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In fairness I should point out before writing this brief review, that my fvourite genre is progressive rock, but that I am not a fan of those who want only to emulate the 70s greats and as a result end up making music that sounds staid and uninspired.
Since the 15th I've listened to The Crucible three times via Spotify, streamed once through wifi on my less than adequate Zebronics (Indian company – not especially good but passable) speaker system and a couple of times on headphones attached to the laptop in my small office in our house in the Indian Himalayas, where I'm sitting right now. Needless to say, this is not the best, but I can't wait another two weeks to listen to it on my home system.
Psychotzar – I had already listened to this a dozen times in the UK via a streamed radio station before the 15th and having got over an initial "too Sabs; too Sabotage" reflex, I quickly grew to really like it (it helps that MP are playful with their musical references: "It's not paranoia, when it turns out to be true".) The main riff of the first part is perfectly heavy for my tastes and gets me nodding in the slow-doom manner, just as much as my neck muscles can handle
The twin guitars are great and the slow, doom-laden final section lifts the whole track to another level. Oh, and the gong! Adds great drama to the whole piece.Lux Aeterna – Again, I heard it a dozen or so times, first on live boots, but then also via a streamed radio station. The whole piece to me is a classic '70s-style prog masterpiece, with a fantastic crazy jazzy section, all very much in the vein of Crimson, but unquestionably Motorpsycho. Just listen to that tractor bass! And the subject matter of death and eternal light (made more poignant by the events of Bent's life) works really, really well with the uplifiting symphonic aspects of the track.
The Crucible – This I've only heard three times now. At first listen I was swept up in the opening themes, but then not so much by later ones, but then again by the chaos section and not sure about the final sections. Already, though, it's coming together as a great piece for me. The subject of WWI (and the chaos section) means that to me it has much in common with Yes's superb Gates of Delirium. However, there are many obvious differences that don't need to be detailed here. Again, Bent's tractor bass drives this magnificently but it is (at least so far, for me) Tomas's drums that are really outstanding here. My god, what a find! He really comes alive on this album having shown a fair degree of his varied chops on The Tower and also in the concerts.
Is it all too prog though? Nah. Like Unicorn, it is, for me, unquestionably a progressive rock album, and not, as is often the case with Motorpsycho, a brilliant bunch of eclectic songs. But, again like Unicorn, this is prog done proper. What do I mean by that? I don't fucking know!
But I do know that so far it comes across as one of the best new prog albums I've bought in a fair few years. As usual, when Motorpsycho appear to tackle a genre or style, they may pay homage to, or give a nod and a wink here and there to the masters of old, but the end result is never tired, and never bogged down in attempts to emulate. The languages of the past are invigorated as part of their polyglottal output.All hail the mighty Motorpsycho! Doubters be shunned! Opposing viewpoints will be welcomed, but then quickly consigned to the trash. Not that I'm biased at all
I'm really curious to hear what else they recorded. Accounts indicate the choice of tracks for the album was heavily influenced by the producers following the band's intent to create a more coherent album. Had they included the other tracks might it have been more eclectic in scope, like The Tower? I wonder, will the other tracks appear on a tour EP or be shunted onto the next album?
A negative review from Italy 😦. Translated by Deepl.
The Motorpsychos that had accustomed us from the beginning to most of the zero years to sudden changes and chameleonic somersaults from disc to disc, no longer exist. It's a fact.
It's easy to date, and without resorting to radiocarbon, the moment when the extended Trondheim duo decided to put an end to genre migrations: March 31, 2008, the day of the release of Little Lucid Moments. From that moment on, except for a few Sunday excursions (see Still Life With Eggplants), psychos have preferred to the pop and rock mares on albums like Phanerothyme, It's a Love Cult and Let Them Eat Cake, the beast of space-psychedelic-prog-rock, euphorically slipping into the wormholes and black holes so dear to Hawkwind.
The Crucible, of course, is no exception. Ep only on the front, since it's three tracks but it lasts forty minutes, the last effort of Snah, Bent and Thomas Järmyr (at his second participation behind the drums of Motorpsycho) is a product much more focused than The Tower and certainly less ambitious, with well-structured tracks (Lux Aeterna presents interesting Crimson moments) and inspired. The basic feeling, however, is that even this Motorpsycho's studio work is just another excuse for a new tour, now the only truly indispensable incarnation for the line-up.
In essence, The Crucible is a discreet disk, certainly better than The Tower certainly but still far from the standards to which Motorpsycho had accustomed us.
https://sentireascoltare.com/recensioni/motorpsycho-the-crucible/
A 10-star review at Terrorverlag. Translated by Deepl.
Three songs and 40 minutes playing time – these are the first hard facts about "The Crucible", the second album on the Bent Sæther (vocals & bass), Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan (vocals & guitar) and the drummer Tomas Järmyr, who joined the band in 2017. The first two were already there when the band was founded in 1989 and over the years numerous records have been made, so that we are now dealing with the 19th studio album. There are also five live albums and several other releases.
If you don't know the Norwegians from Trondheim yet, you'll wonder what kind of music they've been playing all these years. Well, it's something between Prog and Psych Rock, which is sometimes given quite a jazz broadside. That's also how "Lux Aeterna" went, who after a pleasantly swearing Seventies prog/psych entry with the opener "Psychotzar" was also on the road for seven minutes in similar regions, to then draw the horn-sweathed free jazz card. For their title track "The Crucible" the trio then takes an opulent 20 minutes and practically plays their way through their own repertoire. Not much singing is needed; at the same time all musical ingredients seem well dosed and perfectly balanced.
Doesn't necessarily make light home cooking for every day, but with "The Crucible" MOTORPSYCHO undoubtedly deliver a very special delicacy for the special listening pleasure beyond the mainstream.
https://www.terrorverlag.com/rezensionen/motorpsycho/the-crucible/
@airguitarhero. Try Norman Records in the UK.
To me it seems reasonable that a musician as adept and experienced, not to mention one with as keen an understanding of what makes a song shine, as Bent, who wrote the vast majority of the band's music throughout its history, is capable of making assessments on the subtle differences between the musicians he's played with day in and day out over substantial periods of time. I don't hear him dissing anyone, just making observations. Having said that, as a human being it seems reasonable also that his statements might be tainted by personal issues, but I have zero insight on what they might be.
I also think it's telling that, as far as I know, he didn't say anything as detailed as this about Tomas and KK until now, when he'd recorded two albums and played a whole bunch of gigs with Tomas. I've heard musicians from other bands diss their former collaborators and big-up their replacements far too quickly for their comments to be based on fair, level-headed assessment.
This one translated from Dutch by DeepL.
The Crucible is a tough cultural Norwegian egotrip that seems to kick off in the nineties. Muscle ball rock where the bare upper body plays a guest role. Psychotzar starts right away with hard rhythm guitar metal. Short, fast following powerful chords that immediately draw you curiously into the song. Powervolle vocals that work out that rough edge and in the background at least something of a mellotron is present. The youngster Tomas Järmyr on drums doesn't have to prove himself with these qualities. His versatile percussion gives room for some exotic elements and sounds like he has been active with the band for years. It's fine and responsible that Kenneth Kapstad has finally started to focus on Spidergawd. Järmyr already passed the application procedure on The Tower, and did not manage to adapt to the sound. No, from the very beginning he was allowed to play a determining role. This is immediately clear from the moment the gong hits like a thunderclap. With the soloing we already hear that the accompaniment is grooving and darker moves on, the transition to the psychedelic sequel is still a matter of time. Dirty guitar attacks follow the increasingly thundering bass of Bent Sæther, after the rest of the acoustic part the vocals go towards the cutting of the grunge. Biggest is the sequel indicated with lightning fast passages and static pieces, with at the end an epic ending, while realizing that this is only the shortest track of the record.
Beautiful two-partedness lets you quickly carry away in the strong by the seventies influenced progrock of Lux Aeterna. Do not expect frills and high vocals. The Trondheim based Motorpsycho simply has a transversal rough appearance, and the beautiful acoustic introductory guitar playing does not change anything. There is much more room for well arranged melody lines that are polished by the mellotron if necessary. When the biggest thing is done with the symphonic fuss, you get all the rough dirty guitar and through it that makes you feel good for the strange psychedelic heavy set sequel. Here you clearly experience through the funky, jazz and fusion influences to which Motorpsycho owes her quirky name. This technically strongly played changes of styles is so characteristic for their sound. As if nothing has happened in the meantime, they continue with the rock sound that dominated the seventies just as easily. After great guitar solos they finish in peace with the supporting backing vocals again. Maybe the packaging is just over the top, but it graces the band of daring and daring.
After minimal noise on the cymbals a lot of freaking and jamming is done on The Crucible. Like standing in the middle of a crossroads during rush hour of some metropolis. So many sounds pass in review. This is necessary to evoke the intoxication with which a passage is sought to the more exciting guitar playing, which gets a big thump at its back from the drummer. How the bass can hold its own seems an impossible task. It's wonderful that there is room again for the progressive intermediate piece with beautiful almost hippie-like vocals. Rhythmically it then takes more shape through the role of Järmyr, and then it is hit hard with devilish guitars that are brought to a calm like demons circling around in an exorcistic fight by the bass that is not to be dismissed. So repeatingly it keeps interfering. In the last piece it goes the classical direction with a small moment of guitar experience, to give the emission of electric violence the upper hand for the last time in a strong part to rocking hard rock and then the theatrical end.
Another band would probably divide this over a lot more songs, but Motorpsycho has a minimum of three songs enough to convince for the umpteenth time.
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator
http://www.writteninmusic.com/alternative/motorpsycho-the-crucible/
Another great interview with Bent.
https://skug.at/motorpsycho-befeuern-den-schmelztiegel-der-u-musik/
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 … ??)
