Melodic Revolution Records Feature Album January/February 2018 | Blå Lotus Tube Alloys
Label –Melodic Revolution Records
Release Year – 2018
Country – Sweden
Genre – Heavy Progressive/Psychedelic Rock
Band Members
Fredrik Andersson – Hammond Organ and Farfisa Organ/Mellotron/Synth’s/Electric Piano/Flute and Vocals
Linus Karlsson – Bass Guitar/Theremin & Random Sound Effects
Wiktor Nydén – Drums/Percussion
Contact Links
Blå Lotus Official Melodic Revolution Records Profile
Blå Lotus Official Facebook Page
Blå Lotus Official YouTube Channel
Definition of :
Craft –
1. An art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially manual skill,
2. Skill or dexterity
3. Skill or ability used for bad purposes; cunning; deceit; guile.
4. The members of a trade or profession collectively; a guild
When a band makes a album they frequently use words like write, record, produce, engineer and master. That conventional wisdom is not wrong whatsoever and those words are very appropriate to use to describe the album making process. Now when some people work on a project like a album they use attention to detail in every facet of that process. Attention to said detail can be called craft, crafting or even crafted once the process has reached its completion.
To craft something is to take extra attention to detail by carefully using a special set of skills to get a special set of premium results. This is exactly what Sweden’s Bla Lotus have done with their Melodic Revolution Records debut Tube Alloy’s. When we think of Sweden and progressive rock or metal music we usually think of Opeth or a Pain of Salvation, Flower Kings, Änglagård, Anekdoten, Spiritual Beggars,Nad Sylvan, etc …
Bla Lotus are a serious heavy prog band that carry various old school influences of late 1960’s to early to mid 1970’s stoner fried psychedelic music to a modern age of listener. Bla Lotus are a Hammond Organ lovers paradise combining elements of Rick Wakeman and Jon Lord meets Per Wiberg – Spiritual Beggars to craft a very unique melodic stringed section which is highly due the fact the band has no guitar whatsoever with the various Hammond, Mellotron and other synth’s. The fact they do not have a piece like a guitar does not cheapen the product at all. Even in the description on their official Facebook page says, ” Progressive rock trio. No six-strings allowed”.
For a band that started only two years ago in 2016 they have developed such a tight cohesive sound. On Tube Alloy’s you can certainly notice that Fredrik Andersson – Hammond Organ and Farfisa Organ/Mellotron/Synth’s/Electric Piano/Flute and Vocals , Linus Karlsson – Bass Guitar/Theremin & Random Sound Effects and Wiktor Nydén – Drums/Percussion all mastered the craft at their individual instrumental roles much like musical journeymen. Now a breakdown of Bla Lotus Tube Alloy’s track by track.
Trajectory begins heavily with a very deep bass/drum rhythm section that is soon met in perfection with a Hammond Style organ. From the first hooks the band transports the listener to the 1970’s based chord progressions and passages with a modern relevant sound. Fredrik Andersson definitely display’s his extraordinary finger talent on the synth sections on this one. Trajectory is also a instrumental track that gives the listener the appearance it serves as a smooth seamless transition intro to the next track Omnistellar Firefly.
Omnistellar Firefly picks up quite smoothly from Trajectory. This starts off in a very psychedelic manner much like the psychedelic music coming out of San Francisco California, London England or New York at the time. With very deep rhythm toned chord progressions and vocals that echo like a LSD trip this is any psychedelic purists paradise. You literally do not need a synthetic substance nor drug to feel the full melodious effect the band is portraying here. This also reminds me very much of the late great Jon Lord’s solo material with the orchestra.
Mephistopeles is a much more methodical groove laden piece. The rhythm and stringed sections definitely have a method to their madness and specific purposes in the body of the track or song itself. At 8:09 this is the second longest song on Tube Alloy’s and allows the band much more freedom to display their own skills while building a unified body of work. The echo vocals really accentuate the psychedelic feel to the song. The organs play in perfect time to the bass and drums within the rhythm section much in the vein of Deep Purple’s Space Truckin‘.
Moebius fades in quite subtly. This is most definitely the most experimental Avant Garde psychedelic track on the album. It is also a straight away progressive psychedelic track with standard stringed section and rhythm section until about a quarter or half way mark and then the experimental elements come into play. The experimental section works on all three major channels of the auditory senses, the right channel, the left channel and center channel. The band engineers this quite brilliant into a full surround sound package on the listener.
Recreational Nuke is the shortest track on the album, however do not be deceived it is still as full of progressive twists and turns and time signature changes. It may start a little slowly however do not let that be the focus. There are huge Hammond organ and rhythm sections. This is arranged perfectly within the album allowing a bit slower pace for the listener to begin to absorb the tracks of the album as a collective. It may require a few spins and listens for this to make sense to the listener. The psychedelic vocals are as strong on this as every other song on the album as well.
Indian Money starts out with big pounding and deep drum based rhythm sections. The drums are semi isolated allowing for a more heavier sound before the bass and Hammond and other organs come into play. This track takes all the various elements the band employed within the album as a collective. This one is written much like it was orchestrated or a symphony.
There is certainly a massive ground swell of this style of psychedelic progressive rock. Look at it like a over inflated balloon or a underground caldera waiting to burst through. I believe Bla Lotus will be at the forefront once this style of progressive psychedelic rock really takes off. This style of music will be the next significant genre to take off and bands like Bla Lotus will headline the pioneering spirit and craft of this style of music. Once this style does take off again Bla Lotus Tube Alloy’s will be one of those future essential albums any fan of the genre must have. This is why I give Bla Lotus Tube Alloy’s and 5/5.
