The name "Anekdoten" makes me think of people sitting around a fire and exchanging amusing stories. So I slipped the CD in my player, grabbed a beer and got ready for a good laugh. And so it began: "Hear me breathe/From the other room/So which of all the lies you told/Should I keep as my own?/The metaphors are lost on me/What I see is what I see/The earth is moving - time to say goodbye?/Only sky ahead/Love's so hard to find...". If that is Scandinavian humor, it's totally lost on me. But to be honest "funny" is not the word most associated with this band. I believe that that would be a tie between "mellotron" and "KingCrimson". For those unfamiliar with mellotrons, they are a form of primitive synthesizer mimicking the sound of a symphonic orchestra. The Beatles have used it on occasion but some bands have based their sound on it: The Moody Blues, Genesis and...King Crimson. After listening to the first CD, I have to say I don't see that many similarities to the latter group (other than the omnipresence of mellotrons). The sound is much more contemporary, reminding me more of Porcupine Tree, Anathema or Marillion. Opener "Ricochet" is atmospheric alternative rock while "The Great Unknown" is more progressive with flute and mellotron fills, heavy guitars and melodic vocal."From Within" and "In For A Ride" are heavy prog with loud guitars while "The War Is Over" is a gentle psychedelic piece with acoustic guitars and light percussion. "A Sky About To Rain" juxtaposes heavy Sabbath riffs with synths and segues seamlessly into the instrumental "Every Step I Take". "Groundbound" and "Gravity" are two more experimental psychedelic tracks and "When I Turn" an excellent ballad with beautiful piano and a full sound courtesy of the grandiose yet warm mellotron. When I started on the second disc, my expectations were rather lower. After all it's mostly demos and previously unreleased songs, something to hook in the completists. Well, I was right about this: It was different from the first. For one thing, I found out where the King Crimson comparisons come from. Half the songs sound like the spiritual child of KC's "21st Century Schizoid Man" but the opener "Sad Rain" is like a new "In the Court of the Crimson King". And I absolutely loved it. To think that the band had it previously exiled to the Japanese-only edition of their debut...presumably for being too derivative? It was the very first track written by them and they probably still wore their influences on their sleeve. The next two are also from the band's debut "Vemod" and include Opeth's Per Wiberg on piano. They are well suited to the "prog" label as they are really dense compositions. Lead vocals are handled by the bassist Jan Erik Liljestrom who has a more romantic and operatic voice than guitarist Nicklas Berg who handles most of the vocals on disc 1. "Wheel" has a lonesome horn playing in the background that is absolute genius. The rest of the songs are demos from the albums "Nucleus" and "A Time Of Day" although it may be more accurate to call them alternate versions, since they're fully realized songs. They're loud and complex compositions alternating from fairy-like to nightmarish and verging on the prog-metal of Tool or the aforementioned Opeth. Closer "Prince Of The Ocean" is an atmospheric song with a gentle acoustic intro and a combination of male and female vocals. Overall an album highly recommended to fans of Porcupine Tree and modern prog in general.
***** for Sad Rain
**** for The Great Unknown, The War Is Over, A Sky About To Rain, When I Turn, Prince Of The Ocean
*** for Ricochet, From Within, In For A Ride, Groundbound, Wheel, The Old Man & The Sea, Nucleus, Book Of Hours, 30 Pieces
** for Monolith, Every Step I Take, Gravity, This Far From The Sky
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