Change has been the crucial issue for Albin Julius/Der Blutharsch during these last years. First he decided to change musical direction turning his martial industrial music into martial psychedelic rock. Then, he turned his project from a solo into a proper band, helped out by Marthynna, Jörg B. (of Graumadh), Bain Wolfkind (of Novo Homo and also with some releases under his own name). Now the time has come for a new change, I haven't understood if it's another change in direction or if THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE is the final chapter of Der Blutharsch. The key phrase is the one you can read on the rear cover: "Uniform are always changing, Rock'n'Roll is forever". What has this in common with the title? The philosopher's stone is a legendary substance, supposedly capable of turning inexpensive metals into gold; it was also sometimes believed to be a means of making people younger, if not making them immortal. For a long time it was the "holy grail" of Western alchemy. So, what's next for Albin Julius? We really can't guess. At the moment we have nine new tracks (one of them is an hidden one which starts at 13'54" of track eight) which have much in common with the ones of "When Did Wonderland End?" because of the rock psychedelic approach (there's the constant presence of driving guitar solos) and because of the rhythm section which hasn't a real drum but different percussions and a constant throbbing bass guitar. Most songs gave me the impression of a cavalry horse ride where speed up dark rock ballads find a new home. There's also space to some new experiments like the ones of the opening track (as usual tracks haven't titles) where synthetic rumbling noises are paired with psychedelic guitar solos an soon after an upbeat ballad starts. The opening part of track three, starts with a semi oriental loop while the hidden track is the most particular one as it has a little synth loop, some basic percussions and it is based on a spoken word. This is an album that needs a couple of spin to be appreciated. For being the final chapter of something I would had expected something more risky but THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE is an album you could enjoy.