Black Spirit

Salvatore Curto (keyboards, vocals)
Nicola Ceravolo (guitar)
Giovanni Granato (bass)
Gianni Piras (drums)

Like Atlantide, all the members of this band were italians working in Germany, in Volksburg, and their only album was just released in that country. Formed in 1970, they had their first concerts in 1971 with good success.

It was in 1973 that they decided to record a tape, just as a demo to work on to develop further ideas, but it was taken by their sound engineer Johnny Pesce when he left the group, and appeared some years later on LP, with no one in the band knowing about it!

Their superrare first and only album was issued in 1978 by the small and collectible Brutkasten label. The sleeve notes contain some mistakes, as Pesce is credited as drummer (he didn't play in the band and was only a sound technician) and the recordings are said to have made between 1969 and 1978 (they were made in 1973).
The album was mainly a hard rock affair in Black Sabbath style, sung in English and with some rock-blues influences, and very far from the typical Italian sound. For these reasons Black Spirit are commonly listed among German prog artists.

Black Spirit kept playing until 1978, changing a few drummers after Piras left the group in 1974, and with many concerts especially in the Hamburg area. Around 1974 they even played in Denmark and Norway.
After the break-up bass player Granato returned to Sicily, drummer Piras stayed in Germany to play, while Ceravolo and Curto moved to Norway.
In this country, singer/keyboardist Salvatore Curto released in 1983 a tape album entitled Ritmo dell'amore, in a disco/pop style.

LP
Black Spirit	Brutkasten (850 006) - Germany	1978	gatefold cover
	Kissing Spell (KSLP 9439) - UK	1994	reissue of the above with different single cover
CD
Black Spirit	Ohrwaschl (OW 023) - Germany	1993	reissue of 1978 album

Black Spirit was originally issued by the German Brutkasten label, a small record company that has only made a handful of albums in the late 70's.
The album was housed in a gatefold cover and is now very hard to find and expensive, it was pressed in 1500 copies.

A vinyl reissue came out on the English Kissing Spell label in 1994, with a single cover with different design.
The only reissue still available today is on CD, by the German label Ohrwaschl.

Black Spirit - original LP and label

Black Spirit - reissue LP

Promotional photos

Promotional picture
with norwegian management address

Thanks to Giovanni Granato and Salvatore Curto for information and pictures of Black Spirit.