Here Be Monsters

Since meeting in high school in the central Norwegian town of Steinkjer in the early 1990s, Motorpsycho's founding members Magnus Snah Ryan and Bent Saether have embarked on musical progressions over multiple genres, with collaborations, occasional line-up changes, and the development of a global following - not to mention numerous awards - cementing their position as Norway's preeminent rock behemoths. Here Be Monsters is the zenith of the Norwegians' motorpsychodelic tendencies, with the emphasis on the blissful and melodic rather than their more hair-raising elements, but maintaining an intensity all it's own. Here Be Monsters began as a commission for the centennial jubilee of the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in November 2014, and was originally performed with keyboardist Stale Storlokken (Elephant9, Supersilent, Terje Rypdal, etc.). While Storlokken's commitments meant he had to pass on making an album out of it, Saether, Ryan, and Kenneth Kapstad (drums) turned it into a full-blown Motorpsycho project. Recorded in 2015 at Trondheim's Nidaros Studio, the album contains five of the trio's own compositions - the tantalizing piano intro Sleepwalking (and it's brief reprise, Sleepwalking Again); the serene, beautiful Lacuna/Sunrise and Running With Scissors; the pulsing, pounding I.M.S.; and the expansive and stunningly scenic 17-minute closer Big Black Dog. Motorpsycho also felt it was the perfect occasion to record one of their favorite psych nuggets of old; their take on American band H. P. Lovecraft's version of Terry Callier's Spin, Spin, Spin adds a slightly sinister vibe to the old folk tune, which offsets and complements the grandiose, cinematic sweep of the trio's own songs. Co-produced, engineered, and mixed by long-time co-conspirator and fellow sonic explorer Thomas Henriksen, Here Be Monsters is Motorpsycho's most hi-fi, headphone-friendly music yet, taking the listener closer to the songs' themes. While the museum version focused lyrically on history and time, this revised version looks at other aspects of life; perhaps not a jubilant celebration of existence, but a personal take on the human condition. It is Motorpsycho taking a long look into the abyss, to drive the darkness out by accepting that it is real and true and a part of us all. When you look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you - Friedrich Nietzsche, translated from the German by Walter Kaufmann. Better out than in -Granny LeBad. Here be monsters. - Motorpsycho