ANIMA MORTE

This band is a four piece and influenced by the usual suspects like GOBLIN, Enio Morricone and surprisingly SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA a band that is bright and positive not dark and horror influenced. I am not in any way shape or form a fan of Horror movies but I do like that dark sound like that MORTE MACABRE record for example. "Voices From Beyond" a short 30 second intro of voices ending with a scream gets us started.

The first track that really stood out for me was "Passage Of Darkness" and partly because it's piano led instead of synth led. The drumming and bass are so good here and check out the mellotron. "Feast Of Feralia" is another standout piece again the piano leads but some prominent guitar too. And again the drumming really makes everything better. I'm not a big fan of the title track with those synths. "Things To Come" the longest piece at 8 minutes rounds out my top three with again piano and mellotron making me happy but some ripping guitar on here too.

There's enough here to give that fourth star, I did like it right from the first spin despite having some issues with it. I forgot to mention that Mattias Olsson guests on drums and bowed guitar and he co-produced it.

Anima Morte explicitly states that a key inspiration for them are Italian bands such as Goblin and Fabio Frizzi, just as well known for creating music to be used as movie scores as they are in the creation of material to be enjoyed as standalone productions aimed at a music interested audience. And if not on anything else, the manner in which the songs develop on this album has a lot in common with movies, especially the manner in which they will ebb and flow in mood and intensity, often concluding with a more careful epilogue. There are some distinct dynamics at play here that most likely will fascinate those with a strong affection for moving pictures.

The musical side things here are rather firmly situated inside the symphonic part of the progressive rock universe. Layered arrangements featuring mainly vintage sounding keyboards, organ and Mellotron is an ongoing feature, and as mentioned just about always used in a strong ebb and flow context. On some occasions with a fairly seamless flow, the arrangements gradually ascending and descending in intensity, on other occasions building up to a more forceful crescendo and then returning to a more delicate beginning point again, in some cases using sudden shifts for a more poignant dramatic effect to crystallize. The common denominator in just about all songs here is a dark atmosphere, where words like melancholic and mournful are just as appropriate as brooding, haunting and ominous. All depending on intensity. The most intense and dramatic passages will feature dark toned Mellotron effects, vintage keyboards in harmonic resonance, majestic organ surges and dark toned guitar details adding depth and an undercurrent of darkness to an already almost oppressive landscape. But even when the arrangements are light toned and delicate there's something of a ghostly, nervous sheen to the proceedings, and both piano and percussion details are used to good effect to create unnerving moods by way of subtle effects. Even in the rare instances where the guitar is given a more prominent and dominant role the band manage to conjure atmospheres of this nature, as exemplified quite nicely on a track like Isomorphia.

Instrumental progressive rock of the symphonic variety is what Anima Morte provides, but in a manner that will resonate best among those with a taste for the darker side of progressive rock as far as mood and atmosphere is concerned. I guess a certain taste for a band like aforementioned Goblin might be an advantage to be able to enjoy this album, as will an affection for music that more or less closely follow the dynamics of a movie in terms of development. Those who can recognize their taste in music from such a description should know their visiting time when it comes to this band and this album.

"Blessing Of The Dead" opens with piano as mellotron, church bells, strings and drums join in. This builds and falls throughout. "Illusion Is The Catalyst" opens with piano and synths but it turns dramatic very quickly before settling in with synths and piano out front. Sudden outbursts come and go before it turns powerful. We get mellotron and strings as well as themes start to get repeated. Not a fan of the first two songs. "Ephemeris" is a top three though and it opens with flute, cymbals and atmosphere before the drums and more arrive. I like the sound of this one a lot. Some nice drum and bass work too. Gotta love the flute on this track as well. "Fear Will Pass Over Your Mind" starts with an eerie mood as drums, atmosphere and intricate sounds lead the way. It picks up before a minute and I really dig the mellotron choirs after 3 minutes. "Wakeless" is another top three for me. Picked guitar as the drums and bass join in then mellotron. The guitar starts to solo then the piano leads. The mellotron is back in full force. Nice. Then the guitar returns soloing and it's quite emotional a minute later. "Interruption" has some slicing violin before a minute and mellotron as well. I like the low end sound here.

"The Darkest Pattern" opens with intricate sounds and synths as the drums join in. Synths lead after a minute and some nice bass 1 1/2 minutes in. The guitar leads before 3 minutes then back to the synths. The guitar is back late. "The Carrion Crow" opens with picked guitar as drums and bass join in. Piano and more follow. A catchy beat here and the organ helps out as well. Mellotron 2 minutes in then piano and violin late. "Echoing The Red" picks up quickly with beats and pulses as the organ, mellotron arrive then the strings and guitar play over top. "Isomorphia" turns quite powerful with the guitar out front fairly quickly and the guitar is expressive here. "First Snow On The Last Ashes" is more like it as it's more relaxed, especially the mellotron a minute in and it will come and go. "Halls Of Death" is my final top three. Atmosphere to open as intricate sounds play over top. It picks up and there's an orchestral vibe because of the strings slicing away. It settles down with flute then picks up again.

I can see myself revisiting this album in a few years from now and wondering why I didn't give this 4 stars. Well, right now it's about expectations and it falls a little short. 3.5 stars.

I had no information about the band when I started listening and my first impression was that the music was pleasant and instrumental. I have overheard it three times now and I liked what I heard. The band could be lauded for some things: the melodic guitar does some fine solos and the sound of flute and other sweetnesses are great. Most songs are quite fine and there are hightlights. If I had to choose one song, it should be "Wakeless" which melody I love(8/10) and "Illusion is the catalyst", Fear will pass over your mind" and "The darkest pattern" are also very well played and nice. The majority of the rest could also be heard for sure.

The album doesn't please me all the way thought. The songs are quite much the same and not so many details stands out. I could have gained on having vocals and a bit more varying arrangements. I felt now that I heard the same song many times unfortunately, though it wasn't a bad song. I will give the record three stars which I consider a fair conclusion.

The most similar album that comes to mind is "Symphonic Holocaust" from MORTE MACABRE. Even the band name seems coined after them. Other obvious references are the soundtracks of GOBLIN and the subtle instrumental music of BO HANSSON. ANIMA MORTE is more upbeat and melodic then their inspirations.

I also hear a lot of CAMEL in this music: this album has a sound similar of 'Moonmadness', it has the muscle of 'Mirage' and the instrumental conceptual approach of 'Snow Goose' (Just check the track 'Contamination'). I keep those Camel albums in high regard and even if "The Nightmare Becomes Reality" isn't on the same level as those mellow-moody Prog masterpieces, it is very deserving in its own right. The only flaw I see is that all compositions tend to sound a bit similar after a while.

This album boasts 47 minutes of moody melodic themes, it has an excellent musical interplay and a high level of Prog authenticity. Nevertheless this album seems to have failed finding an audience. A real pity. This is excellent instrumental Prog and it's been quite a while since I was impressed this much by a contemporary symphonic Prog album.

But almost from the start I noticed I was before a different album, even when they keep their mysterious and aggressive trademark, this time the Swedish guys manage to balance perfectly the darkness with the lush and pompous keyboards in the style of RICK WAKEMAN with a Mellotron in the vein of TONY BANKS. a blend that is hard to achieve without falling into stereotypes instead of capturing the essence, a common mistake among new bands that ANIMA MORTE has avoided with great dexterity

The album starts with "Voices of Beyond", a dark and terrifying intro that places the listener in the required mood for what's coming later, but only when the first guitar notes of "Corridor of Blood" start, we can notice how the band is reaching maturity, this is not an horror band anymore, they became a band that uses terror as an instrument to transmit feelings and sensations, balancing the darker sections with the pompous organ that reminds me of the 70's pioneer of the genre, plus a very hard a powerful rhythm section softened by an acoustic guitar. One of their best works of the band and a great start for the album.

"The Revenant" starts with a nice Mellotron intro that leads to a fluid guitar and percussion lead passage. This time they play with several variations over the same theme, but adding something new in each repetition in order to maintain the expectation in the listener. The guitar work is outstanding.

Despite being one of the most melodic and fluid tracks, "Contamination" is really a scary piece of music, because ANIMA MORTE creates a sense of suspense and claustrophobia when they pretend to surprise us with a blast of power but nothing happens, this feeling of an incomplete process (obviously created intentionally) leads us towards some form of pleasant desperation.

To be honest "Passage of Darkness" is probably my least favorite track, being that the complex percussion distracts me from the keyboard work, even when I enjoyed it (hey, I used to be a keyboardist, so elaborate percussion doesn't frighten me), seems like the guys have mixed too many ideas and different atmospheres, loosing a bit of coherence. Still liked it, but not my favorite.

"Solemn Graves" is frightening from the soft atmospheric entrance, that seems to prepare the listener for an explosion of terror, but again the band maintains the suspense till the end with a flawless organ performance by Fredrik Klingwall that again brings to memory the excellent Criminal Record. Great music.

The melodic "Delirious" is a bluesy song in the style of URIAH HEEP (Demons & Wizards) specially because the keyboards sound very close to Ken Hensley, but with a different guitar style, still heavy but avoiding the use of wah-wah, so the sound is very original.

"Feast of Feralia" brings ÃNGLAGÃRD to my memory (Well Mattias Olsson is a guest in the album), because they blend the aggressiveness of Heavy Prog with the most delicate Symphonic elements obtaining a final atmosphere that I only heard in Swedish post 1990 bands, specially for the exquisite collision between strong organ and delicate acoustic guitar.

Now is the turn "The Nightmare Becomes Reality)", one of the most dramatic pieces in the album, the constant hammering of the organ creates a sense of anguish that keeps me at the edge of the sit, in some way reminds me of "Into the Cage" by GENESIS, but heavier that works as an interlude before the mini-epic "Things to Come", a track in which the guys of ANIMA MORTE rest a bit from the heavy obscure atmosphere in order to focus in the classical oriented Symphonic sound of the 70's. a good relief after so many strong emotions.

The album ends with "The Dead will Walk he Earth" a good closer for a great album, because comprises all the mystery and drama of the album in a calmed but full of suspense instrumental song.

It's hard to rate "The Nightmare Becomes Reality" because I felt tempted to give them 5 stars, but some minor flaws in a couple of tracks, and the security that they are able to release even better music, made me go with 4 solid stars that should be 4.5 if our system allowed it.

A split vinyl platter, the small one, with two Swedish bands.

Hooded Menace is a band I believe is not featured here in PA. Their music is cold desolate sludge doom metal. Their track has both a post metal and a funeral doom feel to it. Pretty good stuff, actually. Anima Morte is listed here in PA as a symphonic prog band and their track has a good pastoral melody performed by church organ, mellotron and flute as the solo instruments. This is a warm organic track. Just to confuse the picture here. The Anima Morte track is written by Hooded Menace and vice verse. Amusing.

The two tracks are OK, but not worth purchasing this vinyl for. This is collectors items and for the sadly obsessed only. People like myself, as a prime example. Hence my verdict.

2 stars

A short album,just under 40 minutes,this all instrumental effort sees Anima Morte exploring the sounds presented during the 70's by GOBLIN.Dark symphonic soundscapes with a touch of Space Rock,Ambient,Soundtrack Music and Darkwave,filled with effects and much keyboard- driven by the synths/organs/mellotron/piano of Klingwall.Other good reference points might be ANEKDOTEN and MORTE MACABRE.Actually it's Klingwall's keyboards which achieve to create such haunting music,surrounded often by explosive strong guitar work,mellow acoustic passages and a few flute drives.Short tracks with a very rich sound,good orchestrations and changing moods between the calm and the heavy,the good and the bad,the storm and the rainbow.Some tracks have a great nostalgic feeling,similar to GOBLIN, with great piano parts and minimalistic musicianship.

Dedicated fans of GOBLIN possibly own this album already.For the rest I warmly recommend this quite nice album of dark cinematic Progressive Rock,which arises an inner beauty right from its haunting depth.