I WASH MY SOUL IN THE STREAM OF INFINITY

It wasn't easy hunting this sucker down, but persistence paid off handsomely with the arrival of this interesting release from Sweden. Being in a psychedelic mode of late, I have been scouring the stars for some bass guitar-fueled sonic rides and this falls right in line with recent Moonwagon, Mantric Muse L'Ombre della Sera and Giorgio C. Neri albums. There is something about cosmic dirge influencing the gas pedal as one is tearing down the empty highway on a clear sunny day. Phew! "Fire!Fire!Fire!" has all those qualities and more, an ardent and explosive convulsion of sound that exemplifies the space genre, dense and hypnotic. Niklas Barker (Anekdoten) leads the charge with the Eriksson lads handling the bass and drums driving their jam- infested space drool with little remorse. Its classic blast-off music, with a heavy booming bass carving out a specific orbit around the sun and washes of colossal mellotron and synths spraying the stars. The dual electric guitars provide some serene psychedelia, scouring and searing notes that induce a sense of weightlessness and further the trip. I am reminded of Steppenwolf's classic "Magic Carpet Ride" instrumental section, a very retro sound that has plenty of staying power. This is 13 minutes of sophisticated bliss. Play it Loud! "Pagan Moonbeam" is more acoustic in feel, a gentle drone and pastoral lilt, with a slight Hindu tinge (the sitar sounds are played by Matthias Danielsson and the shrill organ by Tommy Eriksson). Definitely a step into a parallel world of interstellar overdrive. This cosmological interlude is twinned with the mellotron-raging "The Mediator between Head and Hands Must be the Heart" a brooding, opaque and hefty slab of propulsive drumming entwined with a rabid bass, both serve as appetizer to the next epic ride the nearly 11 minute "Torbjorn Abelli". In typical Scandinavian prog style, rivulets of icy chords coalesce to form patches of glowing sonic sunshine, interspersed by menacing colorations and highly evocative soundscapes that play with one's imagination. Speed here is not an issue, the effortless mood just soldiers on at its own leisurely pace, undaunted and unafraid, drenched in the swirliest psychedelia. The progression is inexorable, an unchained beast of sound and fury that takes no pride in just being there. There is a purpose and a mission to take the listener far away into the deepest realms of space. The dual guitars craze mightily, careening bass and drums provide the insanity. "Under Crimson Skies" is raunchier, almost 70s like zaniness in the chord progressions, a huge caravan of slick phrasings and insane soloing. This is space rock in improvised jam mode, free of direction, time and space. It's a trip. The title track is equally hypnotic, excruciatingly deliberate like some warp-driven monolith, mysterious and yet present in a comfortable way. Floating ecstasy in so many notes. Not as highly rated as the two Moonwagon albums or that stunner from Mantric Muse, but close enough.

4 squall comrades