Hollow Earth - Out Of Atlantis mp3

What looks like an H.P. Lovercraft-inspired cover, what appears to be an artist's rendition of Yog Sothoth, in reality was an old illustration from German artist, professor, philosopher (too many other professions) Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919). So it's just his rendition of some marine biology that I don't believe exists in real life. Regardless, I can see why this Swedish band Hollow Earth wanted to use that illustration for their album cover, it probably did remind them of Yog Sothoth. And with that in mind, if you're looking for some retro psych and prog that frequently has a sinister feel, this album is totally right up your alley! This band, unlike Bo Hansson or Änglagård totally avoids any Scandinavian/Nordic influences in the music and goes strictly for the UK style of psych and prog. They're a trio consisting Cristobal Nemo on keyboards and vocals, Don Pharaoh on bass and vocals, and Rod Handel on drums, and they cite Mark I Deep Purple, Meddle-era Pink Floyd, King Crimson and "Pink and Grey"-era Caravan (they meant "Grey and Pink" as in "In the Land of Grey and Pink") as an influence in the music. So the sound you get is very much organ-dominated, although some Mellotron, synths, and even Theramin appear. "Electric Eden" does have that ominous feel, especially with the Theramin giving it that horror movie vibe to it. Musically I get reminded a bit of Dr. Z's Three Parts to My Soul (1971). "Ghost Riders on the Vapour Trail" is another great piece, especially those acoustic guitar parts really give it that eerie feel. The title track is a great instrumental piece showing all the band's best qualities. "Incantation" is another really eerie number that gets me thinking of Lovecraft. "Beyond the Ivory Gate" clocks in over 16 minutes and the band knew how to keep it interesting the whole time. They go through psychedelic vocal passages, some spacy parts, some experimental parts, some King Crimson-like passages, as it goes through several changes. Sounds like it could have been easily divided into suites. "Ave Satanis or Tea-Time with Lucifer" is actually not as creepy sounding as the title suggests, it's more of that retro-early '70s style heavy prog/psych, perhaps a bit less eerie than a good portion of this album, but it still rocks. It's too bad the LP never came with a lyric sheet, but it seems the occult is a big influence on the lyrics, with titles like "Ave Satanis" and "Incantation", I wouldn't doubt it.I also got amused by the back cover, it bears an old 1960s "Stereo logo" that states that it "Can also be played on Mono equipment". I expect that on an album released in the 1960s, but in 2017? Especially since no one owns mono equipment these days except for diehard audio historians.I forgot to add on that it's been speculated that this group actually consisted of Mattias Olsson, Matti Bye and Kristian Holmgren. The fact the drummer is named Rod Handel, as in Roth Händle, the studio owned by Mattias Olsson. Also the fact none of the band members have Swedish names make me believe they are playing under pseudonyms. Not to mention the drumming does very much sound like Mattias' style.Anyways, Hollow Earth created a wonderful eerie and sinister retro prog/psych album and it's a real treat for those who like this style!

I didn't knew about the cover artist! Thanks for that information (that i could found, later, at the back cover). It is a amazing band indeed, but there isn't much to add after your contribution, only that those that want the original art used to the front cover, you can find it here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Haeckel_Ophiodea_70.jpgIt's a paiting of a Ophiuroids (Brittle star).