Formed in the late 1980s as an alternative metal band (they picked their name after seeing the
Russ Meyer film of the same name as part of a Russ Meyer
triple bill – there was already
a band named after Mudhoney and
a band named after Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – the other two films on the bill), Motorpsycho soon developed a unique blend of
grunge, heavy metal and indie rock, as well as incorporating the sonic noise experiments of associated member
Deathprod. The hugely ambitious, progressive double album
Demon Box (1993) followed a series of low-profile EPs and albums, earning the band a nomination for a Norwegian Grammy, and secured a loyal following in
Germany,
Italy,
Belgium and the
Netherlands as well as in
Scandinavia. The 1990s was an extremely productive era for the band. They released new material almost every year and enjoyed critical acclaim for each album—though not the massive sales the music press kept predicting. With the 2000 album
Let Them Eat Cake, Motorpsycho suddenly took huge steps away from their noisy hard rock roots, opting instead for a smoother, jazz-tinged approach to the songwriting and recording process. They kept this technique for the subsequent releases,
Phanerothyme and ''
It's A Love Cult''. Drummer Hakon Gebhardt left the band in 2003. The double album
Black Hole/Blank Canvas was released 17/20 March 2006 in Europe, with Bent Saether playing drums. The album received great reviews. Drums on the following tour were played by Jacco van Rooij. On 28 March 2008 Motorpsycho released an album entitled
Little Lucid Moments, with new drummer Kenneth Kapstad, and on 16 March 2008 a DVD containing music videos, live footage and documentaries entitled
Haircuts. To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the band released a vinyl-only album,
Child of the Future, recorded by
Steve Albini at the beginning of August 2009. In January 2010 Motorpsycho released the album
Heavy Metal Fruit, their first album featuring an external producer, Kåre Vestrheim, and also their third album in under two years. In October 2011 the Dutch venue
Effenaar released a limited edition live album exclusively on vinyl entitled
Strings Of Stroop – Motorpsycho Live At Effenaar. The album features four Motorpsycho tracks recorded during various Motorpsycho shows at Effenaar between 1999 and 2010. Only 500 copies were pressed and sold at the band's 14th show in the venue. On 10 February 2012 Motorpsycho released the double
CD/
LP effort
The Death Defying Unicorn in collaboration with keyboardist
Ståle Storløkken from the free improv group
Supersilent. The album is a reworking of an instrumental suite commissioned by and performed at
Moldejazz 2010. During 2011,
Sæther produced lyrics for a sweeping narrative, thus making the album version a
concept album. As in its initial performance at the
Norwegian Opera and Ballet, the band and Storløkken are augmented by contributions from Trondheimssolistene,
Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, violinist
Ola Kvernberg and long time collaborating visual artist
Pekka Stokke on stage design. The core quartet performed the album in its entirety on every date during a March/April 2012 tour of Europe. After the release and tour accompanying the
Unicorn, the band felt the need to return to more traditional, guitar-based grounds and with
Reine Fiske as second guitarist, recorded two albums,
Still Life With Eggplant (released in spring 2013) and
Behind the Sun (released in March 2014). To coincide with the release of
Behind the Sun, Motorpsycho launched their first-ever official website, www.motorpsycho.no. After years of institutionalising the band in Norway, Motorpsycho were inducted at Rockheim, Norway's rock music hall of fame, in a TV broadcast ceremony. In 2016 the band released the studio album
Here Be Monsters, which evolved from a piece of music they wrote for the Oslo Teknisk Museums birthday. The band played some songs in the museum, with the help of
Ståle Storløkken, and then decided to work on it in the studio. The song has been referred to as "the album's strangest song, a mixture of psychedelic blues" and "medieval-sounding acoustic verses highlighted by flute and percussion." They wanted to make a modern version of the song and not sound "too close to the original." The result was a heavier version that "retained the characteristic flute interludes" with a "rumbling bassline that rattles along on its own momentum." == Line up ==