TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET

This debut album was far from being representative of the band's story so far, as the group is a quartet where they had been as much as six, when they recorded their first sessions (which have now been released under the Glorious War name. The guitar- dominated quartet has always had a bit of a rough/raw sound and in this album the only keys heard are the mellotron layers (outside the piano on the bonus track of the reissue) but TK pulled an excellent hard prog that would suit those early UK groups that developed what some call proto-prog (but not the way that this site uses it). The album came with an artwork designed by their former drummer (one of the two) and the sword is there to remind us that the group had a rather unhealthy fascination with war, and the sword will become the group's emblematic object.

Taking the bald move to sing in their native language, TK does not really make for an easy and comfortable first listening, but most progheads should not have much problems adapting to the peculiar sound of theirs, even if some of the more discerning ones might single out the apparent simplicity of some tracks. The key word being apparent, because TK is definitely into tempo changes and time sigs, even if they go about chord changes in an abrupt manner, which shows their lack of experience. Their sound is best cornered as a mix of Purple and Heep crossed with Crimson, where Fredin's bass often take a lead role.

Starting on the very abrupt, raw, blunt, uncompromising Caledonian Origins (I gather anyway) with a lengthy crazy intro where the groups seems to constantly change riffs (a bit too much for their own sake, IMHO) before the song proper starts, Zima's vocals sounding like Gillan in his screams and scats and XXX in his normal singing. The following Roster is a bit calmer and not their best, (starting out on a marimba) but it evolves slowly into a demented ending where the mellotron (played by their drummer) underlines the crazy playing. Too bad it ends so sloppily. The album's first side closes on the Butterfly Attitudes, which is their best-constructed song so far, where the Crimson influences become clear (ever-present mellotrons helping of course) even if there is a definite jazzy bass that sets them apart.

Mina Lojen (My Smile) opens the second half of the album, but even if this was one of their older tracks by now, it is only partly successful as there is too much singing (the song lasting only 8 minutes after all ;-), but when space is made for the instruments, they like to show their potential (a bit too much) and the song ends in great mellotron wash. Ur Djupen is a bit too Purple (Zima's voice is certainly helping here with his scats), even if mellotrons lines were not Purple's attributes, but Fredin's playing does remind me of Glover's. Same Fender Precision bass. The finale (based on ancient-Greek philosophical text) starts slowly to end fast again

From the three bonus tracks added on this re-issue, the lengthy Under The Pending Sky is a first version of the much shorter Ur Djupen with lyrics added on the latter version. A fairly useful addition as both version differ enough to have their own lives (but there are repetitions) this version coming with a grand piano played by their former member Krok, while I've Got No Time (from the same earlier session) is an acoustic ballad that evolves into an average hard rock. Both tracks are not well recorded or well produced, and the last Perspektiv (a live recording from that era) will not dephase you either.

As with all TK recordings, this album definitely sounds under-produced, and if the band was purposely raw, I'm not that sure that they intended to leave the record that way; another thing striking me is that outside lyricist's text are way too present in some songs. A rough uncut gem that could be one of the diamond of your collection if you give yourself the patience enough to delve deeply into it, but IMHO, it is hard to give a fourth star.

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