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@Elvin – I love that chapter by Geb. One of my favourites in the book. He's so straightforward and doesn't pull punches. Personally I like BH/BC a lot – both discs. As for TM etc., I was, of course, just having a laugh, but also I guess trying to point out that some people might actually find the later albums fine but the earlier ones overdone – in some respects it's just a matter of personal taste.
I love what Geb wrote in his piece on Black Hole / Blank Canvas for the Supersonic Scientists book. It could be relevant to any of their albums:
Quote:But damn it – can't they ever try brevity? I'm left with a feeling of exhaustion; this is just way too much motorpsychosis for me. It sounds like the box set version of Black Hole / Blank Canvas, with every outtake and demo they had lying about. The box set that should've come out years later. I can imagine a 40 minute version of this album – a stone cold classic. But that just wouldn't be Motorpsycho.Is anybody here ready to start talking about all the filler on Demon Box, Timothy's Monster, Blissard, AADAP, and Trust Us? I mean, how much better would TM have been if it was just Giftland, Watersound, The Wheel, Sungravy, and The Golden Core? All the rest of the stuff could then have just been released on EPs every month or two. How does that sound? Yep … sounds like the worst idea ever doesn't it. :twisted: :lol: :lol:
I’ve held back a while before sharing my thoughts on this album, simply because, as others have said, it pays to give a new MP album some time to sink in. Furthermore, in this particular case, I really have had trouble making my mind up about it.
Although it’s been widely reported as a rock album punctuated by some folk(y) tunes, to me it could quite as easily be a folk album punctuated by some rock tunes. So here we are again with another Motorpsycho album that defies pigeonholing, another Motorpsycho album that contains tunes that could be categorized as belonging to various genres – just like Demon Box, Timothy’s Monster, Blissard and more. Moreover, the album, to my ears, definitely does not feel stuck in the same space as the Gullvag trilogy; it sounds like something different, something new to me.
Prior to the album’s release, and for some while now, I expressed how much I’d like to see Motorpsycho put out something that mixes acoustic folk with electric rock – something along the lines of Led Zeppelin III, After the Goldrush, Rust Never Sleeps, If I Could Only Remember My Name, Déjà Vu – and here we are with Kingdom of Oblivion, which perfectly fulfils that wish. However, I am yet to feel the disparate tracks fit together as a cohesive whole – in my listening there’s still a little dissonance between the Black Box tracks and the Kommun tracks. Slowly, though, they approach each other in the space between my ears and become less and less like two albums mashed together. Gradually, they take on the appearance of one.
And gradually I become more and more appreciative of each track. Strangely, though, it is the one track I expected to be an immediate winner (The Transmutation of Cosmoctopus Lurker) that has become the last to really grab me. This is probably due to the prog-metal-style soloing and because this is perhaps the track that, to my cloth ears, suffers worst from the lack of dynamics. In fact the lack of dynamics (a subject for which I don’t really have the technical knowledge but which I feel when I listen) is the only issue I have with the album, but it’s a serious issue and I hope they never go that way again.
As for the soloing, as usual with Snah, even when he plays in the style of another genre, or even another guitarist, it’s just Snah widening his palette and in the end, all I hear is the Snah essence behind it all – the divine Snah Godhead shining through. 😊
All in all this has been a harder album for me to get into than any of the three previous studio outings, but that’s not a problem, just a challenge and one I’m happy to take on – I mean, who among us wouldn’t be pleased to have to suffer a challenging MP album? 😉
Favourite tracks (at the moment): Kingdom Of Oblivion; Lady May; At Empire’s End; The Hunt
Quote:the solo comes some way close to Dream TheaterYeah, this is a real shame as far as I'm concerned. I can't stand those types of solos – all notes and no soul. It's off-putting to hear Snah play like that and making it harder for me to get into the Lurker.
EDIT: OK, I've listened to this a couple more times and, as stated, the solo comes some way close to DT, but – ever so thankfully – doesn't reach there. I'm finally beginning to open to this track and discover its delights.
Negative review:
Quote:To start with an advisory. If you are already a fan of Norwegian psychedelic prog rockers Motorpsycho then it might be best to just skip the rest of this review and just buy Kingdom of Oblivion upon its release. You’re probably gonna like it.Having only released their last album (The All Is One) in 2020, Motorpsycho made good use of the lack of distractions due to the ongoing pandemic and devoted their time and effort to finishing Kingdom of Oblivion. The album having been already partly recorded during the same sessions as the previous record.
With their 30 years of musical experience, Motorpsycho have experimented with nearly every genre, with this release their initial motivation was to create ‘a pure hard rock record’ that harked back to their roots of ‘crunching guitars, roaring bass and the sheer mayhem of unhinged drumming’. The Waning Pt.1&2 is a good start with a fuzzy, stoner riff straight off Kyuss’s Blues for the Red Sun. The vocal style doesn’t quite match, being a little too harmonised and choral for my liking but taken as a whole, it’s not a bad track. The title track is up next and again it kicks off with a meaty riff, before wavering a bit in the middle before being saved with some nice guitar work towards the end.
The press release states that ‘Kingdom Of Oblivion became much more…as other lighter influences slipped in alongside the big riff backbone’ and this is where it starts to lose me. Lady May 1 drew a disappointed sigh as it goes heavy on the folky medieval vibe, with flutes, acoustic strumming, and even more stylized vocal harmonies. From then on, more and more elements from different musical genres are thrown into the literal mix, to the point where their increase was directly linked to the decrease in my interest. They cover The Watcher (featuring The Crimson Eye), a Hawkwind track penned by Lemmy and also released by Motorhead, sounds like it has potential! No, it is five minutes that would be better spent making a cup of tea! Likewise, the trio of Atet, After the Fair and the closing Cormorant are pointless 2–3-minute instrumental interludes that just underline the importance of the ‘Skip to Next Track’ button. To be honest the compulsion to press that button became increasingly hard to resist the longer I listened to this album, which was a shame, because there were a few moments in there where they did attract my attention. The riff that kicks in at the 1m 20secs mark of The Transmutation Of Cosmoctopus Lurker (Rob Zombie eat your heart out!) is great, but it’s an all too brief highlight in the ten minute plus track.
If you are a Motorpsycho fan and have ignored my advisory at the start of this review, then I imagine you will strongly disagree with everything I have just written. Fair enough, I did warn you.Â
2/5
Trsnslated from Italian:
Quote:From the prolific Norwegians you can always expect everything: from the unripe noise rock beginnings , the band then went through a myriad of genres in the course of an endless discography.If the last three works were oriented on a reinterpretation of progressive rock of the 70s, with this new work the three musicians return to touch more exquisitely hard-rock territories, while remaining with their feet firmly planted in the seventies.
Already from the first three tracks you can sense the goodness of this new work: from the melodic hard ride of the opener (divided into two parts, one more energetic, the other more psychedelic), passing through the more stoner sounds of the title track, up to the freak-folk of "Lady May 1", the trio always manages to convince, thanks to over thirty years of experience. The two leaders are absolute protagonists through convincing riff walls, inspired solos and excellent vocal melodies and very little is left to the drummer, who just accompanies without too many jolts.
The doom, the less modern one and closer to the black sand, peeps out in "The United Debased" and the song is paradigmatic of the band's sound transformation, which never manages to be too obvious, constantly shuffling the cards on the table.
The cover of "The Watcher" is interesting, almost a tribute to Lemmy , being the only song of the historic "Doremi Fasol Latido" by Hawkwind written by the future leader of Motörhead: the version of ours, however, is decidedly more psychedelic, experimental and ghostly of the original. "Dreamkiller" starts as a delicious and ideal soundtrack of a common freak of the late 60s, and then gives vent to a very heavy riff, torn by mellotron inserts and then returns to the initial sounds, while "Atet" is a short instrumental excursus with folk connotations.
The album then continues with "At Empire's End", an excellent example of psychedelic progressive-folk, the Tullian "The Hunt", the edgy "The Transmutation Of Cosmoctopus Lurker" (which may recall the first Anekdoten) and the dark and dreamy "Cormorant".
If after three decades creativity is still at these levels, we just have to bow in front of Motorpsycho , one of the most credible retro-rock bands in the whole scene.
8.5/10
Translated from Norwegian:
Quote:MotorpsychoKingdom of Oblivion
The beard is still growing
Jøssenam … Here they are again! Just when you felt that you had got a grip on the recently completed trilogy of Motorpsycho, this happens. More music! Is it possible??
Well, the fact that Motorpsycho has a high production speed should not really come as a surprise anymore. Now, as I said, they have recently completed a reasonably hefty and extensive project in their "Gullvåg trilogy", but here comes the raisin in the sausage.
The surplus project Kingdom of Oblivion is composed of a number of songs which for various reasons did not fit on the three previous albums, but which admittedly bear clear similarities. We're talking about guitar hero riffing, rolling fuzz bass, acoustic adventures, fine vocal harmonies and a good portion of what must now be called typical motor psycho-singing (You know, the way they do. For example here in 'the united debased': "Dreaming of freedom but LIVING AFRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIDDD â€).
In short, one can conclude that even though the album cover is now adorned by another artist (Sverre Malling), they rock in the same way as on the previous albums.
Interludes and shorter acoustic tracks connect the longer songs in a roller coaster of music and adventure, and you basically get the feeling that you are following a kind of timeline through the album.
The biggest difference between the three previous albums and Kingdom of Oblivion is that this album is a little easier to digest. Here you will find no 20-minutes-plus-plus epic mammoth songs in the center of the album. However, they are now not radio-friendly. Half of the tracks extend upwards towards the 10-minute mark, and are consequently characterized by fiery riffs, up to several guitar solos, as well as longer jams with organ and mellotron and flutes and strings and whathaveyounot with acid effects – often anchored in a suggestive bass riff.
In other words, the Motorpsycho grinder goes smoothly on a setting that can be described as:
"70s hard rock + Gandalf".
For there is one thing that strikes me when I listen to this summary raisin: Bent and Snah have over time gone from being young, exploratory psychonauts in astonishing search for new sonic adventures in a kaleidoscopic music world. They have moved here and there, done this and that, and have now gradually taken on / accepted the role as experienced veterans. They appear more and more like a bunch of wizards (hear me out) who stand there and tell fairy tales and cast magic and all that scheme there. Now it is they who control the trip. Away with naivety and uncertainty. Now they are the guides in this sonic universe. They are the ones who lead you into deep, mysterious forests, and they are the ones who pull you out of the thorn bush when the music nears its end.
The songs you hear on Kingdom of Oblivion are characterized by a very confident drive. We are talking about a confidence that radiates experience.
It's been a while since Bent and Snah really started to dive into the cookbooks from the 60's and 70's. After 10-12 years of experimenting with acidic psychedelic melodies and riffs, riffs, RIFF, Motorpsycho knows exactly where they stand. And there they stand wide-legged. With your hands firmly planted on your hips.
And beard down to the boots.
8/10
Translated from Italian:
Quote:Eight months after the publication of the previous work, the great Motorpsycho make their return to the record market: after having concluded the so-called "GullvÃ¥g Trilogy" with the release of "The All Is One" (successor of "The Tower" of 2017 and 2019's “The Crucibleâ€), the Trondheim-based trio releases “Kingdom of Oblivion†again under the aegis of Stickman Records.According to what was anticipated during the promotion phase, the twelve songs on the disc were conceived in the same writing session as last year's platter but had not found space between those grooves. Now, thanks to the pandemic and the cancellation of all live activities, the group has had the opportunity to devote themselves completely to the processing of these twelve tracks which – as one might expect – move along well-known coordinates: a Hard Rock with a pre-eminent Progressive nature. which often results in psychedelic escapes of great impact: Black Sabbath, King Crimson and Greatfull Dead these are just the very first names that we could use to offer an indication to those who have never encountered (ever possible?) in the vast production of the last decade of ours.
Finding Bent Sæther  (bass and vocals), Hand Magnus "Snah" Ryan  (guitar and vocals) and Tomas Järmyr (drums) is always a pleasure and this "Kingdom of Oblivion" confirms the caliber of the Norwegian combo for over three decades. center stage. We start off strong with the solid riff of “The Waning pt. 1 & 2", a song that condenses the peculiarities of the sound of Motorpsycho into its seven-minute duration : articulated compositions, which alternate more rocky phases with bewitching dreamlike digressions, in an alternation of great impact, also managing to incorporate a very wide spectrum of rock and indie influences; in this sense, the opener and the title track confirm what has been said so far, explaining the merits of the group.
To break the initial tension comes "Lady May 1", an evocative acoustic piece, which paves the way for "The United Debased", is yet another long composition that starts strong and then lets itself be aimed at conquering the listener with an effective solution. The formula – albeit with different elements – is also resumed in "At Empire's End" (from the extremely decadent main melody) and "The Transmutation of Cosmoctopus Lurker" (one of the hardest and most successful episodes of the album) and is renewed from time to time with new elements that never get bored and keep interest alive from the first to the last minute.
In the middle, there are instrumental episodes such as the dreamy "Atet" or the folk of "The Hunt", in a cornucopia of colors, suggestions and atmospheres that make "Kingdom of Oblivion" a record of great depth, rich in nuances that you will be able to grasp after each listen. On the notes of "Cormorant", the curtain falls on this record and we cannot but applaud a performance as beautiful as it is convincing.
For those for whom (like me) resistance is futile (please, don't judge me :wink: ) the world of 30 second snippets awaits.
Over at the HawkwindAnniversary Twitter account, they have retweeted this from writer Joe Banks:
Quote:Ladbroke Grove klaxon: there's a new Motorpsycho album coming out next Friday, Kingdom Of Oblivion. Not only is this almost a Pink Fairies album title (Kings Of Oblivion), but it features a cover of Hawkwind's 'The Watcher' which, if anything, is even creepier than the original."Even creepier than the original" – I like the sound of that!
Quote:Kingdom Of Oblivion is the latest title release from the Norwegian group Motorpsycho, whose history was incarnated as a grungy heavy rock outfit and developed into a style of musical form that takes you on a journey that is almost as winding as the band’s life so far. They have over 20 releases under their belt.The three-piece, featuring original members Bent Saether and Hans-Magnus Ryan and complemented with Tomas Jarmyr on drums, have delivered their 4th album with this line-up.
Well over an hour in length and it takes you through an epic multi visionary musical ‘trip’.
Opening track ‘The Waning: Pt 1&2’, leans heavily on a Sabbath-esk bass rhythm then dabbles into a Hawkwind psychedelic mood powered up by a clear strong guitar line throughout, getting faster approx. midway with a clean ending.
‘Kingdom of Oblivion’ brings you that same guitar tone, but more of it, brings you a feel of early 70’s rock.
Over 14 minutes gone and only end of track two!
‘Lady May 1’ strong acoustic and takes you back a bit further into the late 60’s.
‘The United Rebased’ is my album favourite. Keeps that early 70’s sound and mood on guitar, vocals and big keyboard back tone. Big guitar throughout. It takes so many twists in the speed and pace but keeps you engaged throughout its 9 minutes.
Next track up the ‘The Watcher (featuring the crimson eye)’ does not get going with the same push as other tracks on the album and is the weakest.
‘Dream Killer’ starts off slow and easy with a great acoustic build up, then wham at about 2 minutes in, you are taken up a few notches in speed and power, haunting vocals, it mirrors well where we got to on ‘The United Rebased’. You are then slowed down again for the last minute. Another great track.
‘Atet’ comes as a short track, instrumental filler.
‘At Empires End’ opens with that great acoustic tone, builds up and takes you on an 8-minute journey which reminded me of a Led Zep/Yes/Sabbath psychedelic amalgam. If one thing strikes me the most about this album it is the great guitar sounds and tone throughout, from crisp cutting clear to heavy distortion and everything else in between. Very evident in this track, which is another favourite.
Great acoustic guitar again from ‘The Hunt’, it’s a track with a good vibe and leans again on Led Zep but this time with a bit of Tull in the mix.
As with track 7, ‘After the Fair’ comes in as a short acoustic interlude to prepare you for the next track.
‘The Transmutation of Cosmoctopus Lurker’, lets you sit down for a minute, then you’re pulled up and hanging on to that beat similar to that which opened the album. 7 minutes later you’re still up there but then gently brought down to end the song calmly. Another album favourite.
In closing, ‘Cormorant’, an instrumental, slows you down further after the previous track and brings the album to a solemn end.
‘Kingdom of Oblivion’ is a good long album, takes you through a pleasurable journey of brilliant musical talent, lifts you and then lets you settle back down again, then repeat. Its that type of rollercoaster. If you like your music with a hazy psychedelic rock pioneer feel then its for you.
For me top tracks are ‘Dream Killer’, ‘At Empires End’, ‘The Transmutation of Cosmoctopus Lurker’ and album favourite ‘The United Rebased’.
Score 8/10
Quote:With the infamous 42 '"NOX" suite, a precious and ambitious cornerstone and placed at the end of a trilogy that began with "The Crucible", in the previous album "The All Is One", Motorpsycho dived into prog rock from the glory years, with scenarios that can rememberKing Crimson, Genesis etc. etc. “Kingdom of Oblivion†now presents a varied but on balance spartan rock and always of a 70's and earlier nature. From the first bars of this album, clearly characterized by a hard rock mold, the latest Opeths come to mind – “The United Debased†in particular – who love playing 'seventies' so much. You don't want to write it acrimoniously, yet in the case of Motorpsycho it was foreseeable that after so much magnificence, after so much daring, the band would choose a leaner step but in its own way, it must be recognized, with peaks of refinement. This continuous retro playing is proof that the Norwegian band wants to experiment, even when they probably don't have any experimentation to do. “Kingdom of Oblivion†appears to have been recorded in 1970 and around – even the cover of “The Watcher†written by Lemmy Kilmister when he was Hawkwind bassist – but it is evidently a current product. The result is however interesting, usable, enjoyable by the Norwegians but the focal point is that “Kingdom of Oblivion†is a good album because it is in the standards of the band. A standard that sees them faithful to that playing that embraces the old and throws an eye as far as possible to the contemporary, playing rock, psychedelia, folk hints. A way dear to the Motorpsycho, among the first to look back during successive eras of modernity. The band always sounds good even when everything is less than rock, perhaps with graceful San Francisco-style folk litanies of the summer of love or a psychedelia of yesteryear in the style of Robert Fripp. There is space and time, just over seventy minutes because Norwegians always have a lot to say, sing, play. It is not always necessary to do it after over twenty albums, floods of EPs, live albums and so on, the risk is to repeat itself in certain situations and to repeat other people's gestures.(Alberto Vitale) Rating: 7.5 / 10
Quote:Motorpsycho have been unfairly robbed of world domination by a fashion obsessed United Kingdom and U.S.A. since their inception in 1989. However, with a loyal and cult following in their hometown of Trondheim, Norway plus Germany, Italy, Belgium, Scandinavia and the Netherlands they have all been enthusiastic converts for many a year. The UK and USA’s loss I reckon. Who needs them anyway? Does it bother collectively Bent Saether (bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards and drums), Hans Magnus ‘Snah’ Ryan (guitar, vocals, keyboards, mandolin, violin and bass), or Tomas Jarmyr (drums)? Probably not. They always seem too busy creating and releasing albums and seem more inclined to let the music speak for itself.Motorpsycho maintain a long-standing and powerful presence on the European rock scene to this day with sheer hard work and raw talent aplenty. 2017 saw them inducted into Norway’s version of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and they’re arguably one of the most innovative hard rock bands still around with one eye on the future, but also quite a few nods to the past. A past spent studying and loving early 70s progressive and heavy rock, including many luminaries of that high class and standard in heavy rock. Far too many to mention as I feel their names are dropped far too often and lazily in rock music reviews, so I won’t. You know who they are, plus you can hear their influence all over this record.
However, there is a hell of a lot more to Motorpsycho than rehashing 70s prog and heavy rock. Somehow, they’ve managed to continually reinvent themselves and stay relevant in the 21st century with each new album pushing the boundaries. Quite a feat considering their huge output. Their back catalogue easily matches any of their heroes’ records and Kingdom Of Oblivion is no exception.
Kicking off with a familiar riff The Waning Parts 1 & 2 impresses on the listener their talent and ability to still create songs with a great diversity and atmosphere while also hitting you hard where it matters most, your head and your heart. Title track Kingdom Of Oblivion maintains this spontaneity with an interesting and powerful wall of sound. The balance and influence of electric and acoustic stringed instruments on the whole album were used a lot during the golden years of 1969 to 1973. The band take this on board adding light and shade to what’s on display, Lady May 1 being a great example with its folk influenced vocal and acoustic style.
The Watcher originally released on Hawkwind’s 1972 release Doremi is attempted and executed well with help from The Crimson Eye capturing that dark, psychedelic vibe so prevalent on many old school progressive rock albums, many that are still celebrated today by the rock press. Tastefully executed, its well placed on the record and proof that considering the flow of an album, is still worthwhile and a skill in itself. Like a book that reads well, this album flows and carries you, the listener, along with it, at a nice pace and on a decent journey.
Dreamkiller takes it down then grabs your attention as the storm arrives and the battle sounds like it’s just begun. A real standout track bringing to mind Jethro Tull at their earliest and heaviest. The vocals are sometimes reminiscent of the kind of British folk of the late sixties to my mind. Then it all melts into Atet, an instrumental and stunning acoustic track which helps you picture and really feel the calm after the storm.
At Empire’s End is an epic creation and a real standout track. I recommend listening to this album on headphones to really experience all it has to offer and to avoid all outside distractions. The Hunt continues the folk influence with more acoustics reminiscent of a medieval get together. The vocal harmonies are perfect and work beautifully on this song and levels of creativity are through the roof. Three decades and almost an album released every year, it’s a wonder they manage to still have so many ideas, and sheer creativity, to complete a classic old school heavy and progressive rock record.
The wonderfully titled The Transmutation Of Cosmoctopus Lurker returns to the crunching guitars and soaring melodies Motorpsycho are so good at and known for taking us to last track, Cormorant finishes off this progressive masterpiece in style. Classy, interesting, diverse, emotive, thought provoking, honest, solid and full of great ideas and interesting arrangements makes this worthy of any old school rock album the band are using as their template, plus if released in 72 or 73, it would certainly have catapulted them to the top of the progressive rock tree and a record deal with the mighty Vertigo or Harvest labels I am sure.
