Instrumental psych rock frontrunners MONKEY3 herald 2024 with a true album highlight of the new year. Following Live at Freak Valley (2017) and their latest album, Sphere (2019), February 23, 2024 will see the Lausanne-based four-piece return with their cosmic new studio offering, entitled Welcome To The Machine, via Napalm Records.
Welcome To The Machine’s musical themes are inspired by movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, Sunshine, Solaris and 1984, while unveiling an intense mankind vs. machines story that instantly launches the listener into deep space. Right from its first tones, the album immediately emerges as a perfect soundtrack to a journey into the unknown. Tracks such as the official album single « »Rackman » » perfectly showcase how MONKEY3, who formed in 2001, are one of only a few instrumental bands that know how to tell an enthralling story – in this case about an artificial intelligence that has enslaved humans.
Welcome To The Machine explores as much as it poses questions. It is dark and menacing; evoking melancholic destruction while somehow bursting with hope at the same time. MONKEY3 move between haunting passages and progressive breaks, mesmerizing grooves and colossal riffs, reinforced by songs such as « »Collision » ». As the track explores awareness of reality and destruction of an artificial machine system, MONKEY3 excel with an extensive, cosmic introduction that explodes into a majestic psychedelic magnum opus!
Once again, MONKEY3 envelop listeners and audiences in their unique, cosmic auditory haze – which can also be witnessed at upcoming live appearances at Desertfest Berlin 2024 and many others. Welcome To The Machine not only marks the seventh studio album in the band’s impressive catalog – capturing the zeitgeist with their most epic, dark and captivating record to date – but also clearly proves that MONKEY3 are one of the most exciting instrumental rock bands in the modern stoner and psychedelic rock scene!
01. Ignition
02. Collision
03. Kali Yuga
04. Rackman
05. Collapse
10:38
6:03
10:01
7:12
12:50
Drums: Walter
Bass: Jalil
Guitars: Boris
Keyboards, Sounds and Acoustic Guitars: dB
Recorded by Raphaël Bovey at Blend Studio (Lutry, Switzerland)
Mixed by Raphaël Bovey at MyRoom Studio (Lausanne, Switzerland)
Mastered by Lad Agabekov at Caduceus Studios (Geneva, Switzerland)
Artwork by Sebastian Jerke
Written and played by Monkey3
Produced by Monkey3
Label: Napalm Records
“Welcome To The Machine is the band’s darkest, most epic and immersive record to date.“ (rockoverdose.gr)
“Welcome To The Machine takes the tension building to a new level…“ (demonic-nights.at)
“Danny Boyle’s delirium set to music, a reverberating sound, an orgasmic, frenzied journey to save humanity.“ (progarchives.com)
“From melancholic darkness to hopeful sunrise the album transports emotions without words.“ (marcusheavymusicblog.org)
“Listening to the entire album will give you the opportunity to understand its construction and depth.“ (Hard Force, FR)
“A perfect soundtrack for the film you create when you close your eyes.“ (obscuro.eu)
« A thrilling and genuinely cosmic ride that you feel could easily last forever! » (METAL HAMMER, UK)
« Sound spheres that you cannot escape! » (ROCK IT! MAGAZINE, GER)
« With their amped-up instrumental sound, the psych-rockers from Lausanne have what it takes to wordlessly tell the history of technology – from steampunk to intergalactic travel. » (VISIONS, GER)
« Hats Off!“ (ECLIPSED MAGAZINE, GER)
“A work that will leave you satisfied from start to finish.“ (Rocking.gr)
“A masterful lesson in musical immersion.“ (distortedsoundmag.com)
“MONKEY3 proves that stoner, combined with psych, creates a blend that allows for unparalleled epic scale.“ (Twiglight magazine)
“Listening to this album in full is a monumental experience…2024, the space-rock odyssey has a name and it’s Welcome To The Machine.“ (desert-rock.com)
Don’t miss a beat. Sign up now.
Credits – All contents copyright © 2024 Monkey3