A Way out (Unifaun, 2008)

Same old question: should we like bands like Unifaun that explicitly revive classic prog bands' style? Well, the answer is simple to me: yes, if they know how to write good songs and to play them. This is the case with Swedish duo Unifaun, whose only album to date include some very good and very Genesis oriented songs. This Swedish duo includes singer and multi-instrumentalist Nad Sylvan of Steve Hackett live band fame and keyboardist Christian Thordin, AKA Bonamici. 

Above: the dark original 2008 cover art. Below: the Genesis-oriented 2023 reissue painting.

Their self-titled album features many musical solutions related to the ex Charterhouse pupils, but with a distinctive nordic and slightly folk taste I appreciate. The track I choose here is a prog ballad full of dreamy passages and based on really good melodies. The overall effect is mostly similar to Genesis' "Selling England by The Pound" era. Is this a good reason to despise such a song? I don't think so, but let me know your opinions.

Vertigo (The Flower Kings, 2019)

The Flower Kings' Waiting for Miracles is one of my favourite albums by Roine Stolt's band and this for its good taste and musical balance. Never too showy, never too trivial, this 2019 release includes some well structured and even better composed songs. Intricated as only prog can be, but also full of melodies and lively rythmic lines.

One of the best cover arts by The Flower Kings, IMHO.

Vertigo is one of those pearls: it features not only a catchy and majestic main theme, but also a very long and charming musical section, where Roine Stolt performs one of his best guitar solos ever. And that's saying something. While the rest of the band weaves a colourful tapestry of sounds, our Swedish guitarist makes us fly on his magical broomstick swinging between stingy accents and pure poetry. Flesh and spirit all at once. 

Sad Rain (Anekdoten, 1993)

Even if Swedish proggers Anekdoten will create more sophisticated tracks during their career, I'm fond of this early track (available as a bonus track in a re-release of Vernod and also remixed in the band's compilation Chapters, a real milestone in their musical evolution. You'll find here both Crimsonian sounds (Anekdoten were practically born as a KC cover band) and Scandinavian melancholy. 

An arcane cover art, isn't it?

These will remain two pillars of Anekdoten's distinctive sound, along with other elements that these musician will add during the years. Here you can enjoy soft passages, stronng walls of sound, beautiful melodies and sharp riffs in an unpredictable and well found pattern. That's prog, babies!

Ättestupan (Sinkadus, 1997)

This Swedish band belongs to the best Skandinavian prog tradition, picking up some of the musical elements from the '70s masters and adding their own personality to their rich pot. Ättestupan (meaning Precipice) is the closing track from the band's debut album "Aurum Nostrum" released in 1997 and displays a good deal of their highlights. First of all, the fluid sequence of tempos, ranging between calm and introspective moments to frantic rock or jazzy interplays, via a few majestic largos.

"Aurum Nostrum" features  four long tracks. I like all of them.

Electric and acoustic instruments build up an everchanging and solid piece of music, where every bit of sound finds its right place into the great picture. The sung parts (in Swedish) by Linda Johansson and Rickard Bistrom are also good, especially the female ones, which add a folkish touch here and there. And after all, as I said before, variety is the strongest point of Ättestupan (and of Sinkadus best songs), even if such a diverse inspiration requires both control and instrumental skills. Just listen and tell me if these musicians have them or not...

Bortglömda Gårdar (All Traps on Earth, 2018)

All Traps on Earth are the new musical cresture of bassist Johan Brand from Änglagård, one of the most popular Swedish prog bands ever (see elsewhere in this blog). This side project also includes other members or former members of Änglagård, namely keyboardist Thomas Johnson and drummer Erik Hammarström, along with vocalist Miranda Brand (not featured in this song),a number of guest musicians and even a foursome wind ensemble.

Like for Änglagård, a Nature-based dreamy cover art.

As you'll find listening to this song, All Traps on Earth share some essential points with Änglagård's musical approach: you'll hear the same creative and everchanging sound, and also that special, sensitive sound we all like. But you'll also observe a more experimental taste, midway between King Crimson and early Kaipa. Jazzy moments and melodic passages build up this Bortglömda Gårdar (meaning "forgotten farms") like an enchanted garden, full of delicate flowers and strong trees. A treat.

Höstsejd (Änglagård, 1994)

It sounds incredible for such a mixed and struggling fandom, but Änglagård are one of the rare bands every prog fan likes and many of them adore. That could be because of their undeniable links with the Golden Era prog rock, or maybe for their morn, heartbreaking atmospheres. Be as it may, this "Höstsejd" ("Autumn Rites") is one of their longest and most interesting songs, taken from the album "Epilog".

This was the band's second CD... their third work came 18 years later!

The ruling mood is that of nostalgy and quiet contemplation, the kind of nature-based atmosphere Swedish bands know how to conjure up and master so well. But there are also many beautiful changes both in volume and in tempo, taking advantage of the band's abundant choice of acoustic and electric instruments. A guest string trio adds the mellow touch an autumnal song surely needs. In short, another masterpiece from one of the most prominent contemporary prog bands.

The Cathedral (Pär Lindh Project, 1994)

Pär Lindh is no doubt one of the most gifted keyboardists of the contemporary progressive rock scene and an excellent composer too, that's why his Project has so many admirers worldwide. "The Cathedral" is an epic coming from the band's debut album. Yes, I consider "Gothic Impressions" as a band's brainchild, even if Pär Lindh's influence is everywhere. Actually, the skilled musicians he gathered for such a project deserve it: you'll find Ralf Glasz's unique voice, for example, and also  Björn Johansson's classical guitar, let alone Anna Holmgren's flute.

"Gothic Impressions" also feature a cameo by Roine Stolt.

The magic of "The Cathedral" mainly resides, OMHO, in its going in and out of its classical, medieval mood. Chuurch organ's solos and bombastic symphonic rock sections follow one another lining up a series of stunning changes. Please don't forget the rythm section, providing blazing lava to the explosive big picture. Last but not least, some of the themes and riffs are so well found that they got indelebly carved into the the listener's mind. Listen to this track, my friends, and let me know...

Höstbris (Autumn Breeze, 1979)

Even if this Swedish band's sound got more elaborated and intriguing after their 21st Century comeback, I still love the pastoral and plain songs from their debut album "Höstbris". The right word for it (and especially for its opening title-track) is "pleasant". The music seems to come out of a fairy tale, still it never goes sweetish or childish. Mellotron waves gently rise and fall, guitar riffs and drum cavalcades liven up the tempo, and finally a liquid guitar finishes up the musical trip.

This gently sketched cover matches with the music inside.

If several keyboard effects sound dated or derivative to the modern listener, the final effect is charming in its own way. Autumn Breeze didn't like spectacular walls of sound, nor devilish gigas, but their approach to prog, quiet and delicate, conjures up a sweet, caressing wind as light as a smile.

Shooting Star (Anekdoten, 2015)

Here you are an excellent example of modern heavy prog rock. Powerful and dynamic, but never too hard, this song opens the album "Until All The Ghosts Are Gone" and adds another pearl to this Swedish band's treasure. Anekdoten never try to mix metal and prog, as they perfectly know how strong and overwhelming prog can be, even without tons of distorted guitars. King Crimson surely are an important source of inspiration for those musicians, but their sound adds the flavour and the twist of our era to the classic sounds of the Seventies.

How I'd like to explore a mansion like this one!

Well, probably that's exactly what I do when listening to this CD.

The electric guitar solo of "Shhoting Star" or its old-fashioned organ could belong to an oldie (and goldie) LP from our youth, but the fast rythm and the sung sections are strictly linked to the most recent developments of progressive and mainstream rock music. Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson side by side, a bit of Floyd and a bit of Radiohead... in short, pure Anekdoten sound!

Beyond The Ridge of Time - The Suite (Moma, 2016)

I wonder how many proggers live in Sweden... apparemtly there are more prog rock musicians than inhabitants in that lucky Country.  Please add to their growing list Moma (or Music Of Modern Artists), an original mix of classic influences and modern temptations. This track - the longest one in their Soundcloud selection - seems to me the best gate into such a diversified world. The suite is divided into five sections spanning over some 16 minutes of duration. Beginning with a melodic, almost neo-prog atmosphere, "Beyond The Ridge of Time" goes through many major changes, including electro-pop, experimental post-rock, spacey Floyd and so on.

Moma's melodies are always well found, also in shorter tracks.

Too many disparate things, maybe? Not at all: Moma manage to keep a strong control on their materials and the architecture of the suite has a pleasant, recurring and well balanced pattern. Those guys would please Pendragon and Procupine Tree fans in a row... a stunning achievement, if you please! The warm vocals also provide a guiding light during a musical journey I appreciated very much and I recommend to all my progressive friends. I bet we'll hear more of Moma.

This Cold Heart of Mine (Wolverine, 2006)

Wolverine represent the melancholy side of prog metal, a rather popular approach in Sweden since the end of the 20th Century. The fusion of distorted guitar riffs, atmospheric interludes and energetic walls of sound is an interesting solution, but, of course, just a few bands know how to create such a daring mix without redundant lines nor useless show offs. That's the case with Wolverine, whose sense of balance is especially strong in this song, "This Cold Heart of Mine", taken from the album "Still".

"Still" was the third studio album by Wolverine.

Well, still is not the right word to describe this track, that's highly dynamic and displays a beautiful series of changes, including metal, darkness, melody and modern prog rock. I'm not into metal, as you may have known reading my posts, but I actually like Wolverine and the other bands trying to play energetic and unpredictable music.

Stardust We Are (Flower Kings, 1997)

The title song of "Stardust We Are" by Flower Kings is a manifold suite full of changes and charming interplays, as usual with this band. If I choose this one for my post, however, it's because I feel more emotion in this epic than I usually feel listening to Flower Kings. The fusion between acoustic and electric instruments is perfect, and this surely adds a warmer touch to the big picture. On the other hand, the melodies are well found and the arrangements forbid any boredom and redundancy.

It also exists a 3LP+2CD deluxe set of this album... did you know?

I especially like the down tempo passages, full of misty guitars not too far from early Genesis. There's a strong coherence in this suite, also because it is divided in only three parts, even if it lasts more than 25 minutes! The three sections plot, IMHO, allows a more fluid and easy exploitation of each theme and a good deal of variations on them. In short, "Stardust We Are" is a song I always listen to with pleasure and surprise.

Permanent Vacation (Galleon, 1994)

Taken from the album "Heritage And Visions", this epic is one of the longest and most diversified tracks by Swedish band Galleon. Even if some of its passages seem to me uselessly long, I must admit there are so many good melodies and so many beautiful changes that I couldn't miss this track in my blog. Relaxing pianos and fast keyboards, strong vocals and ethnic glimpses, shocking contrasts and irregular rythms... what else should I ask for?

"Heritage and Visions" was the second studio work by Galleon.

Last but not least, the listener will admire some difficult guitar solos and even a hard-like riff. But what I die for are the themes the band wrote and I daresay this is a trademark of Galleon. In short, if you're searching for adventurous and experimental music skip this one, but if you like highly dynamic and passionate prog rock, get a try to this one.

Gånglåt (Grovjobb, 1999)

Another interesting Swedish band. This "Gånglåt" (kind of a folk march), taken from the album "Vättarnas Fest", has a very original taste, an eclectic approach to prog and to folk I really appreciate. It's an instrumental track gradually growing up from the opening marching tune to a rich and exciting wall of sound, then going down tempo to an atmospheric and psychedelic passage and finally coming back to the main up tempo theme.

This was the second studio album by Grovjobb.

The complex and even dissonant sounds of "Gånglåt" surely reveal an experimental vision, but never go too far into it, so that this song isn't unpleasant or illegible to my (less than) average mind. A joyful energy sustains each second of this track and the vintage instruments are played in an unpredictable way, tracing a peculiar and intriguing musical path for Grovjobb. When I listen to this, I'm deeply convinced that prog rock has a long and exciting way to go through...ä

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.

Muscarin Madness (In The Labyrinth, 2002)

Multi-instrumentalist Peter Lindahl is the brain behind In The Labyrinth, a Swedish folk-prog oriented project that releases fairy and pleasant musical sketches like this "Muscarin Madness", coming from the album "Dryad". So perfectly Swedish, this song also has strong Eastern hints and - as usual with Lindahl - a good deal of different suggestions.

I also like the cover arts of this project's albums.

The sung part is a perfect folk ballad, preceded and enriched here and there by delicate and well played instrumental parts. It sounds like Bo Hansson or like some fairy songs by Jethro Tull, but featuring a perfectly up-to-date sound. This song proves that you can be inspired by ancient and fairy tales and release plain and down-to.earth songs with just a bonus magical atmosphere added. This is In The Labyrinth's secret, I think: sweet but never sweetish, prog but never pomp.

Hem (Alter Echo, 1979)

There are so many one-shot bands in all Countries... and most of them left no enduring trace. But sometimes I happen to listen to a good album or a good song and then  I find out that was from a very short lived band. That's exactly the case with the Swedish act Alter Echo, whose sole self-named work has a special and refreshing grace IMHO. Take this song called "Hem" (that's to say "Home" in English). As all the songs in the album, it was released on a cassette tape in 1979, then re-recorded in 1997 for Muséa label.

This is, of course, the 1997 re-release cover art.

It's a very pleasant song, lining up acoustic moments, effective vocal harmonies and electric guitar touches. It was definitely a good idea to ask those four musicians to come back and play once more their music: their delicate and bright sound deserved a second chance! Of course, this song is so strongly rooted into the '70s ground that I retained the original cassette date instead of the CD release year. I'm sure you'll agree with me.

Ankaret (Kaipa, 1975)

The gracious baroque intro of "Ankaret" ("The Anchor" in English) seems to be the prelude to a classically inspired track. Well no, there's more than this. True, the intro theme comes back and its chamber music measure is one of the highlights of the song. But there are many others: rock, jazzy, choral, even pop moments delight the listener and show how diversified and unpredictable these Swedish musicians were in 1974... and all along their career.

I reckon this is one of the best debut albums ever...

Tomas Eriksson's bass guitar is everywhere and provides a pulsing background to Roine Stolt's guitar and, of course, to Hans Lundin's keyboards. The solos and the interplays between all the musicians are simply perfect and each change intriduces something new. So, if I'm fond of "Ankaret" it's just because it is a brilliant specimen of what progressive rock is in my very, very humble opinion. Waiting for yours...

Delad verklighet (Bo Hansson, 1972)

Taken from the "Magician's Hat" album ("Ur Trollkarlens Hatt" in Swedish Language), this instrumental track (titled "Divided Reality" in the international release) is somewhat different from most of Hansson's songs. Not only it includes a wider instrumentation surrounding Bo's keyboards, but it also develops its theme over different moods and tempos... in short, it's progger than ever. It sounds like a band's brainchild, and in fact many musicians are involved, especially guitarist Kenny Håkansson and Sten Bergman's flute.

This album was released in both Swedish and English editions.

The folk inspiration, a trademark of Bo Hansson, is gently mixed with a vaguely rock background and even the melodies are less ethereal than usual, so that it seems to me this track has a real pumping heart, something I couldn't say for the entire album. Try it and let this music carry you along strange and enchanted paths.

Tell (Landberk, 1994)

One of the best Swedish bands of the '90s, Landberk were deliciously dark and melancholy. This song comes from the album "One Man Tell's Another" and features all the most remarkable qualities of the act. The keyboard (mostly Mellotron) backgrounds, the sharp and sometimes piercing guitars, the slow motion melodies, the long intro and - last but not least - the pensive vocals and the pulsing and rich bass lines.

This was Landberk's third studio album.

In addiction to all that, this track also includes a well found, catchy, hypnotic recurring theme that goes through a series of vocal and instrumental variations and tends to remain impressed in one's mind. Of course, there is a King Crimson's taste here as usual with Landberk, but their unique, half-progressive half-psychedelic sound can't be underrated nor confused with anything else. You simply can't miss this one, my prog friends!