Arabs in Aspic | Artist

Arabs in Aspic is a Norwegian heavy-progressive rock band formed 1997 in Trondheim, Norway, by guitarist and vocalist Jostein Smeby and rhythm guitarist & Theremin player, Tommy Ingebrigtsen. Ingebrigtsen left the band to focus on being a champion ski jumper, and Smeby recruited Erik Paulsen (bass), Stig Arve Jørgensen (keyboards, vocals) and Eskil Nyhus (drums). They describe their style as "heavyprog with a love for good melodies and the 70's - might contain traces of classic rock". Certainly similarities to classic era Black Sabbath and King Crimson are evident in their sound. To-date they have released seven consistently good studio albums plus an excellent live album. Standouts include their four albums issued between 2010-2017: Strange Frame of Mind (2010), Pictures in a Dream (2013), Victim of Your Father's Agony (2015) and Syndenes Magi (2017), plus Live at Avantgarden from 2018. One reviewer notes how the band's later albums had moved aways from their early fixation with Black Sabbath, in fthe following excerpt: "The Black Sabbath links are almost completely gone and the fresh Arabs in Aspic is chatacterized by pure frenetic power in the vein of neighbours Black Bonzo, inspired by Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster or early King Crimson, showing a more pronounced keyboard color and updating the related arsenal with the mighty Mellotron." In deciding on their name, the band were inspired by the King Crimson album Larks' Tongues in Aspic, then they found on eBay a book about cricket entitled 'Arabs in Aspic', and they decided to use that name for the band.

Artist Website: arabsinaspic.org

Featured Albums: Arabs in Aspic

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