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The reviews are coming thick and fast (though this one is barely readable) …
Still immensely productive, our favorite Norwegians quickly built a fine tower construction.
The words stagnation, let alone stasis, does not seem to exist in the universe of these bustling northern lights of Motorpsycho.
It's not too long ago when the engine psycho veterans Hans Magnus Ryan and Bent Sæther built their musically well-structured tower in longplayer garb with their new baton oscillator Tomas Järmyr at the end of 2017.
The artwork also evoked associations with the Tower of Babel, a clear statement if you're as adept, thoughtful, and clearly defined as you are in musical creation like our Motorpsychos.
At least the three speak a common language. In their tower, they now give us access to three other tower rooms. Clearly heard as an additional quest to her "The Tower" and also the visual presentation evidently ties in with it.
Since "The Death Defying Unicorn" it should be clear how overwhelming the team Ryan / Sæther is in the writing of concept albums, which can also be identified clearly despite the participation of additional artists with assertive instruments, clearly as motor psycho.
It is also great that the many ways that have gone through the years have not been forgotten, but form an ever larger map in the big picture.
On which our heroes travel continuously and always know exactly where they are. Among other things, the versatile sound cosmos of Motorpsycho at least since Phanerothyme / It's a Love Cult also includes a strong sgt.pepperesque vibration in the vocal harmonies / melodies, which is difficult to negate.
Although only three tracks are listed on the track listing, this release contains nearly 40 minutes of music. The opener "Psychotzar" is transported by a comforting low-frequency vehicle with 70s flair that is driven by massive riffs, including just mentioned vocal harmonies. Surely the dirt from the early days has long been filtered out and passé, but the Heavyness was skilfully preserved.
What now rode the three in the middle of "Lux Aeterna", which just times the 10 -minute limit, rode to this short free-jazz downhill, may tell us Tomas Järmyr. After all, all toured together after the first joint recordings funny through the world history and accomplished their music miracles live and untamed on numerous stages. Passed the test, grown together, brave as a Motorpsychonaut with his two colleagues dared the creative shoulder and go to Titanic eye level.
The centerpiece "The Crucible" occupies the entire B-side and really offers another magnificent prog circus with everything the psychonaut heart desires.
Especially with a long-lived band like this one stands as a follower in each new album before deciding to go along with the possibly brought along musical development or not. Some hot-loving psychonauts may not have touched the "Demon Box" after "Soothe", as their motorwns suddenly trilled more than they screamed as beautifully as before. At least at the country escapades of "The International Tussler Society" was determined for some of the oven of attentive curiosity. At that time hipster albums of the alternative scene found themselves with "Blissard" and "Trust Us", which in turn made wonderfully shimmering guitar harmonies modern and brought to the ears. If you talk in the psychnonaut scene, there are actually old-love pilots, who were woken up by the name "Heavy Metal Fruit" and the hippie-pop sugar sweet "Aera" already mentioned above "Phanerothyme", "It's a Love Cult" and "Let them Eat Cake" have simply ignored. Too bad. Thus, these poor souls have also missed the ultra-cool "Barracuda", on which their very own need to "let it crack dry" is celebrated in the most beautiful way. Eventually the Stoner-Prog-phase was also rewound with "Black Hole / Blank Canvas", "Little Lucid Moments" and "Child Of The Future". Which musically belongs somehow logically to the following heavy metal fruit had to lead.
Lured back by the promised and served (savvy?) Metalcrunch in a spacer robe, they just put recovered souls on an adventurous test.
Motorpsycho and StÃ¥le Storløkken – The Death Defying Unicorn. And here we are. I also have a bit of a rewind and want to get closer to "Still Life With Eggplant", "Behind the Sun" and "Here Be Monsters", at least the final triad of drummer Kenneth Kapstad. During this time, however, I did not engage in motor psycho but took care of the mentioned unicorn, "En Konsert For Folk Flest" and "Begynnelser". From the review of the penultimate mentioned yet a quote to the conclusion …
"A concept album in progressive rock-pure culture of unbelievable proportions. Purely by the description I have to break actually. BUT STOP THIS ONCE. HAMMER POPULAR BAM BAM BAM. "
9/10
And another …
Motorpsycho The Crucible (released: 15.02.2019 / Stickman Records)
What a nice Christmas present: When I come home from an errand on December 24th, an envelope is in my mailbox, the address is c / o Pandys-Corner, sender is Noisolution in Berlin. Aha, I am pleased, post from Noisomann. Since Spidergawd's new album might be in there, I think, I'm looking forward to its release in January. Or something else that could interest me. Although I have motor psycho in the back of my mind, but consider it too early for the Promos announced in mid-February The Crucible are already on the way. So I'm in the apartment, throw my stuff out and open the envelope. And there it is: The Crucible – the new album from Motorpsycho. What a nice surprise in the morning of the holy evening !! Of course, I will gladly let you participate and now tell it piece by piece:
1. Psychotzar
Only the title of the opener prepares delight. The Tsar's piece sends a guitar intro ahead, followed by a bang before the whole band starts. A really strong kick-off, fat rock reefs immediately spread, with heavy, hard guitar that sounds even earthier and heavier – a bit warmer – than on The Tower. The first excursion of Snah is not long in coming: with a nice fidgety, occasionally confused guitar solo, the essential ingredients of a recent journey through psycho-verse are staked – with a clearly audible reference to the last album. This reference can already be seen in the cover design (which again seems quite apocalyptic and of which I do not trust myself to describe it reasonably …).
2. Lux Aeterna
The second of the three pieces begins quietly and gently, balladesque beginning with acoustic guitar and gentle vocals in the stanza stroking the ear canals, the chorus is dressed in robes of hymnic orchestral sounds. But the peaceful atmosphere of the song suddenly takes a sudden turn towards … er … jazzpunk ?? In any case, the band performs well for a while, and soon finds itself back in the waters of the Unicorn Prog Opera style. Only much drier, sometimes even hard on the cacophony border. Finally, the song comes back to its starting point, a final stanza, followed by a concluding refrain (and while I type these sentences in almost awesome emotion from what I've heard so far, I allow the player a press of the pause button and take it inside Turning over a LP). It follows the third and last piece, the title track:
3. The Crucible
With barely audible sounds that sound like an electrified version of wind, it's time to get started before the piece begins. Soon, this twenty-minute develops an idiosyncratic momentum. Guitar narratives of almost any color and sound atmosphere alternate with vocals, creating rhythms that grow up to the groove of a The Wheel, a Grindstone, a Big Black Dog and over time give a millstone-like urgency, while in these rhythm floors again infernal noise cascades romp about; In addition, re-tours are made in the unicorn Prog-Rockopern jazz and the riffs merge these sounds with the sounds of Heavy Metal Fruit hits The Tower. Every now and then the piece is interrupted with calm passages, as if it had to stop, gather, rebuild itself, before it ends almost abruptly after twenty minutes. The piece has, as the entire album, a certain radio play character. Where do these musicians only take their creativity, their ideas, always? Bright madness !!
After hearing it for the first time I did not feel the need to listen to the album again, but tasted the aftereffect, the reverberation in the inner ear, extended and with relish … And: Ladies and gentlemen, it seems to me that this is already here THE album of the year 2019 before !!
(…. um …, did anyone seriously believe anything else … ??)
And yet another translated from German:
After a "album-free" year, Motorpsycho report back in 2019 with a new studio release. Where "album free" actually means only that the Norwegians have not brought out a regular spin. Collective psychonauts were allowed to put two new live albums of the trio last year in the collection. Now it's time to pay attention to the press-fresh work The Crucible. From the aesthetics and tonal appearance, one can understand the record as a direct continuation of the path taken on The Tower. The band itself has no problem with that, as it announced in advance of the release.
Accordingly, The Crucible sounds like the melting pot of prog, stoner, doom, jazz, pop, folk, orchestral music has been fueling the motor-psycho for years and years with their works. They master the very high art of making themselves comfortable between all chairs, that none of the genres can only manage to stretch the band completely in front of their carts. Good thing, because here is the sense of progressiveness, joy of experimentation and punk rock.
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The Crucible comes up with three oversized songs written in August 2018 in a Welsh studio by Hans Magnus Ryan (guitars, vocals), Bent Sæther (bass, vocals, sundry) and Tomas Järmyr (drums) with the kind support of the two co-producers Andrew Scheps and Deathprod were recorded. Psychotzar – with 8:44 minutes of playing time something like the potential song for a single release – winks with his opening riff almost outrageously in the direction of the Black Sabbath. At first, I was not sure if I accidentally hung up on sabotage. The irritation is short-lived. The next moment, the three drill on the reef in their inimitable way and roll out a fat Doomwalze. Lux Aeterna (10:56) has a jazzy charm and the title track The Crucible lasts for over 20 minutes a beast of noise rock and soft melodies from the chain. On The Crucible Motorpsycho play their beloved Motorpsychodelia to the fullest, true to their motto: Make loud, was not!
And another translated from German.
In advance, we learned about the 2019 planned new disc from Motorpsycho, that it was intended as a sequel to "The Tower". A sequel that should be more experimental, more compact and darker.
So a lot on "Crucible" offers a stylistic tightrope typical of motor psycho, which may seem a bit rough and spartan to many retroprog purists. On the one hand there are the driving Stoner Rock or Hard Rock riffs, whose effect is sometimes countered by the Mellotron strings. The vocal melodies that often appear stoic in this context, often with interesting harmonies, reveal that this is not a typical hard rock band. Alone, these vocal melodies awaken the blissful memories of "The Death Defying Unicorn" and "The Tower".
On the other hand, there are always these filigree interludes, which put the offered even more in the progressive light and could come from an atmospheric retroprog piece. In the last part of "Psychotzar" we learn, however, how a doomig-apocalyptic progressive Stoner Rock must sound, in order to be able to unfold its effect really eerily. I can even hear the apocalyptic ringing of bells and a low-pitched mellotron in the part.
In at least two parts of "Lux Aeterna" the wind instruments hit a Mellotron. In addition there are vocal melodies between lyrical and epic, so that in turn the early King Crimson and The Beatles come to mind as limping comparisons. After about five minutes, it becomes a hectic jazz rock stoner jam, which can come across as a homage to "21st Century Schizoid Man". The eleven-minute piece is framed by the vocal themes, which are conceived as gently as possible to the acoustic guitars.
The title track, the longtrack of the album, amazes in the middle section with noisig-distorted guitar sounds. At this point Motorpsycho play for some minutes the true noise rock from hell. Other ideas of the Longtrack are again dedicated to the melodic guitar lines and polyphonic songs, whose origins are to be expected in the "classic" rock of the 70s.
Interesting that in the drive of a computer "Crucible" is called an EP. For my terms, the work reaches the duration of a conventional LP, can be purchased as such, so it is rather not an EP. Anyway, "Crucible" has become a first-rate, quite progressive motor psycho disc, which will probably once again provide for the discussions on "The Limits of the Prog".
This Google translation from German is rather hilarious in places. Link to original follows the review.
On " The Crucible " MOTORPSCYHO are shorter than on the predecessor and double album "The Tower", but the new album of the Norwegians similarly kills with only a slightly slimmer abundance of musical information and once again confirms the iconic status that the Band holds for years across genres. The record was produced in August 2018 at the Monnow Valley Studios in Wales, jointly by the band itself and Andrew Scheps and Deathprod respectively.
It is the second combo combo with new drummer Thomas Järmyr, who excels especially in the brass monster 'Lux Aeterna' by filling almost all sound holes with manic drumming. Nonetheless, each member is appropriately empathetic in the sense of the final result; self-serving dumpling was never an issue for the band anyway, and that should be a guarantee for their longevity as well.
The 20-minute title track begins impulsively with a diatonic harmonized guitar melody – surprisingly stereotypical for this group, which concerns Classic Rock – and winds up post-moderately high, before the frontman struggles with the Groove and accompanied by gentle Mellotron sounds the main part. As a lead vocalist, Bent Sæther generally alternates between programmatic desert rock nöling and powerful chest tone, depending on the mood of the tune.
If one had to commit to a characteristic of the disc, it would probably playful licks as in the very Stoner -strong first segment of the opener 'Psychotzaar'; in this case, it is even one of several main themes in the song and a hook that works entirely without vocals. The "grande finale" is not until the last minute in coming – in the form of a monumental riff with textless vocals.
In fact, given the instrumental epic, concrete content is almost a minor matter. On " The Crucible, " each track takes longer than the previous one, but moreover, the creators have not forced a single idea into a tight conceptual corset. The only common thread running through the material is the theme of change, with the focus on death being the general end; Political undertones swing in, if you want to recognize what is possible, but not a must.
CONCLUSION: On " The Crucible " MOTORPSYCHO whistle again on predictable song structures and go beyond the time frame of the usual song format . The members are fearless and ambitious as before, so fans can access blind people and inexperienced people are invited to get to know this album as well as previous ones.
http://www.musikreviews.de/reviews/2019/Motorpsycho/The-Crucible/
Here's the full review from Prog Magazine.
MOTORPSYCHO
A three-song, 40-minute glide to the edge of the solar system.
Prog
1 Feb 2019
DAVID WEST
Faced with the intimidating task of following 2017’s epic double album The Tower, Motorpsycho return with just three tracks on their latest release, although that still amounts to 40 minutes of music. The Crucible is their second release with Tomas Järmyr behind the drum kit, joining founders Hans Magnus Ryan and Bent Saether. The album was recorded at the venerable Monmow Valley Studios, Wales, where Black Sabbath crafted their odes to darkness in the 1970s. A fitting choice, as the opening Psychotzar kicks off with an Iommi-esque riff from Ryan that’s loaded with doom. Saether’s bass rumbles away in the depths like a leviathan roused from slumber heading to the surface while Järmyr pummels at the drums, knocks on his cowbell and periodically unleashes a great wash on a gong.
Motorpsycho’s use of vocal harmonies separate them from heavy metal’s forefathers, while Lux Aeterna finds them leaning more towards their psychedelic side with
Ryan singing about leaving our mortal flesh beneath the soil. The first section of the track is full of Mellotron melodies borne along gently with a trippy 60s vibe. Then it turns a corner and suddenly plunges down into an abyss of discordant chaos, where distorted Mellotrons collide with acerbic guitar riffs as the trip turns sour. Happily, the final chapter of the song sees it mellow out, as Ryan sings ‘Take the pain away, there’s nothing left for anyone to say,’ and it climaxes with a gorgeous wash of psychedelia.
Then it’s time for the main event with the album’s title track, a 20-minute acid rock/space rock odyssey that recalls the spirit of early Pink Floyd. Where Psychotzar and Lux Aeterna are credited solely to Saether, it took both Ryan and Saether to craft The Crucible itself. It’s a kaleidoscope of a song, shifting between colours and tones as the mood takes it. It all begins with an urgent energy as Saether and Järmyr set a breathless pace before it opens into a jazzy, psychedelic passage that’s just the prelude to an expansive guitar solo. Yet however far out the trio venture, and at times it feels like they’re gliding out towards the far edges of the solar system, they never lose sight of the song. Even when The Crucible disintegrates into a mass of disembodied effects or swirling Mellotrons, it’s always another musical step forwards, not a freak-out – however glorious – merely for the sake of it. And when the main melody sweeps back in, the result is ecstatic.
Even in the shadow of The Tower, Motorpsycho continue to shine.
I can't seem to get the full url, but search "motorpsycho crucible prog magazine David west" and you should be able to get the review on Press Reader
@supernaut. That's great news. 😀
"Lux Aeterna"
NA KRAWĘDZI ÅšWIATÅA [PDM #213] (Rockserwis.fm)
http://www.rockserwis.fm/serwis.do?menu=main&pid=18571&cat=50&l=1 (00:16:53 – 00:27:23)
I figured a separate thread for reviews might be handy for those who are interested in reading them.
Here's a short one from streetclip.de (in German) who give the album 8.5/10
Received my copy this morning and have so far listened to just the first disc. Fantastic! Love it! Mountain is out of this world.
