Aunt Mary’s third album, following Loaded and Aunt Mary, was recorded in June 1973 at the Roger Arnhoff Studio in Oslo, after Bjørn Christiansen and Svein Gundersen had devoted themselves intensively to songwriting with the aim of further developing their music to achieve an international breakthrough. However, exhausted by the gruelling life on tour, the band decided before recording began that this would be their final album. They spent a great deal of time in the studio and drawing on all their musical skill, did everything in their power to make it their masterpiece. It was released in early September exclusively in Norway on the legendary Philips progressive label Vertigo and marked a significant step towards progressive rock, a development to which the new organist Bengt Jenssen – who had joined the band to replace Jan Leonard Groth – also made a decisive contribution.

The group’s sound on Janus is markedly more complex: it is characterised by themes that are at times symphonic, at times powerful and dominated by keyboards, interwoven with melancholic harmonies and hard rock elements in the background. Following the album’s release, the quartet embarked on their farewell tour in the autumn and the band sadly disbanded shortly afterwards in October 1973. This final studio album, released in an attractive gatefold sleeve, is now regarded as a highly sought-after collector’s item and is arguably the finest work in the band’s history.