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Qoph's first album is a very strange and unique blend of Avant prog mixed with a weird psychedelic progmetal, which is not easily qualified or classed into one genre or the other, with the whole affair being slightly grunge too. The Swedish double guitar (no KB) quintet is always quite energetic, they invite a few musicians to help out on the sax and violin. Qoph took the brave step to sing in Swedish, but unlike some of the more conventional Swedish prog groups like Anglagard or Landberk (where I think it even enhances the atmospheres), it does not work quite as well, and is sometimes even a little derange-some in a few tracks, despite of the music's crazy and off-the-wall feel. And the jester on the artwork will already give you an idea of what is awaiting you once you pop the disc in your deck.

How to describe this group's sound except by drawing a wide circle around it and hope that Qoph will somehow fit somewhere inside it. Picture the Red Hot Chilli Pepper, Miriodor, a straight and non-jazz X-Legged Sally with very strong traces of Tool, with some of Plastic People Of The Universe and Jolly Joker hints and you might start to see what I'm getting at. VdGG and Crimson are among the influences you'll also hear (especially when the sax is around as it sounds like Jaxon meeting Collins and often it veers the music towards organized chaos) in the second track Ta Farval. The bass is often funky and the jumpy feel of some tracks (most noticeably in Nadir I) reminds of RHCP's ultra technical funk-rock. These guys go nuts very often and are not afraid to push the boundaries with a basic 50's RnR (the short Nadir III track) and a 60's (surf- garage-type) one at the start of the closing 14-min monster Radsla, both sufficiently modified and actualised to keep today's proghead interested & happy, and when then they end the track onto a Johnny Winter-like hard blues rock, but rest assured that the inside core of the track is definitely Tool-esque. For this writer, the highlight of the album is the psychic Herr Qophs Villfarelser track that takes you into almost the 67 Friscoland. Simply excellent!!! The whole albums slides by smoothly and it seems much shorter than it really is, which is a real quality.

This review certainly will not be one of my better one, but I must say that this music is unusual enough for me not being able to talk too well about it, even after four years of owning the album. Nevertheless, this debut album is an impressive mother, which must be at least heard once in your lifetime, even if I will not guarantee you that you will keep the album very often in your rotation once the initial discovery and acquaintance period is over

I discovered ANEKDOTEN really early on after finding out about this hidden world of progressive rock, and I fell for them and so naturally started looking for similar bands. That led me to this band QOPH and their second album "Pyrola" from 2004. It featured Nicklas Barker from ANEKDOTEN playing mellotron along with Simon Steensland and Mats Oberg from MATS/MORGAN also guesting. Great album by the way with english vocals from these Swedes.

This record I'm reviewing today is their debut from 1998 and the music is completely different from their second one that I have. The album cover is a hint with that zany looking jester as we get vocals that are quite aggressive and in swedish making them a little hard to take. There's silliness and theatrics with his singing here as well as they drift into avant territories at times. They also play quite a bit of bluesy music where the vocals are usually rough sounding, again not my thing. It's just so interesting to know that the album to follow this is more retro and warm, more to my tastes for sure.

Now the instrumental work on this record is outstanding, so impressive which you really want when your playing some complex stuff. An adventerous record for sure and that's what makes rating this hard because looking at it as more of an avant recording I can consider 4 stars for what it is but in the end either way I just don't get enough out of this to go that high with my rating. This is one of those albums that makes me wish I rated more objectively but that's not happening so 3 stars it is. Hey if it's an instrumental album maybe?

Those vocals are pretty much shouting on that opener and there's some silliness too. Nice finish with the guitar though. Guest sax on that second track which is one of the better tunes. I like the depth of this one. Third track is a turn off with that reggae vibe and those aggressive vocals. Track four is right up there after starting out not so great. I like the drumming 3 minutes in and it finishes strong. Blues is the word for tracks five and eight. Track six is hit and miss but how about the first 6 minutes of track seven, best song on here.

Way too many negatives to go 4 stars here despite the obvious talent.