We’re digging deep into the archives for this one. Azitis was a psychedelic rock band from Sacramento, originally formed as “Help” in 1966, but they had to change the name for legal reasons because of a British band by the same name. The band’s name was taken from the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done on earth ‘azitis’ in heaven.”
Having come up through the late 60s garage rock scene, by the time they recorded their debut, there was a plethora of original material to choose from. They recorded their first, and seemingly only, full-length for Sacramento’s local label Elco Records in 1971. Since they could no longer call the band by their chosen name, they branded the debut album Help instead. It is one of the earliest ‘hard rock’ albums to feature Christian-themed lyrics, and has become a staple of the cultish Christian Psych genre, a deep treasure trove for those willing to seek out the hundreds of titles in that field.
“Time Has Passed” is a great selection from the album with its instantly recognizable riff and use of the classic Azitis formula of fuzzed out guitars mixed with heavy psychedelic organ. While the band would soon disappear, they re-emerged with a follow-up album nearly 40 years later called Window Into It.
I am indebted to https://psychedelic-rocknroll.blogspot.com/2009/06/azitis-help-psychedelic-christian-rock.html for the background information on this release.
If you like Azitis, you might like my radio show. Jesus Revolution. Check it out on SoundCloud. soundcound.com/jeani-bond or Mixcloud mixcloud.com/jbondkey