BEHIND THE SUN

Another Saturday, another Motorpsycho review, which means a new sound for these Norwegian mad scientists to experiment with. Here with Behind The Sun, the band decides to combine their very psychedelic portfolio with more 70s flavored symphonic prog.

While it isn't comparable to that of The Death Defying Unicorn, Behind The Sun includes a more symphonic output to their prog rock ventures. I can taste some Yes and early King Crimson influence in these songs through the use of the mellotrons, and the more experimental inflictions on the guitars. It all creates this very unique sound for Motorpsycho as they mesh the wild jamming of their psychedelic muscles with a more nostalgic feel to their usual sound, and in turn, creates this very enticing sound to my ears.

I think what really makes this album work for me is how they seem to take their best elements from their past five albums (Little Lucid Moments - Still Life With Eggplant) and combine them to create this very great album. You can hear an element from their past that makes this album what it is now, and in fact, I'd call it a sequel of sorts to those past albums as they showcase what they can really pull off in a venture such as this. Really, I think it makes this all the more special.

I really tried to think of things I didn't like about this album, but I just couldn't. It is honestly surprising how this band can manage to create masterpiece after masterpiece, or even create a single truly bad album in their discography. They are definitely one of the best prog trios in the past 20 years, and this album, plus their past five records, really do showcase how amazing they are to me.