TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET

Review Nº 897

With the explosion of the quality of the music coming out of Sweden, Norway and Finland over the last few years, it's worthwhile to look back and remind ourselves that excellent rock from Scandinavia isn't a new thing at all. Trettioariga Kriget is a case in that point, with some other bands such as Kaipa, Atlas, Blakula and Samla Mammas Manna also from Sweden, Host, Ruphus and Déjà-Vu from Norway and Wigwam and Haikara from Finland, only to mention a few.

Trettioariga Kriget (The Thirty Years War) is a Swedish progressive rock band that was founded in 1970 in the Swedish town of Saltsjobaden. The musicians were all still students at that time. The school hall then also served as a training room. The first line up of the group consisted of 6 musicians, including 2 drummers. After a few changes, Austrian born Robert Zima joined the band as a singer and the former harmonica player Olle Thornval focused exclusively on writing lyrics. Thus, the line up of the band was completed, and is essentially the same till those days, and the task distribution became perfect: Stefan Fredin (vocals and bass), Dag Lundqvist (drums), Christer Akerberg (guitar), Robert Zima (vocals) and Olle Thornvall (lyrics). Around 1974, the band got a record deal with CBS. As a result, their self-titled debut album and their second one "Krigssang" were released. The band toured extensively in Scandinavia and England.

The debut studio album of Trettioariga Kriget can clearly be seen as a precursor to a lot of the music made by the later generation of their countrymen. The band had been together for several years by the time they recorded this album, and it shows in the confidence of their playing and the distinctive sound they present. It's as if they had already gone through a band's normal formative time, when they tend to sound derivative of previous music, and the good fortune not to release an album until they had discovered their own identity. When Trettioariga Kriget came out, its sound was quite distinctive. In general, it's a guitar based rock with occasional support of keyboards and strong vocals singing in Swedish, but their riffs are far from the typical 70's fare. Their sound is in general rooted with the blues but taken well past any standards and infused seamlessly with odd matters. There are a lot of sophisticated and unexpected chords, and the arrangements are full of twists and turns. In short, "Trettioariga Kriget" sounds great even today, really.

So, "Trettioariga Kriget" is the eponymous debut studio album of Trettioariga Kriget. The lineup on this album is Olle Thornvall (lyrics), Robert Zima (vocals and electric guitar), Christer Akerberg (acoustic and electric guitars, Stefan Fredin (bass guitar) and Dag Lundqvist (drums and percussion).

"Trettioariga Kriget" has six tracks. The first track "Kaledoniska Orogenessen" is about the creation of the Caledonian mountains. It starts in a very abrupt and raw way, according to the title. It's a track with constant changes of riffs and that ends in a very chaotic way. This is a nice opener. The second track "Roster Fran Minus Till Plus" is a bit more calm that opens with vocals and bass. The music evolves slowly, but it's only delivered in a very subtle way. It has a very subtle jazzy influence too, and the use of the Mellotron here is very nice. This is a track with a more constrained mood. The third track "Fjarilsattityder" is a very well constructed track with a jazzy intro and where we can clearly see King Crimson's influences. The music all over the track is great and very dynamic and is explored enthusiastically and nicely by all members of the band. This is one of the best tracks, indeed. The fourth track "Mina Lojen" is another great track. It's an uptempo song that opens with a frantic prologue, very much in the same line of the rest of the album with its jazzy influences. The track is very well constructed and has some very nice vocal work. The Mellotron is always presented giving the track a more prog feeling. The fifth track "Ur Djupen" is the shortest track on the album. It's a classic rock piece with blues influences. It reminds me of Deep Purple, mainly due to the vocals. It's a track with a slight development and with some complexity on the rhythm. Again the use of the Mellotron gives a nice prog touch to it. The sixth track "Handlingens Skugga" is a very energetic track played in the style of a jam. It has some complexity and has excellent guitar work. Akerberg delivers his best soloing on the album. This is a nice way to close this album, really.

Conclusion: Whilst the sound is, understandably, a bit dated, the mix of the early guitar based prog and the hard rock, retains considerable power and that should appeal to many fans of that era. Trettioariga Kriget was always a bit ahead of their time. There's foreshadowing on their complex hard/rock prog. While carrying some stylistic ties to psychedelic music, Trettioariga Kriget molds a brooding aggressive sound that probably owes just as much to 70's hard rock. Trettioariga Kriget's sound is warm and organic, combining song-based, mournful vocal material with mountains of churning guitar riffs. This is a unique sound that certainly gives hints as to where modern bands like Anglagard, Landberk and Anekdoten must have drawn a dose of inspiration. Their first two albums are necessary for any prog fan.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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