LONELY LAND

"Lonely Land" is the English language version of Swedish progressive rock act Landberk´s debut full-length studio album "Riktigt Äkta". Both the Swedish and the English language versions were released in 1992. The Swedish version through the Norwegian Colours label and the English language version through The Laser's Edge. It´s not only the language which has been changed though, as "Lonely Land" is actually a complete re-recording of "Riktigt Äkta", which changed bits here and there, although it predominantly stays relatively true to the Swedish original.

Stylistically the material on "Lonely Land" is a combination of Scandinavian folk and progressive rock. Album opener "Waltz of the Dark Riddle" (originally "I Nattens Timma") is an example of the folk influences being dominant, and I was actually sure that this was a Swedish traditional, that Landberk had opted to cover, but as it turns out the song is penned by Landberk. It´s an early highlight of the album and an incredibly beautiful and sombre folk influenced track featuring omnipresent use of the mellotron and some effectful and well written lyrics.

"Waltz of the Dark Riddle" is a clever, mellow, and intriguing track, but it´s also a fairly minimalistic song in terms of instrumentation and vocals. The same can be said about the remaining mateial, although Landberk do perform more busy sections (featuring heavy bass and drums) and occasionally rock a little harder. The music features a lot of acoustic guitars and mellow vocals by lead vocalist/guitarist Patric Helje, who has a pleasant but not particularly distinct sounding voice. The vocals aren´t the most dominant part of the album though, as much of the music is instrumental.

The music includes mellotron and organ in addition to bass, guitars, drums, and vocals, and it´s definitely 70s influenced retro sounding progressive rock, and if you´re familar with some of the Swedish artists from the 70s like Kaipa, Trettioåriga Kriget, and Sinkadus, the sound of Landberk won´come as a huge surprise, although they have their own dark forest/folky spin on the genre. "Lonely Land" is a strong early 90s progressive rock revival release by Landberk, but I´d recommend getting the Swedish language version of the album. The melancholy of the music runs deeper and there is just a greater sense of authenticity to that version. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.