Review & Full EP Premiere: Monkeys on Mars, Monkeys on Mars
Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on October 16th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Monkeys on Mars, the collaborative project comprised of the members of mostly-instrumental Swiss prog-psych stalwarts Monkey3 and French psych-prog melody dreamers Mars Red Sky, release their self-titled debut EP Oct. 17 through Mrs Red Sound. The outing has four tracks but centers mostly around the first two of them, “Seasonal Pyres” (11:09) and “Hear the Call” (13:16), the former of which is then revisited with two edited versions, “Seasonal Pyres (Short Flames Edit)” (7:53) and “Seasonal Pyres (Tiny Flames Edit)” (3:16), and it is not long before the two bands begin to complement each other in terms of sound.
And part — italics for emphasis — of the appeal here is down to that: how the two separate sonic entities, Mars Red Sky and Monkey3, work together on a basic mathematical level. Neither band is a stranger to collaborations, and this is by no means the first Monkey3-inclusive outing to feature vocals, but they’re not a regular feature across their seven albums, the latest of which is 2024’s Welcome to the Machine (review here). This, as opposed to Mars Red Sky, for whom the vocal melodies of guitarist Julien Pras — are an essential facet, who meanwhile have never boasted the kind of prog-rock shred Monkey3 bring in the singing solos of guitarist Boris de Piante, or the level of keyboardy sounds offered by Guillaume “dB” Desboeufs as one hears in Monkeys on Mars.
In this way, and with the unshakable foundations of rhythm in bassists Jimmy Kinast (also vocals) and Jalil Perrenoud and drummers Walter Albrecht and Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau (the latter also vocals), the two bands who have always had an eye on their individual progressions in sound find ways to distinguish themselves even in working together. “Seasonal Pyres” starts quiet and spacious with guitar effects, but a keyboard line and tense low end give a feeling of movement even before the heavier tonality sweeps in circa the two-minute mark. Pras‘ voice is all the more ethereal with the surrounding procession, a core riff that sounds like it’s reaching out but continually swallowed by its next cycle underscoring the echoing verse, more cosmic than either band might be on their own, but still emotive on a human level.
The differences between the versions of “Seasonal Pyres” included on Monkeys on Mars are basically down to how much of what ensues on the full 11-minute one has been cut out. They are not misnamed as ‘edits,’ rather than ‘remixes’ or somesuch else. On the first and longest, a scorching, masterclass in psychedelic guitar soloing takes hold for a few minutes as the megaband flourish in the instrumental exploration. But that doesn’t last either. With an echoing plotted guitar line that sounds more Mars Red Sky, the drums and keyboard begin a build that, at 6:21 leads to the return of the vocals before a chills-up-the-spine payoff arrives, gradually working at full-brunt toward a surprisingly galloping, chugging finish, faster than Mars Red Sky have I think ever been, certainly in recent memory — their fifth album, Dawn of the Dusk (review here), was issued late in ’23 — 
but with Pras still recognizable in terms of the vocal melody coming through.
It is a gorgeous, exciting moment, and one could imagine being in either of these bands, hearing that, and thinking to yourself, ‘Oh it turns out we might have something here,’ because the other part of the appeal, beyond the basic math of how the bands fit together like puzzle-pieces in terms of arrangement and style, is inevitably that doing so lets both bands do things they’ve never done before. This is the case as well on “Hear the Call,” which at first lays out a quiet guitar line so definitively Mars Red Sky that there’s no mistaking it, but with a thread of mellotron and other synth as part of an atmosphere that is nonetheless distinct from what the trio do while also being unlike anything Monkey3 have ever done.
The second of the two main cuts on Monkeys on Mars is instrumental and flows gracefully from part to part, gradually growing louder and fuller such that by the time the shift just before the four-minute mark begins, it’s something of a surprise that they emerge from that quiet stretch with a fervent, odd-time chug that puts the keyboard overtop and becomes the central riff around which they continue to build. By the time they get to the next crashout, after about 6:30, and rumble to silence, it feels like they’re basically starting over, but as they make their way back up, De Plainte takes another universe-burner of a solo. His guitar and the quieter, airier line from Pras come together in the ending section with the keys/synth expanding on the melody and they finish in likewise stirring and soothing fashion.
If you recall Mars Red Sky‘s last short release, the earlier-2023 outing Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow (review here), that EP’s single/featured-piece had an edit as well, so neither the short nor tiny flames (the latter for which there’s a video near the bottom of this post) versions of “Seasonal Pyres” is unprecedented. What is, is just how much Monkey3 and Mars Red Sky bring to each other’s sound, and how cohesively they’ve made something new from the component parts of what each one does individually. The question I’m left with is just how much of a band Monkeys on Mars would or could ever be, between the geographic disparities, logistics of scheduling, and the fact that neither Mars Red Sky nor Monkey3 seem likely to put the joint project ahead of their own work going forward. But even if they have something of an answer in the form of the Spring European tour they’ll do featuring sets by the separate bands and then everybody all together, how sustainable is that, and would there ever be a Monkeys on Mars full-length?
Monkeys on Mars celebrate the arrival of their self-titled EP this month with festival slots and a club date, which will serve as a preface to what they’re planning to unfold in 2026. I hope I get to see them at some point, and I look forward to however Monkeys on Mars plays out over the long term. Maybe they come back together in eight years and make an album? Maybe they decide it’s not feasible and everybody goes home and makes their own records? Maybe it’s a cool thing they do every now and again live or as one-offs when they’re bored and have enough parts accrued? From a fan’s standpoint, I can’t really count any of those as a losing scenario. But if Monkeys on Mars does end up being a one-and-done deal, they’d be leaving an awful lot of potential unrealized.
The EP streams in its entirety on the player below, followed by some words from Jimmy Kinast and more info from the PR wire, including tour dates.
Please enjoy:
Jimmy Kinast on Monkeys on Mars:
“We started crossing paths with Monkey3 on tour back in 2014, mostly in Germany. We immediately loved their music (even though there was a keyboard, haha). After a few dates, we started talking and remained friends without really maintaining the relationship. More recently, we thought we could do a tour project with our new European tour partner, Doomstar, and one thing led to another, and we have now created a new band!
On the touring side, we quickly realised that Mars Red Sky could totally fit on a big stage ‘in the middle’ of Monkey3. We are completely compatible without changing anything from the two original line-ups in terms of stage space. A wonderful tour will allow us to enrich our collaborations as we go along, because every night the musicians from one band will play on the other band’s set, and vice versa. We’re starting with four or five songs like that, and soon we’ll have a whole set with seven of us on stage.
On the recording side, we first established a kind of set of rules. We wanted both bands to keep their identity in the project, so you could immediately tell that it was Monkey3 or Mars Red Sky. Then we started sending each other lots of files over the internet, and the mixing took place in Bordeaux at Cryogene Prod studio. We are extremely thrilled, it’s a true fusion!”
Heavy psych/prog at its best with MARS RED SKY and MONKEY3 playing their respective headline sets before all joining on stage for MONKEYS ON MARS for over two hours of uninterrupted psychedelia! Tickets available now at this location: https://bnds.us/7i968n
2025:
17.10.2025 SELESTAT [FR] Rock Your Brain
18.10.2025 ANTWERP [BE] DesertFest Belgium
19.10.2025 DUISBURG [DE] Bora
31.10.2025 VALLET [FR] Westill Festival
2026:
12.03.2026 MONTPELLIER [FR] Victoire 2
13.03.2026 TOULOUSE [FR] Le Metronum
14.03.2026 BORDEAUX [FR] Rock School Barbey
15.03.2026 NANTES [FR] Le Ferrailleur
17.03.2026 LILLE [FR] Le Black Lab
18.03.2026 CLERMONT-FERRAND [FR] La Coopérative de Mai
19.03.2026 NEVERS [FR] Café Charbon
20.03.2026 PARIS [FR] La Maroquinerie (release party)
21.03.2026 VALENCE [FR] La Nuit du Metal #2
16.04.2026 WINTERTHUR [CH] Gaswerk
17.04.2026 LAUSANNE [CH] Docks
18.04.2026 MILANO [IT] Legend
19.04.2026 MUNICH [DE] Backstage
20.04.2026 DRESDEN [DE] Chemiefabrik
21.04.2026 BERLIN [DE] Neue Zukunft
22.04.2026 HAMBURG [DE] Kent
23.04.2026 NIJMEGEN [NL] Doornroosje
24.04.2026 HAARLEM [NL] Patronaat
25.04.2026 KARLSRUHE [DE] P8
16.08.2026 CARHAIX [FR] Motocultor Festival
MONKEYS ON MARS ARE:
Julien Pras: vocals, guitar (Mars Red Sky)
Boris De Piante: guitar (Monkey3)
Jimmy Kinast: bass, vocals (Mars Red Sky)
Jalil Perrenoud: bass (Monkey3)
Mathieu Gazeau: drums, vocals (Mars Red Sky)
Walter Albrecht: drums (Monkey3)
Guillaume Desboeufs “dB”: keys & sounds (Monkey3)
