Grey Czar – Euarthropodia
Argonauta Records / Octopus Rising – 2025
Rock, Metal, Prog, Stoner
Rated: *****
Shimmering memories of bronze lamps in alcoves, burning sesame oils, sending up coils of smoke and flickering shadows across palace walls that are meant to last for eternity. But every civilization is forever in decline and even though the spirit rebels against it and moves to build ever larger structures to repel the coming of the end, this decline is inevitable and crucial. Cause it will also mean rebirth. Decline and rebirth is the concept around which the brand new album Euarthropodia by Austrian quartet Grey Czar has been built. The imagery they evoke will be entirely up to the listener, but lost civilizations, ancient lore, majestic many legged beasts, winged creatures and giant insects will surely be a part of them. The compositions are purposeful and pristine, ensuring all prog rock and prog metal enthusiasts will feel a flutter in their hearts, as riffs stand firm or stomp ever forward, ready to trample whatever opposition they come across. Which is what Grey Czar seems to have been growing towards, ever since that first self-titled release from 2012. Still the four same comrades, trooping it out for their destiny. Euarthropodia is full of copper air and breathes antique love. Whether you hear it in that extra punctuated organ push of Insects Took Over or the way the vocals wash over the compositions, minorly touched by a second or third set of voices. And as the story continues throughout the album, you can feel decades glide by, as some tracks lean more towards sixties production or seventies rock, classic metal and towards the end even more eighties toned. It’s a wonderful extra touch that makes it even easy for the listener to get lost inside the world of Euarthropodia.
Opening with Eschaton, a short build that quickly enfolds its grand plan towards a sharp and salty push, with something akin to audio illusion, for there seems to be so much more breathing room between the different instruments and notes, it’s almost impossible to still sound so forceful and determined. Strained vocals give that extra air of classic prog rock and when the track has seamlessly transitioned into the second track Withered World, the main vocals get a bigger podium before Grey Czar thunders on. Thunder that becomes grainy and thick, even grittier than in that opening track. Insects Took Over follows with a minor jazz touch, this thick veiny bass, lovely key work opening the ball and that organ than pushing the track ever forwards. And by then you start to hear that minor touch of Ian Astbury color in the main vocalist’s voice. Another smooth transition already leads you to center piece Trooping For Euarthropodia, lead by a forceful wind, determined to drench the listener in all its prog rock glory. And where you can feel the propelling energy of Trooping For Euarthropodia deliver that rotational noise, the next track is actually called Ballad Of Propellerheads and gives more of a glide and layered descent, almost like a mercurial cascade down a river canyon. Which transitions with propeller sounds into Queens Of The New World, grand overture opening, pulling away the curtain, while the memories of all that was lost may not have been washed away, yet the sounds of a new day have arrived. Even more spring time sounds open following Nutritional Protocol, which soon turns a darker corner. Steadily building towards a passionate ending, not explosive, but heartfelt and gripping. Arthrobotic Liberty, explodes out of the gate, is touched by another retro organ push and a rising and falling sensation that almost feels like an arcane ritual. Feelings of chronic remorse riddled throughout the track and so classic in all its elements. Final track Aeon has that most eighties of effects, key work and production, almost Victorian in its execution, profoundly impressing and absorbing as it moves through its different scenes.
In all Euarthropodia feels like a dazzling feat of storytelling, using tried and true prog rock, metal and even minor stoner rock methods in such a way that everything feels brand new and vibrant. Even those vintage touches from the different eras, turning it all ageless and reverberating across space and time. Grey Czar manages to evoke atmospheres, images and emotions with seemingly carefree melodic gestures and riff hungry rhythms. There is no shortage of push or pull and the overall unfiltered texture turns the Euarthropodia into something coarse and grained. And it is this story, this one lost musical poem about decline and rebirth that got stuck in the shell and through all the lost civilizations, all the eras gone, slowly turned into a pearl…
And you can hear that pearl in all its glory on Stoner HiVe this upcoming Wednesday! That’s right, tune in, this Wednesday, the 9th of April for the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE of Grey Czar’s Euarthropodia !!
(Written by JK)
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