The Crucible (Feb 15, 2019)

[shakti]

I disagree about the "taking time" thing. Motorpsycho are at their best when they work fast. The Tower was recorded right after Thomas joined and by all accounts was a fairly fas affair as I understand it. The more they labour it, the worse it gets. That's why it's good news that they are already working out new material. But the album is another really good album, just not sure yet how high on the excellence-o-meter it rates.

[Punj Lizard]

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?

[dongonz]

well well well… eventually I got my record on friday and gave it a good spin on saturday morning while still lying in bed. i must say, i was a bit afraid of it because i didn't liked lux aeterna live that much. and now? fuck the record is awesome! every single bit of it! and hell, the beginning of the crucible is soooo beautiful love it! (even though i am still waiting for more acoustic stuff… ^^)

[Phoots Flower]

First impresion was cold (like always) But after some spins (about 6-7) my brain make "click" like Matrix. Really Epic IMO. The Crucible and L.Aeterna are amazings. I LOVE the mix, sound, harmónies and arragements.

[supernaut]

I listened to it about ten times. First impression was extremely good. Then I got somewhat lukewarm with it. It's a tour de force, amazing prowess, but for me the moods and vibes are a bit too few. But I'm sure that was the intention of this record: Full throttle and mad out-there playing. Two of my faves, the Unicorn and LLM, were just as intense but provided some breathing space here and there, dynamics and tensions and build ups. Maybe that's what I'm missing a bit… But hey, it's a new record, it goes other places, and the full throttle thing and freaked out playing is the idea here. It's what it is, I tell myself with every MP album. Would be stupid to miss a Starhammer-like song on IALC, right?

[s_edelman]

Does the LP contain lyrics?

[radicus]

Yes, the lyrics are included at least on the vinyl fold out cover design.

I think it's a brilliant album. I'm a musician and it took me a long time to accept what another artist actually put out vs what I would do or would have done differently. That's what repeated listening eventually does for me, gets me over the preconceptions and prejudices.

We are so fortunate to have Bent and Snah. Such an epic back catalog that stands the test of time. I tried listening to all their songs sorted by track time order, short to long. What variety, what melody, great sonics, something for everyone. Music for days. Totally dug listening that way

Let them do what they wilt! That's why we love them…

[karmadrome]

Motorpsycho albums nowadays are a lot like Beethoven symphonies – at first complex and demanding for the listener, difficult to fully get into it; but after a couple of spins it suddenly makes click and you're sucked in deep into the music, and the beauty of it unfolds and sends you shivers down your spine each and every time you listen to it.

Amazing.

[the conscience]

Happy Birthday Bent

Thanx for the present to yourself.

Brilliant idea to put 50 fafourite influences and own ideas in only one album. Beatles,WHO,Sabbath maybe even Kiss and a Lot of Prog and Punk all in one. Amazing.Best wishes for the next 50 years

[Punj Lizard]

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

[shakti]

Very well put, Punj!

Need to listen more and will have time tomorrow for repeated headphone listening, but the overall impression remains favourable; a masterful (mostly) prog-rock record, Motorpsycho-style. Nothing short of excellent. But it doesn't hit the loftiest peaks that The Tower did, IMHO. That is an awful lot to ask though. Very few bands are capable of those peaks, and it's probably an intangible thing, maybe more apparent to the listener than to the creator. Motorpsycho simply have to og on creating and releasing excellent music. When the timing is right, some kind of divine inspiration happens and they hit upon something completely out of the ordinary. They did so regularly in the mid-late 90s, and they did it again on The Tower – coming up with something completely unique and transcendental such as Ship of Fools.

I love the groove and sinister, slightly Taifun-like outro section of Psychotzar. Lux Aeterna is beautiful if perhaps a touch "svulstig". Love the end section even if the Court of the Crimson King vibes are perhaps a bit too obvious. The riffage on The Crucible is great, but so far I'm not quite sure if it deserves 20 minutes of extemporization. We'll see after a few more rounds.

[supernaut]

I'd love to listen to it in the Indian Himalayas 8O

[punknotyet]

Punj's posts about "The Crucible" are almost as good as the record itself – great pleasure to read.

And as for the album – I've already listened to it 7 or 8 times so far and can't stop myself from pressing the Play button again and again.

Amazing work!

[boomer former helm]

i will do next week in the nepalese himalaya

[marc]

Besides tour preparations, Snah obviously has some spare creativity to record with Trondheim neighbors SOUP:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuCmbreCRiM/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=144la163gkp7e

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