CRYSTALS

Just have a look around. The Shaman Elephant seems to be a very rare species, probably only one exemplar left yet. Identically named a quartet, which has its origin in Bergen, Norway, dared to send a debut album ahead at the end of 2016, aiming to embark for a travel crossing the big waters, just like the vikings beforehand. Once Eirik Sejersted Vognstølen is singing 'What you see is what you get', and this immediately reminded me at that well-known slogan which characterized the triumphal arrival of DeskTop Publishing in the 1980s. As someone who has been present when it comes to this process, I know that all that glitter is not gold, at least not on the spot.

Hence 'But you might not get what you see' follows soon - wise chaps they are. Okay, stop, this is surely ment within another context. Anyway, what you see here is a very colourful album art. And what you get is excellent, however something hard to categorize from a stylistical point of view. Obviously heavy rock music, this featuring a proper vintage 1970s atmosphere and some alternative leanings, dynamic, powerful, but not exclusively. Coming to the exception at first - the jazzy Tusco developed to my album favourite, above all I love those beautiful piano lines. Chapeau! The following song title The Jazz then is something contradictive for sure, as there is a rather doomy start to state in best Black Sabbath tradition.

The opener Crystals now showcases the band's trademark better than anything else, psychedelic, groovy, tricky, which sums it up to song writing qualities at its best. And this will continue furthermore bar none. The extended Stoned Conceptions closes this show with proper references to Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden amongst others. So this is another grower for sure, promised ... heavy prog music with strong psych sentiment and really well put mellotron, organ and jazzy piano adds by Jonas Særsten. Similar bands in approach and quality are D'Accord, Moonwagon, Diagonal, One Of These Days. Please keep it up, folks!