Way Out of Here:

Änglagård - Hybris

2008-09-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

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

Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

2008-09-19T14:03:00.001-07:00

PORCUPINE TREE - FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET (2007)

1)Fear of a Blank Planet [7:28] 2)My Ashes [5:07] 3)Anesthetize [17:42] 4)Sentimental [5:26] 5)Way Out of Here [7:37] 6)Sleep Together [7:28]

Best song: Anesthetize

Porcupine Tree are an english Progressive Rock band, originally the one-man project of mastermind Steven Wilson (Guitar, Vocals, sometimes Keyboards, sometimes Everything), showing prominent influences from Pink Floyd, Radiohead and King Crimson (to name a few). And METAL. Sometimes it's a lot like Pink Floyd playing metal. Their approach to metal is somewhat similar to that of Tool. They're considered one of the most prominent and best bands of modern prog rock.

Fear of a Blank Planet is one of their most successful albums to date, critically and commercially; It has been called one of the best albums of the year by many metal and progressive rock sources and reached #59 on the Billboard Charts.

It's actually quite ironic that it sold so well, given the lyrics and concept: Criticism of today's youth.

It may seem that Steven Wilson is becoming a crotchety old man as he turns forty. On the surface, HELL YES he is, the senile bastard. However, upon looking closer, its a bit deeper than that. Specifically, Wilson talks about networking overload (as he said, "living vicariously through gadgets"), heavy drug use, psychological problems, media and entertaiment overload, and overall, a type of "terminal boredom", with life becoming "white noise" (quoting the man himself) to today's youth; concerned about how we will grow up to be. And as we all know, stereotyping is FUN!

Notwithstanding, The lyrics are actually well-written enough to be much more than a senile old man on a porch saying, "IN MY DAY, WE ONLY HAD 4 CHANNELS AND MADE OUR OWN FUN AND HAD NO TEXBOXES OR WHATEVER YOU VARMINTS CALL IT" etc. etc. For example, the title track is an excellent depiction of an empty, pointless life; being dependant on an overload of entertainment and drugs. The next song, "My Ashes", is much more tender and sympathetic; displaying the world from the perspective of a kid realizing his emptiness and reaching out for help. And then there's the incredible epic "Anesthetize", which switches between the atmospheres of both of the abovementioned songs - vitriolic and scathing one section, empathetic and emotional later on. "Sentimental" is just another chunk of the concept- pretty good but not that remarkable. Moving on, There's "Way Out of Here", some of the weakest lyrics on here. Steven Wilson is dangerously close to the Crotchety Zone with lyrics like, "I don't like the questions 'How do you feel?'/'How's it going in school?'/and 'Do you wanna talk about it?'". The album finishes with "Sleep Together", A cry of final escapism.

Oh, hey, I haven't said a word about the music yet. The music is.... well, plain excellent. Performed by the Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison (drums), Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Colin Edwin (bass); with Alex Lifeson of Rush giving a guitar solo on "Anesthetize" and Robert Fripp of King Crimson contributing Soundscapes (electronics that he developed back in the 70s) on "Way Out of Here". Some of Porcupine Tree's best stuff is contained within the three-part, 17-minute epic "Anesthetize", with ambient rock, vicious metal and soothing Pink Floyd-esque balladry melding together wonderfully. Without a doubt the best song here and one of Porcupine Tree's greatest. Despite being somewhat lame in lyrics, "Way Out of Here" has some of the best music, with rhythmic guitar sounds, heavy metal, Robert Fripp's abovementioned electronic work and mixture of mighty keyboards and rapid acoustic strumming in the chorus. "Fear of a Blank Planet" progresses from a haunting acoustic line to rushing prog metal, intimidating keyboards dominating and accompanying the mixed heavy and acoustic guitars and fast, occasionally close to rapping vocals. "My Ashes" is very gentle and touching; with gently forceful guitar lines and a sad, resigned vocal melody. "Sentimental" is melodic; one could even call it close to pop if it wasn't for its atmosphere. Bleak rhythm piano dominates the song. Lastly, "Sleep Together" merges ambient rhythms with yet more prog metal. Orchestral parts occur throughout, with a melodic effect somewhat similar to the string parts in "Cimbing Up the Walls" by Radiohead.

The band performs well throughout, yet two things stand out: Steven Wilson and Gavin Harrison. Wilson's guitar throughout the album is varied and expertly played, going from David Gilmour-like ambient lines to Tool-style metal assaults. His vocals rarely get to typical modern metal screaming, and when he does get near to it (in parts of "Sleep Together" and "Anesthetize") it's still a somewhat delicate, Gilmour-esque vocal delivery. Gavin Harrison's heavy, precise drumming is definitely some of the best I've ever heard. Kinda like Phil Selway, Mike Portnoy and John Bonham merged together? I suppose you could say that.

In conclusion, Fear of a Blank Planet is a great modern progressive album with a coherent, thoughtful concept, excellent music and few flaws.

9.5/10

Hello There!

2008-09-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hello! This is my blog, where I'll put reviews of albums that deserve praise or bashing. First review will be of Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet, up later tonight.