The German group Eloy, founded in Hanover in 1969, took its name from a futuristic race of humans featured in the book The Time Machine by the British author H.G. Wells. Alongside band leader Frank Bornemann (guitar, harmonica, percussion), the quintet consisted of Erich Schriever (vocals, keyboards), Manfred Wieczorke (guitar, bass, vocals), Wolfgang Stöcker (bass) and Helmuth Draht (drums). After winning a music competition, they first recorded a single in 1970, before recording their legendary debut album at Star Studio Hamburg a year later in April 1971. This was released by the major label Philips in July, in an extremely limited run of just 1,000 copies, exclusively in Germany.

In contrast to their subsequent mystical progressive space rock albums, which made them one of the most internationally successful German progressive rock bands, this LP is a special case. It features straightforward, bluesy hard rock with psychedelic undertones typical of the early 1970s, complete with powerful guitar riffs and extended solo passages, produced by Conny Plank. The eponymous album with its blues-based rock was released a few years too late, it sold poorly and vanished without a trace. Not even the deliberately provocative idea of a dirty trash can with a lid as the gimmick album cover could prevent this. However, the now-famous „dustbin cover“ undoubtedly plays a part in making Eloy’s debut album a highly sought-after mega-rarity these days.