THE FOUR RIDERS OF THE APOCALYPSE

This symphonic album from Sweden (of an eclectic-prog a-la Mirthrandir if you prefer), is characterized by a complex suite, being one of the most underrated albums of the late seventies (re-edited in the early nineties) and a great and important reference too, regarding some Swedish bands such as ANGLAGARD, SINKADUS and FLOWER KINGS. As for this reason only- it deserves almost the maximum score in my opinion. Naturally the focus is more on the instrumental passages than on the vocals, but the output is anyway excellent. The problem regarding the weak vocalist was quite important within their second album, dated 1978 and simply entitled "DICE"; instead the present small jewel, released on 1977 and issued on CD on 1992, except on a few prolix parts as well as on some uneven instrumental passages (but never forgetting its importance inside the symphonic prog-genre anyway!) as a classic reference is highly recommended... unfortunately at the end it could deserve one or two stars less, above all if you think of the best (more and more seldom to be found) modern prog-genre today, which compared to this "dated" work from Sweden (especially if you regard the style) could make you change idea, but nevermind...