Mythos (4) – Mythos

Very cool sound from the 70s :P

Mythos was a Krautrock band that was basically lead by Stephan Kaske. He plays flute, keyboards, and sings. In 1972, they released their debut on Ohr, and is a great gem of Krautrock waiting to be discovered! They start off with a rendition of Handel's "Fireworks Music" called "Mythoette". It's rather jazzy with a classical feel (naturally). They then get much more psychedelic with sitar and trippy flute. Stephan Kaske's voice is rather raspy and might provide a problem with some listeners. "Hero's Death" is a heavier piece, with heavy guitar riffs. "Encyclopedia Terra" is a side-length cut with strange simulated sounds of war (the sounds of airplanes and air raid sirens were produced off a VCS-3 synthesizer). There's also some nice use of Mellotron. The album really ends in a very down way, with a narrator talking about a man who was tired of all the warfare, fighting and pollution, builds a cryonic chamber where he wakes up 100 years in the future in hopes of a better world, and he repeats this 23 times (about 2,300 years into the future) only to find pollution and war killed the planet and the results, killed him as well. I found that a bit disturbing to hear. The narration has a "down feel" to it, not to mention the strummed guitar that goes with it. Although that end part is a bit difficult for me to take in, I still think it's a great, largely undiscovered gem of Krautrock. The many spacy ages at times could remind you a bit of Ash Ra Tempel while the more ethnic influence like the use of sitar can get you thinking of Yatha Sidhra. If you're looking for more great Krautrock, try this one.