SOT

Last year (2022) they returned to release their fourth studio album, after a silence of 6 years when they shared the nice 'Kogel Mogel'. So for this new record entitled 'Monster Master' they give us 8 compositions that make a total time of 43 minutes, which start with 'Draugner', a nice prog/hard rock track which shows the skills of the 3 musicians, I especially like the bass sound because it is not actually a bass, it is a tuba playing those big notes. There is also a short instrumental passage where the music changes, a didjeridoo is introduced and then some strange noises appear.

'Saga Siglar' is the shortest song here, it is like a mantra, like being in a joga lesson or something, it feels quiet and healing, it also has a mid-eastern flavor. This short interlude leads to the explosive title-track, a 13-minute song entitled 'Monster Master' that has a diversity of passages, of changes. It starts with a Zappa-esque sound, guitar and tuba playing fast at the same time while drums put the rhythm; then the music slows down all of a sudden and last for over a minute just to return to that fast and proggy sound. A new change comes and that jazzy side of SOT springs and offers a delicious experience. At minute five we can hear a circus-like tune, the jazzy atmosphere prevails, but I also sense a bit of humor. Needles to say, it is evident that Reithaug, Haug and Nyborg get along very well, they make the music flaw despite the constant changes, they know each other and that can be perceived by us. Guitar solo, interplay between tuba and guitar, atmospheric synths, great drums, and yeah, change after change. It is a challenging song and it is very nice.

'Tilstander' is a short and delicate guitar-driven track, it is gentle to our ears, even relaxing. Next is 'Mann med Yacht' and is a contrast from the previous track, here the intensity increases and the interplay between guitar and tuba appears once again in a fast time, reminding me a bit of some of the title-track's moments. There is a passage where some far voices can be heard as well.

'Sunship' continues with that proggy zappa-esque sound, and they remind me a bit of French band Mörglbl. I think the tuba role in SOT is essential to their uniqueness, their sound. The last minute of this track is especially good, adding some vocals as background and a tense and nervous sound in the veing of Magma (less crazy, less zeuhl, of course). 'Rolig Ørken' is like the second track, in terms of its softness and relaxing sound. It has a didjeridoo and a new-age like sound that takes us to the mid-eastern, I don't know what influences or beliefs these Norwegian guys have, but it is interesting what they do here.

And the album finishes with the great 'Barals Grav', which is a fast-tempo and odd time signature track with an avand garde feeling. Once again we can witness a great demonstration of skills, and a great understanding between band mates. The last passage is great, emotive, I love the keyboards and the atmosphere created. Nice way to finish it.

It is a very good album with a style that is not that common, so it's better if you listen to it at least a couple of times in order to appreciate it better.

Enjoy it!

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.

Six years between albums is a long time even in our days, but SOT sound more or less like they´ve done since day one. Guitars, drums, and tuba (which often functions as the bass does in other music), and the occasional vocal part to spice things up. There´s a strong jazz/fusion influence heard throughout the album, but "Monster Master" is an eclectic release, so that´s just one of the musical influences heard on the album. The tracks are dynamic, shifting between atmospheric parts and wild busy avant garde rock sections. The tracks are also loaded with tempo changes and odd-metered time signatures. It´s quite adventurous music and you never really know where SOT will take you next, which is one of the great assets of the album. It´s highly entertaining and engaging all the way through the 42:50 minutes that it lasts.

The sound production is organic, stripped down, and of a good quality, suiting the material well. And it´s the organic way the music sounds and the organic way it is performed that are the greatest strengths of "Monster Master". Hearing the tuba being an integral part of music like this is pretty interesting too, and it´s quite unique. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

So four years down the line since the release of "Kogel Mogel" (2016), SOT suddenly pop up again with this one-track single. And what a single track it is. Powerful, technical, eclectic avant garde rock, featuring drums, guitars, samples, and something as untraditional as tuba. The tuba is of course not a surprise if you already know the preceding releases by SOT, but it´s still quite interesting to hear tuba used this prominently in rock music. Sometimes the tuba works like the bass does in other rock music, but because of it´s unique timbre, it adds a distinct atmosphere to SOT´s music, that you won´t find in much other music.

"Soma Forms" is a both well produced and well written track going through many different sections and musical styles, and it´s quite intriguing and relatively accessible in the world of avant garde rock. Compared to the relatively stripped down recorded live in the studio material from "Kogel Mogel" (2016), this single features a more layered and polished sound production, and personally I think that´s the right choice for SOT. A 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.

Stylistically the material on "Kogel Mogel" is a continuation of the eclectic avant garde/progressive rock style of the band´s first two albums. The tracks are quite intriguing and relatively complex in structure, shifting atmosphere and musical styles in the matter of seconds. It´s still relatively accessible for an avant garde oriented release, but it´s not easy listening material by any means. In fact I´d say "Kogel Mogel" is SOT´s least accessible release of the first three albums. While the main instruments on the album are tuba (which often works as the bass does in other band´s), drums, and guitar, the album features occasional odd/silly type vocals, and some keyboards too. Some guest musicians also add saxophone and strings to some parts.

The influences are many and there´s for example a strong jazz influence heard throughout the album (especially on the tracks where saxophonist Grzech Piotrowski guests), but this is not as such jazz/fusion...it´s simply too weird and experimental for that. The technical level of playing is through the roof, and this is music which will keep you on your toes. It demands your attention and with the many shifts in style, pace, and dynamics, it´s impossible not to feel greatly entertained.

"Kogel Mogel" features an organic, raw, and detailed sounding production, which to my ears is a slight step down in quality from the sound production of the first two albums, but it´s still overall a good quality production. Upon conclusion "Kogel Mogel" is a both challenging but also immediate avant garde rock album and while I prefer the first two albums to this one, a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved.

The Norwegian trio is back with a full album release after six years with their mixture of Jazz, Avant and, most of all, lot of fun. I personally love the use of the tuba (called "tubmarine" by Lars) istead of the usual bass guitar, and the album contains also some exciting tuba solos. Let's now speak about the tracks:

"Draugner" is a good start: I'm not good at counting the beats, but I think it's in 7/4. The tempo is very catchy, the chord progression is vaguely dark in the Crimsonian sense ,and in these three minutes and half there's space for a drum solo, a slowed section with electronic noises, like dj scratching, and a dialogue between guitar and tuba. It fades into "Saga Siglar", a short newagey interlude featuring a melodic tuba played over slow percussion and keyboards.

Then comes the title track: the longest of the album scoring about 13 minutes. If you consider that in SOT's music there's usually a lot of stuff going on, you can barely imagine how many things happen on this track. It starts uptime with a dialogue between guitar and tuba playing the same notes while the drummer takes a fast tempo. Then it slows down with an oriental vibe and some jazz appearing in between this interlude, then the coming back to the initial theme, and it's when the variations start. A tuba solo sustained by guitar chord and a keyboard carpet while the drummer is like a metronome. There's also some speech in the tuba, the kind of things that Ian Anderson does with the flute, but without exhibitionism. after about 5 minutes it becomes unexpectedly jazzy. It's like being suddenly teleported into a night club between the two world wars, then the teleport restarts working and everything changes again. A guitar solo on a chord sequence reminding of the YES of the early 80s. and...ok, some spanish flavor and the main theme as the glue between the sections, including some spacey sounds and and avant section with drums and distorted tuba. I don't know how those sounds are obtained, but if this band is classified Avant, there must be a reason. In few words, this is a track I don't think I'll ever get tired of, including the newagey melodic section.

Another surprise: Tilstander features a very melodic guitar arpeggio, later joined by the tuba while the drummer adds atmosphere with the percussion.Great track.

The dialogue between guitar and tuba opens "Mann med Yacht". there's an alternance between this sequence of notes on an impossible signature and a melodic progression sustained y keyboards, then the track enters a rock section including an eciting guitar riff followed by an amazing performance of the tuba. It's also possible to hear some voices speaking, I assume in Norse, but it's quite unnitelliigible.

Again an unusual notes progression on an odd signature. Transcribing this music on a sheet should be a nightmare, but it's worth the effort. Also o this track there's really a lot going on, including a YES like coda.

Didgeridoo...in Norway? With somebody singing an "Aum"? "Rolig Ørken" has an oriental flavor, between middle and far East. It starts like a mantra. I'm used to enjoy ambient and folk, I love Kitaro and Yungchen Lhamo, so these first two minutes are a very pleasant moment. Then guitar and tuba play a strange melody with, I think to hear, Arabic and also Indian influences. The notes played by the tuba are incredibly low-pitched. This track is a trip!! It ends suddenly and is replaced by the heavy drums of "Barals Grav" The guitar riff in some parts is similar to AREA's "Cometa Rossa". This makes me think that a vocalist like Demetrio Stratos would have fit very well in the SOT's music. Hint for the band: should you ever decide to have lyrics, give a listen to Claudio Milano and his 7 octaves vocal range.

As in most of the album tracks, guitar and tuba sometimes play in unison. Suddenly a gong introduces a different session, quite newagey that passing through a YES like intrerlude after a minute turns into a sort of uptime rock and roll before coming back to this guitar lead newagey melody. There are also some mute vocals sung by a choir.

This is a very good album, I have the temptation to say that it' SOT's best release, but I should relisten to the other three albums before saying it for sure. Fact is that I have listened to it several times since when Skjalg has gifted me with a downloadable copy and I've never got tired of it, also the melodic newagey final of the album leaves me with the will of starting again. Question: is this or the last Greco Bastian's the best Avant album of the year?

Serious Fun

I know- progressive rock in its many forms and subgenres- is SERIOUS! Serious musicianship with serious musicians who devote serious amounts of time, energy, and hard-earned cash to the creation of serious music.

So what is the 'fun' this gently warped reviewer speaks of?

Tubmarine, Anyone?

Yes, this motley trio of fine Norwegian lads has been bringing serious FUN to progressive music since, well...the early nineteen nineties? when three intrepid musical high-school students hung out and made music.

Three full-length albums later, they now have released "Soma Forms" with their new drummer Arild Nyborg. This track is apparently one of a series of tunes to be released on the way to a forthcoming album in 2021.

So What IS a 'Tubmarine'?

Not sure.

But here's what I do know: SOMA is/was some sort of mysterious drink used to induce spiritual ecstasy in Hindu worshippers, to bathe them in light, spiritual energy, contact with the divine bliss, the source of all creation.

Hmm. Serious stuff, I guess.

But somehow, "Soma Forms" is a wildly entertaining track with this madcap trio creating energizing, varied, fresh, sublime sounds, in which the flow which moves from the opening complex guitar, tuba, and drum riff, through some jazz-inflected breakdowns, into dual guitar lines and wandering, walking tuba bass lines, into a dreamy (get it?) reverie with what sounds like mellotron...all the way to its majestic, magisterial close six minutes and change later.

Damned if I Know

This may well comprise some 'serious' interpretation of soma forms, this track we are now humorously, seriously considering. There are moods and worlds within the music, and it's a whale of a great piece.

In Conclusion

Bring on the album! Serious fun to be had, right here.

Opening with T'mmer (3:03), think Gentle Giant on acid with quirky chants of T'mmer. One may be reminded of Magma in places, at least in spirit if not execution. These Norwegian nutters are off and running with this track and then launch into Salt 3/4 (4:51) that has that trademark lead Tuba sound and a ton of lead guitar improvisations. It is clear that the band just get together and unleash what ever they feel. The music has a lot of passion and in fact the lyrics that may be nonsense in parts or Norwegian dialect, which ever one may believe while listening, it works to augment the outer worldly music. Kjede Tegn (3:42) is a guitar and tuba workout. The rhythm is as fractured as other tracks and the drumming is sublime throughout. The weird lyrics enter again, as mad as Hocus Pocus by Focus. Str'salt (4:58) is a slower piece with guitar vibrations and ethereal atmospherics. The cymbals clash gently as a washed out background and then the beautiful saxophone by Grzech Piotrowski chimes in. The effect is haunting and may lull you into a trance. Ekspertgraad (2:31) is short and jumps out of your speakers with a ferocity; chaotic percussion and off kilter melodies of sax, tuba and guitar. Then a weird antithesis of jazz and out of sync RIO tempos jolt your eardrums. It's jazz but not as we know it and I like it.

Ind (3:56) has a cool riff with twanging Shadows guitar and an estranged meter. The saxophone is glorious and emotionally charged. I like how the sax keeps in time with the complex rhythms of guitar and drums. Commandore (3:19) is the tuba in a playful mood and very cool guitars and a bizarre phased vocal that may get too weird for the average listener. It does not last and the time sig changes with a tuba solo and guitar chords up the scale. The sig switches again and the lead guitar takes over with some nice riffs and melodies, then the vocals return like a lost spirit. False endings close off the tracks in style.

Byttomfot (4:33) opens with a fanfare of marching drum rolls, tuba and odd vocals. It settles into a cool guitar riff and then more fun vocals. The sig moves to a new meter and the tuba really unleashes its power over crashing guitar chords. It drags on and on with hilarious results and goes into a maddening infectious melody that you may not get out of your head.

Elma (3:22) closes proceedings with a gentler approach. The sound is unique especially with guest artists LAH / Bydgoszcz who plays clarinet, and Kala ukulele bass. It is a dreamscape of soothing sounds and a wash of tranquil tones.

Once again SOT prove music is a multi dimensional beast and the album should please those with a penchant for the unique and different RIO sound they generate. I prefer their previous two releases as they featured longer tracks that explored and defined each track with definitive innovation. This album had a lot of tracks but they were not very long and did not allow for a wider range of inventiveness. If you are desiring something as bizarre as Magma, Gong or The Cardiacs, here is your album "Kogel Mogel".

I would like to thank Skjalg Reithaug for contacting me and introducing me to the world of SOT, this trio than in 2016 produced their third studio album entitled Kogel Mogel, whose dogma is: "all music is to be recorded live without any overdubs." This is a short release in which the band offers 9 tracks and a total time of 34 minutes in which we can feel an obvious sense of craziness and fun that are spread through guitar, drums, trumpets and vocals, mainly, accompanied by some other instruments.

The first song is "Tømmer" and I bet the vocals will be the first thing that hit your mind and memory here, they are funny. The work of the tuba is great, because it produces the sound of a bass guitar, of course one can notice is not a bass, but I, at least, don't miss it. This extraordinary work is present in "Salt 3/4", in moments reminding me a bit of Primus. The guitars and drums are great as well, I assume the name of Frank Zappa is truly familiar for the musicians. "Kjede Tegn" has a friendly repetitive rhythm that might be considered rock or avant-rock, sometimes guitars sound heavier which is great; and later they make a change, it is a bit slower but the presence of "fun" is inherent and that is more evident where the vocals appear.

In the next 3 songs the band introduces us to a new element, a sax player who creates new nuances and of course, change a little bit the direction of the music. "Strøsalt" is a slow track, with a jazzy feeling in which the sax is the main element. "Ekspertgraad" is a more explosive track that truly contrasts with its predecessor. Here there is a cool communion between drums, guitars, sax and tuba, all is fast at an unison, all is great. The sax participation finishes with "Ind", a song that is much different than the previous two (all of them are different, by the way). This time they produce a sexy and spacey sound

"Commandore" has an explosive start, with some rock and avant garde elements that are fulfilled by jazzy nuances and the fun element, adding even a kind of march sound at the end. "Byttomfot" starts with a new marching sound, drums, tuba and voices; later guitar joins, produce new elements with different tempo but then return for a split moment to the marching sound. This is a pretty cool track that I have enjoyed a lot, interesting and odd. The album finishes with "Elma", a relaxing song, I don't know if it could even fit under the new age genre, but it is totally different to the previous songs. This is atmospheric and peaceful. A song that clearly says goodbye and thanks.

Listen to it! You can have half an hour of good and different music that may open your mind, but I have to be honest and say that I would like to see some longer songs with more power, something that this album lacks in moments.

Enjoy it!

In the first track, as example, there's an interlude whose melody would be trivial but its highly distorted. The a- capella choir on the second track is another funny interlude in aa apparently chaotic track dominated by the tuba but on which at the same time drums and guitar often play at unison with it.

The same happens on track 3, where the crazy interlude is played by the vocies and guitar and tuba play unison until a drastic change into grotesque after 2 minutes.

I go ahead track by track, but I'm already too synthetic. There's really a lot going on even if a less than 4 minutes track.

Track 4 proceeds darkly and soft. The jazz imprinting is more than evident. It brings me to a smoky club in a dark rainy night. The guest saxophonist Grzech Piotrowski deserves a mention.

Of course after a track like that we need to wake up. Don't ask me what the signature is on track 5. If irrational numbers could be used for signatures, this could be one...Again the sax helps moving toward more jazzy environments, but the basis of the track is again Crimsonian.

The trilogy of tracks guesting the sax ends with track 6. This time it's like we moved to Canterbury, This track reminds me to the early GonG, those of the instrumental parts of Angel's Egg but with a touch of darkness that GonG didn't have. The guitar riff in the final part of the track, with somebody vocalizing like a trumpet is remarkable.

If anybody wants to hear what a tuba can do, the initial part of track 8 clarifies it. The track itself is the first completely fun, without the darkness of the rest of the album.

Track 8 starts like a military march. If it wasn't for the singing closer to GonG than to the operatic vocals of Magma, I could have said "borderline to Zeuhl", but no. It's SOT and nothing else. The reason why I mention other bands is just to give an idea, but this is an original band and this song is crazy. The choir is crazy and hypnotic backed by drums first and guitar later.

The album says that some LAH guests on track 9 playing clarinet and some Kala Ukulele bass (whatever it is). I suspect the guy behind is Lars Andreas Haug (LAH are the initials). The absence of percussion and the quietness of the major chords made me think to the Camel of Rain Dances. A very nice album closure that doesn't have anything to do with the rest.

Let's spend few words for the great instrumental skill of this trio, too.

The previous releases were both excellent, but this one is even better. Surely an excellent addition to any prog collection.