaia" are truly nice, dynamic songs well worth of a listen, especially the latter, my favorite tune on the album by quite a margin. "Fetele Cu Ochii Verzi" and "Poveste Cu Un Clown" seem to have been significant hits in Romania back on the day, but they sound a bit too derivative and uninteresting to my ears, even though the first one is a fair enough attempt to create an Whitesnake-style hard rocking ditty and may be serviceable if you're in the right frame of mind. Of the remaining songs, I think that "Ora Tarzie" is a nice choice to close proceedings, with a whistlable chorus and a good guitar lead, but "Adeseori" (the one who sounds closer to Kripton's original input) and "Tatiana" won't set any pulses racing, I'm afraid, both rating pitifully low on my personal Metalomether.
All things considered, "30 Minute" is a record that plays safe and avoid making any waves, that including some pretty generic, light-hearted lyrics - something that is perfectly understandable when you consider that a more 'dangerous' or 'risqué' approach could prompt Securitate to not only pull the plug on their career, but also send some of the guys to jail. Nevertheless, it's a bit surprising that they would continue their career with albuns such as "Fara Teama" and "Lanturile", as Kripton's first offering is more than comfortable to sail on accessible waters - as they would do in a bafflingly unashamed way not so many years later, but let's leave this touchy subject for another moment. Whatever the case, "30 Minute" is quite an important release for Romanian's rock legacy, an album that left its mark and paved the way for many exciting (and musically very relevant) things to come. Thirty minutes of your time - that's what this album asks, and I reckon it's fair enough.
Eugen Mihăescu (V/G/K), Cristian Sandu (G/V), Dragos Docan (B/V), Nicolae Dinescu (D).
01. Prietena Mea (My Girlfriend) (Mihăescu) 2:40
02. Treizeci de Minute (30 Minutes) (Mihăiescu) 3:26
03. Ploaia (Rain) (Mihăescu) 4:20
04. Adeseori (All the Time) (Mihăescu / Virgil Carianopol) 4:00
05. Fetele Cu Ochii Verzi (Girls With Green Eyes) (Mihăescu) 3:46
06. Poveste Cu Un Clown (Story of a Clown) (Mihăescu / Stefan Doinas) 3:55
07. Tatiana (Mihăescu) 4:08
08. Ora Tarzie (Late At Night) (Mihăescu) 3:50
Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me at drequon@gmail.com and let me know!
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