Mythos – Mythos (1999)
Artist: Mythos
Album: Mythos
Genre: Progressive Rock, Krautrock
Label: ZYX Nusic
Year Of Release: 1972/1999
Quality:
Tracklist:
1. Mythoett (3:08)
2. Oriental Journey (8:16)
3. Hero’s Death (9:47)
4. Encyclopedia Terra Part 1 (10:17)
5. Encyclopedia Terra Part 2 (7:24)
Personnel:
– Stephan Kaske / 6- & 12-string guitars, sitar, flute, synth, vocals
– Harald Weiße / bass, acoustic guitar, Fx
– Thomas Hildebrand / drums & percussion
Many words come to mind when listening to this fantastic album, like pastoral, spacey, atmospheric, trippy, eastern, dreamy, cosmic, dark and for one song heavy. Again this was recommended to me by Tom Ozric who not only knows his Krautrock, but is passionate about it too.Thanks Tom.
“Mythoett” is a pastoral flute led song. Light drums and bass help out. The tempo picks up early. It calms back down 2 minutes in before the tempo picks back up again. “Oriental Journey” is very eastern sounding with percussion to open and guitar joining in quickly. Distant sounding vocals are joined by the sitar to round out the sound. It becomes spacey after 3 minutes. Flute and bass 4 1/2 minutes in. Vocals and sitar are back 7 minutes in. “Hero’s Death” opens with spacey sounds that build. Guitar and bass take over with drums in tow. Processed vocals 2 1/2 minutes in as the song gets dark and heavy. Almost BLACK SABBATH-like ! Amazing sound on this one. Love the psychedelic guitar 4 1/2 minutes in. Mellotron flows in a minute later. The tempo starts to pick back up a minute after that. More great guitar is followed by a calm and psychedelic guitar. Nice. Awesome tune. “Encyclopedia Terra Part 1” opens with the sounds of seagulls. Bass and drum sounds follow in an atmospheric and spacey soundscape. The sound builds after 3 minutes. Guitar before 4 minutes as it starts to get intense. The melody stops after 7 minutes as different experimental sounds come and go. It sounds like a battle in the air between fighter jets, like a war is going on before 9 minutes.
“Encyclopedia Terra Part 2” opens with birds chirping as a bell is sounding over and over. The organ is solemn as drums then bass join in as the sound builds. Guitar 2 1/2 minutes sounds great. Incredible sound a minute later with some excellent drumming. Mellotron before 4 1/2 minutes as the song then changes and a story is told with spoken words. It’s a story about a man who invents a machine that allows him to sleep in it indefinitely until the machine wakes him up. His reason for doing this is the hope of coming back to a world with no violence and war. After the machine wakes him up the first time(after a hundred years) all has changed except that men are still at war with one another. So he goes back to sleep and returns after a hundred years again. This goes on 32 more times until when he returns from sleep that final time all life on earth is ended. Man has destroyed himself and all life. He then realizes that only death can bring him to the place he is looking for. A cool and very well told story.
A solid 4 stars and recommended to all Krautrock fans out there.
Review by Mellotron Storm
