Änglagård - Hybris

ÄNGLAGÅRD - HYBRIS (1992)

1)Jordrök (Earthsmoke) [11:10]
2)Vandringar I Vilsenhet (Wanderings in Confusion) [11:56]
3)Ifrån klarhet till klarhet (From Strength to Strength) [8:08]
4)Kung Bore (King Winter) [13:04]
5)Gånglåt från Knapptibble (Marching Tune from Knapptibble) [7:19

Best Song: ....I can't tell. See below.

Anglagard were a Swedish band that pretty much set out to make the most noncommercial music possible. They did this by tapping the wells of 1970s' progressive rock giants such as King Crimson and Yes, and more obscure artists of the same period such as Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator. They were quite influential in the newly emerging 90s' prog rock scene, yet all of their three albums are out of print now. The only way I was able to get my copy is from an expert in music pirating that I know.

The music is definitely some of the most noncommercial stuff I've ever heard - It is raging neoclassical rock, dominated by assaulting keyboards (organs and mellotrons mostly) and searing guitar, with acoustic and flute parts providing brief spaces of relative peace. This is all backed by a rhythm section consisting of a strong, Chris Squire-style bass and virtuosic work on all sorts of percussion (The credits list 25 seperate percussion instruments). Vocals are sparse, and I gotta say, slightly weak. These are provided by Thomas Johnson on Keyboard insanity, Jonas Engdegård on Guitar madness, Johan Högberg on Bass thunder, Anna Holmgren on Flute tension, Mattias Olsson on Drums and Percussive mind-boggling, and Tord Lindman on Guitar fire and Vocal zephyrs.

The songs are epic, sprawling, dramatic pieces; full of extremely neoclassical rock sounds with dissonance HOLDING SWAY. Jordrök has a tense piano intro, before combusting with guitar and mellotron. It swims through many different themes and surges before finally coming to rest. Vandringar I Vilsenhet opens with cryptic flute, then a mind-blowing vocal melody with 5/4 guitar slashes. Ifrån klarhet till klarhet has a wierd little faux military melody played on buzzy synth before complex and explosive organ riffs burst in. Kung Bore indeed has a wintry atmosphere; with a quiet acoustic intro leading into piercing icicles of flute and organ, with a cold wind in the form of some soft vocals before yet another storm. Gånglåt från Knapptibble has strange percussive sounds in the beginning, then turns into strangely timed flute and organ bursts with vocal lines shooting through the tempest. Tremendous bass shocks come in later.

I'm sorry that I can't get more in-depth about the songs, but everything is an eternally shifting tapestry of masterful madness. Even though that may sound good (and I think it sounds wonderful), THEREIN LIES THE FLAW of Hybris.

All pieces are indeed aggressive, intense and sometimes beautiful. But many times it becomes very hard to follow. In fact, these songs can seem downright self-indulgent at times. But most of the time, they somehow aren't; it sounds like many gigantic, elaborate tapestries of music, which you are going to get lost in and have difficulty finding your way out. This definitely gives it a huge barrier of inaccessibility, and absolute impenetrability for those who don't have a developed taste for symphonic music or neoclassical, dissonant madness.

Overall, this album is absolutely amazing. Or it's absolutely perplexing. It depends. Due to this, it receives:

8.2/10