After two unsuccessful albums (Arktis and Arktis Tapes) and the band’s break-up in 1975, singer Karin Töppig and drummer Harry Kottek decided to carry on with new musicians, as they had already composed a number of new tracks for their next album. This came as a surprise, as the duo had played no active role as songwriters on the two previous albums. Together with guitarist Manni Dick, keyboardist Axel Maurer and Bernd Kolf on drums, they recorded the third Arktis LP in 1976, now as a quintet, at the Tonstudio am Dom in Cologne. It was once again self-financed and self-released, this time in a tiny print run of just 250 copies.

Musically, the album On The Rocks is less psychedelic, instead it is significantly more driving and harder, leaning more towards mainstream heavy rock, characterised by Manni Dick’s virtuoso, Hendrix-inspired lead guitar playing and Karin Töppig’s versatile vocals. The band went down even worse with this private press LP than with their two predecessors: despite the support of the legendary producer and sound engineer Conny Plank, the third and final studio album fell completely into oblivion. Of the already small print run, most copies were used for promotional purposes and only a few were sold. The small remainder vanished completely into private collections.