MONSTER MASTER

Salt of Tsj or better known simply as SOT has technically existed since 1992 but only became a serious thing almost 20 years later in 2011 when the band released its debut album "Kind of Salz." This Norwegian band turned some heads by replacing a bass with a tuba in their unique style of zany avant-prog with a humorous twist. Chock filled with beefy tuba-ular grooves, oodles of time signatures run amok and dash of whimsy that would make Samla Mamas Manna smile, this trio of Skjalg "Salt" Reithaug (guitar), Lars Andreas "Of" Haug (tuba) and Anders "Tusj" Hunstad (drums) stood out from the pack right out of the gate.

Fast forward eleven years and three albums later, SOT releases its fourth album MONSTER MASTER which continues its bizarre mishmash of avant-prog, jazz and occasional metal riffing frenzies. In addition to the triumphant trio playing their usual instruments, this album also includes all kinds of additional timbres via a shrutbox, a didgeridoo and, uh, pigs? Hmmm. Add to that three guest musicians playing some trumpet and dulcimer as well as a vocal appearance. Well it looks like these zany avant-proggers have just gotten a bit zanier, eh? MONSTER MASTER features eight tracks that just miss 43 minutes so somewhat of a classic album's length which is about perfect for music this weird.

Firmly situated in the world of Miriodor style avant-prog (only speedier), these Norwegians strut their angular rhythms with a goofy pride that would make Frank Zappa take notice. Nice knotty musical motifs evoke some of the most inaccessible nooks and crannies of the prog universe but then a tuba kinda makes you think you went to your great-grandpa's polka party back in the 1950s or so. Add some occasional 1960s psychedelia and intermittent flirtations with metal distortion and guitar riffing and you're on a roller coast to Oslo. Just don't eat before you board this ride. You just might lose your lunch! The humor is just so abstruse. Just look at the all-seeing eye in a power line on the album cover. LOL.

For anyone familiar with SOT, this band pretty much delivers what you would expect in the vein of its previous works albeit with some hitherto unexplored instrumentation joining the party. The stop / start math rock guitar stomps are still abundant although there are many more mellow dreamy motifs peeking through the metal polka parade this time around. The track "Mann med Yacht" for example alternates between guitar led polka tuba and the have you never been mellow moment with clean guitar passages and atmospheric serenity. "Sunship" features the only vocals on the album but no singing here. Just some sort of spoken words inserted periodically. The track itself is the most metal polka on board. Not bad, guys! Of course this isn't real metal. It's just metal in attitude. Nothing is super distorted on this album.

The track that stands out the most on MONSTER MASTER is "Rollig Ørkson" which starts out with some chanting and then allows the tuba to take on some Middle Eastern mystical vibes! This track also reveals how low the tuba can blow in the bass register. It also features a really cool dulcimer performance and although this one is like a fish out of water, it very well me the coolest track on the whole album. Definitely a track that would make the Nurse With Wound list if it emerged 50 years ago. The album ends with the knotty avanter-than-thou "Barais Grav" with some stellar angularities churning out of the guitar with the tuba chiming in for moral support. As the album ends i'm still wonder where the pigs came in? No oinks that i heard.

SOT is obviously an acquired taste. First exposure may get your prickles up and make you think you've entered a talent contest in an insane asylum but if you keep listening you'll see the method through the madness. This is actually quite a talented act and as a trio these guys accomplish quite a feat by melding three individual sum of the parts into one cohesive avant-freak-fest. This is one of those albums i wouldn't want to hear a lot but when the urge strikes this exactly the perfect kind of mind buggery i crave. Overall a job well done. Excellent.