Where The River Meets The Sea (Black Bonzo, 2004)

Black Bonzo know how to revive old prog sounds and how to give them an evergreen aura. This track, "Where The River Meets The Sea", coming from the album "Lady of The Light", is a very good example of such a virtue. Acid guitars, ethereal vocal harmonies and vintage keyboards build up a suspended atmosphere not too far from early King Crimson's songs. The guitar, however, is different from Fripp's model, and the keyboards have a greatest variety too.

"Lady of The Light" was Black Bonzo's debut album.

That's why I can't label this track as a musical clone and I actually think it's one of the best and most original reinterpretations of the Masters canon. Surely Magnus Lindgren's calm and dreamy voice plays a central role in such an effort, but the warm and fluid texture of the track is also important and for sure it is one of the most fascinating features of Black Bonzo's prog rock. I hope these notes will suffice to arise your progressive attention.

Sound of The Apocalypse (Black Bonzo, 2007)

I like most of Black Bonzo's songs, but I admit they're often derivative ones, where one could easily recognize the inspirers (usually from the '70s), even if these Swedish guys mix them very well. This song is different. I could define it as a contemporary prog ballad, full of a morn atmosphere and - as the title says - of apocalyptic expectations. In fact, it's a mini-suite divided in three sections: A) Twins, B) Towers Collapse and C) The Boiling Point. The reference to the Twint Towers attack is likely but not clearly stated. 

Black Bonzo: even their facial expressions are somehow apocalyptic!

The sung theme in the first part is gloomy and unceasing, like a growing dark cloud, but the majestic instrumental ssecond section open brighter gashes in this dying picture. The third part resumes the first theme, then introduces a bombastic finale that's the most glorious passage of the epic. There's no optimism there, but a wider point of view, a farther horizon. The sound of the whole track is a good compromise between the retro style of the band and some current musical worlds, such as the British post-progressive scene. The result is a powerful, winding, misty song I highly recommend to old and new prog fans.