June 1, 2020 by A.S. Van Dorston

Back in 2013, the third album from Norwegian psych prog band Spirits Of The Dead struck such a chord with me because it was such a satisfying fusion of influences from psychedelic and progressive rock from 1968-72 with modern production values. While that band has encountered obstacles in completing their fourth album, fortunately, there has been plenty of other bands sprouting up, including Tusmørke, Electric Eye, High Priest Of Saturn, Himmellegeme, Arabs In Aspic, Action & Tension & Space, Amgala Temple, Elephant 9, and Shaman Elephant. That’s just from Norway alone, and doesn’t include Dark Suns and Carpet (Germany), Elder (Germany via US), The Warp/The Weft, Bask and Monarch (US), Syd Arthur and Rosalie Cunningham (UK), Sammal, Sisare, Mansion and Jess and the Ancient Ones (Finland).

I’m pretty particular about prog. If the production gets too polished and precise, it loses me when it gets too clinical. Prog metal I can go either way, such as I liked Caligula’s Horse previously, but am struggling with their latest album. I prefer it to be roughed up with a little garage grease, or psychedelic space debris. Shaman Elephant toe that line, where the 60s and 70s influences can be detected (dig the Deep Purple organ overdrive on “H.M.S: Death, Rattle and Roll”), but I can also hear a touch of 90s psych and alt rock (the piano and reverb on “Ease Of Mind” bring to mind Spiritualized), and plenty of remnants of the towering spector of Motorpsycho. Check out Eirik Sejersted Vognstølen’s cyclical guitar riffs and the shouty and harmonized vocals on “Steely Dan” (sounds nothing like the band, but lyrics refer to “The Royal Scam” and “Your Gold Teeth…” “Sign in stranger let me see the monkey in your soul night by night”) and the frenetic “Magnet.”

Producer Iver Sandøy (Enslaved, Krakow, Seven Impale) knows just where they’re getting at, which is especially illustrated on the concluding tracks “Traveller” and “Strange Illusions,” which luxuriate in heavy warmth of the analog 70s with Jonas Særsten’s spacey mellotron and luscious keyboard sounds. The arrangements also contribute to a more contemporary feel, such as the first half of “Ease Of Mind” which could be linked to Jeff Buckley, Elbow and Radiohead. The hourglass flow of the album works well, book ended with the slowly building 8:05 title track, and sprawling space rocking 11:28 “Traveller.” The third through fifth songs are all under four minutes. It’s difficult to pick out highlights, but breath catching moments can be found on the crescendo of multiple guitars illustrating the destructive power of the government issued timecraft “H.M.S: Death, Rattle and Roll,” the elegant beauty of “Ease Of Mind,” the and the dreamy closer “Strange Illusions” that packs an epic journey in it’s five minutes.

Shaman Elephant emerged as a band with a immense potential on Crystals (2016), and on their second, they’ve reached another level, and can hold their own with the cream of the psych prog crop as a legit contender for a year-end spot on Fester’s Lucky 13.

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