Ancient Astronauts by Motorpsycho

Ancient Astronauts by the Norwegian band  Motorpsycho, from 2022

Musically, the album features songwriting, instrumentation, and production techniques similar to those of the early, admittedly pre-progressive era of progressive rock, with the use of instruments such as multi-neck guitars/basses, synthesizers, and electronics, including the Mellotron, the Buchla, and the Moog Taurus 3, a sort of archaeo-prog.

The album was born from a collaboration with choreographer Hooman Sharifi, to provide live music for a dance performance. At his request, they developed compositions that would become the songs "Mona Lisa/Azrael" and "Chariot of the Sun," two standout tracks.

This inspired a new project, the soundtrack to a film with a Norwegian theater group they had already collaborated with, and they called the project "Ancient Astronauts." It all revolves around the theory of early ancient astronauts who influenced future humanity, proposed by molecular biologist and Nobel Prize winner Francis Crick, whose research helped reveal the helical structure of DNA.

However, these are songs composed without an overarching theme, so it's not a concept album.

I've spoken extensively about Motorpsycho in many posts, including their excellent self-titled album, 2025.

This album contains a masterpiece, "Chariots of the Sun," a truly authentic progressive rock of our century—or rather, Northern Prog.

Mona Liza/Azrael and Chariot of the Sun are beautiful, with tremendous bass throughout, and "The Ladder" is beautiful, while "The Flower of Awareness" is a step below.

An exceptional album in my opinion, from a very talented band capable of composing wonderfully creative music, unafraid of change and experimentation.

A unique, very emotional album, not an absolute masterpiece, but excellent, and I recommend it to anyone who appreciates experimental prog rock and great rock.
Highly recommended!

The Tracks
1. The Ladder (6:41)
2. The Flowers of Awareness (2:14)
3. Mona Lisa / Azrael (12:15)
4. Chariots of the Sun - To Phaeton on the Occasion of the Sunrise (Theme from an imagined movie) (22:22)
Running Time: 43:32

The Lineup
- Bent Sæther / lead vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, drums
- Hans Magnus Ryan / lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, mandolin, violin, bass
- Tomas Järmyr / drums, vocals