THE FOUR RIDERS OF THE APOCALYPSE

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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...

After having heard lots of hype about this one, I was rather underwhelmed when I finally did get a chance to listen to it. Yes, on the surface there are strong similarities to Finch and Focus and the like. Yes, the musicianship is impressive and the songs are complex.

The problem is, the compositions are quite poor. The band members do come up with interesting motival ideas, but are absolutely clueless as to how to string them together into coherent musical pieces. As a result, there's not one memorable moment on the whole album. Well, apart from the bit in "Death" where they blatantly rip off King Crimson's "Lark's Tongues In Aspic, Part 2", cleaved in two by a cheesy rendition of "In The Mood".

I suppose I should cut them some slack as this was for all intents and purposes a demo, never intended for general release. Still, it's really not all that much in the end. All the elements are there, but something's missing. It's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle that hasn't been put together yet.

The introduction to the group here at progarchives mentions that fans of Mithrandir and Amenophis might lap this up. I haven't heard Mithrandir, but this entirely instrumental album bears no resemblance to Amenophis' elegant majestic work.

Dice seems to be very much from the ELP school in terms of use and sound of the organ, with perhaps even less emotion and warmth, if that is even possible. It is hard to pick out a highlight, but the main reason to listen might be for a fan of various jazz, classical, and prog classics to pick out the little snippets taken from these genres. Taken without insight respect, subtlety, feel for light and shade, sense of melody or timing, and with a misplaced irreverence. I take nothing away from the competence of these musicians, and to the possible limited appeal among prog snobs, but this one should have stayed on the shelf.

DICE released only one studio album back in the late seventies, and this isn't it. This was a demo they recorded but never released at the time, instead they released their self titled debut the year after they recorded this one. "The Four Riders Of The Apocalypse" was finally released as an album in 1992 ! I must admit i've been scratching my head wondering why this wasn't released back in 1977. This is a concept album and also an all instrumental record, except for the bonus track. I was reminded of YES and GENESIS quite a bit, and the star of the show is Leif Larsson who plays some amazing mellotron, synths, piano and organ. I have to say that the bass(Rickenbacker) stands out nicely as well. Two complaints though. First of all the sound quality could be a lot better and second this sounds too familiar much of the time.

We get started with "War (1st Impression)" beginning with "Ouverture" a short piece that really reminds me of ELP, in particular Mr.Emerson. "Fronts" features mellotron as marching style drumming and organ lead the way. It calms right down before rebuilding before 2 minutes back to the organ/drum melody. Whistling is heard as you can imagine the soldiers marching off to war. Another calm as the mellotron flows before 3 1/2 minutes. Guitar becomes prominant after 4 minutes and it reminds me of Howe. Check out the Wakeman-like keyboard work to follow. We are in YES territory folks. "Battle" features a flood of mellotron after a minute. Nice.The pulsating keys recall Banks. So much going on at this point(the battle). Very heavy drums end it. "Deserted Battlegrounds" is a reflective 43 second piece that ends the first impression. "Disease (2nd Impression)" opens with pulsating keys, then the chunky bass arrives, followed by the keys that recall Wakeman again. A calm comes in and this contrast continues. I really like the uptempo section 5 minutes in with mellotron. This is a cool YES flavoured tune.

"Greed (3rd Impression)" opens with organ as guitar, drums and fat bass join in. This track has a lot of energy on it. Some solo piano melodies before 5 minutes before we get back to the collage of intricate sounds. "Death (4th Impression)" like the War impression is divided into 4 parts. It starts with "Requiem" as what sounds like church organ comes powerfully in(hey it's death what did you expect). After some drums and bombast a calm arrives, the mellotron waves the rest of the way are incredible. "Dance Of The Devils" might be the best sounding song on here. It opens with drums, organ and mellotron before it all picks up speed as bass and guitar come in. A change then occurs after 1 1/2 minutes as it settles down even employing a short "In The Mood" interlude for fun. The levity continues until 3 1/2 minutes in when the uptempo melody from earlier comes back to end it. "Transition" is a one minute organ piece that is quite mellow. "Heaven" is the final piece of the concept. It features mellotron and organ that becomes dramatic 1 1/2 minutes in as drums and a fuller sound arrives. The sound calms back down before becoming massive again.

The bonus track from 1979 is called "Young Man's Delight". It's a 6 minute vocal song that is humerous and very well done. I like it.