TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET

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TRETTIOARIGA KRIGET (translated as Thirty Years War) debut album is amongst the best Sweden prog rock bands and albums of the 70's. Their first album offers a heavy dose of dramatic, heavy guitar centric progressive rock with some psychedelic leanings all culminating into a sound all of their own. Although keyboards are present, they take on a minor role really and fill in some quiet spacey backgrounds. The bass and guitar interplay are the feature of this album as they get into some great complex performances. If I had to create a comparison I might offer a combo of ANGLAGARD and ANEKDOTEN with dashes of IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO and YES. The vocals are fine and are seem to fit the music quite well. The songs features here are very written and offer a nice mix of complex yet tight detail that I find very interesting without getting into over 'noodling-about'. Overall this is quite a fine little album and one that I play over the years quite a lot.

This eponymous debut album contains guitar-oriented progressive rock. I'm impressed by the guitarplayer: he has a powerful and varied sound and many times he delivers very compelling soli, accompanied by a dynamic rhythm-section. I notice some echoes from Robert Fripp and Steve Howe but this man is absolute a creative guitarist! Because of the native Swedish vocals (it reminds me of German band Novalis their singer) the music from Trettioariga Kriget sounds rather original. Some songs contain mellow parts featuring the mellotron or piano, at those moments TK is a more progressive rockband but in general THIS IS GOOD GUITAR-ROCK WITH PROGRESSIVE TENDENCIES!

What a monster of an album. This, their debut release, just blows me away. These guys know how to play. Generally guitar-centric, the rhythm section is a knock-out, especially bassist Stefan Fredin, who plays the bass like lead guitar, with his up-front, almost twangy sound. The songs feature various tempos and moods throughout, and plenty of odd times and jagged riffs. The keyboard sounds on a few songs are supplied by the incredible Mellotron, uncredited, but has since been revealed that the drummer is responsible. This album alone could be considered a blue-print for fellow Swedes Anglagard and Anekdoten IMO. Vocals are in Swedish, and loud in the mix, actually, everything is loud in the mix, but it just adds to the 'arctic' vibe this music gives off. Crank it up !!!!!!

The first strikes of the song "Kaledoniska Orogenesen" reveal what we are going to hear here: Chaotic and aggressive jazzy psychedelic music with great vintage sounds! After listening the whole album through, the most closest match of comparison would be the Wetton-Cross era KING CRIMSON. The band's sound is dominated by a strong and very skillful rhythm section. The bass has really fuzzy sound, and the compositions have both very structured and difficult sounding instrumental arrangements and space for free collective improvisation. And though it is not listed in the line-up data, the good old Mellotrons are haunting behind few tracks! The lyrics are sung in Swedish, but it didn't bother at least me. The overall feeling is very melancholic and violent, still having moments of groovy playing and short shades of beautifulness in it. Some instrumental sequences follow the logic of the dream, molding the record as a surrealistic nightmare. It's difficult to name a favorite track, as there isn't any filler moments here in my opinion!

Sadly the copy I heard didn't have the bonus tracks, but I'm seriously looking forward to buy the 2004 CD edition to get them. A real classic!

3.5 stars really!!!

This debut album was far from being representative of the band's story so far, as the group is a quartet where they had been as much as six, when they recorded their first sessions (which have now been released under the Glorious War name. The guitar- dominated quartet has always had a bit of a rough/raw sound and in this album the only keys heard are the mellotron layers (outside the piano on the bonus track of the reissue) but TK pulled an excellent hard prog that would suit those early UK groups that developed what some call proto-prog (but not the way that this site uses it). The album came with an artwork designed by their former drummer (one of the two) and the sword is there to remind us that the group had a rather unhealthy fascination with war, and the sword will become the group's emblematic object.

Taking the bald move to sing in their native language, TK does not really make for an easy and comfortable first listening, but most progheads should not have much problems adapting to the peculiar sound of theirs, even if some of the more discerning ones might single out the apparent simplicity of some tracks. The key word being apparent, because TK is definitely into tempo changes and time sigs, even if they go about chord changes in an abrupt manner, which shows their lack of experience. Their sound is best cornered as a mix of Purple and Heep crossed with Crimson, where Fredin's bass often take a lead role.

Starting on the very abrupt, raw, blunt, uncompromising Caledonian Origins (I gather anyway) with a lengthy crazy intro where the groups seems to constantly change riffs (a bit too much for their own sake, IMHO) before the song proper starts, Zima's vocals sounding like Gillan in his screams and scats and XXX in his normal singing. The following Roster is a bit calmer and not their best, (starting out on a marimba) but it evolves slowly into a demented ending where the mellotron (played by their drummer) underlines the crazy playing. Too bad it ends so sloppily. The album's first side closes on the Butterfly Attitudes, which is their best-constructed song so far, where the Crimson influences become clear (ever-present mellotrons helping of course) even if there is a definite jazzy bass that sets them apart.

Mina Lojen (My Smile) opens the second half of the album, but even if this was one of their older tracks by now, it is only partly successful as there is too much singing (the song lasting only 8 minutes after all ;-), but when space is made for the instruments, they like to show their potential (a bit too much) and the song ends in great mellotron wash. Ur Djupen is a bit too Purple (Zima's voice is certainly helping here with his scats), even if mellotrons lines were not Purple's attributes, but Fredin's playing does remind me of Glover's. Same Fender Precision bass. The finale (based on ancient-Greek philosophical text) starts slowly to end fast again

From the three bonus tracks added on this re-issue, the lengthy Under The Pending Sky is a first version of the much shorter Ur Djupen with lyrics added on the latter version. A fairly useful addition as both version differ enough to have their own lives (but there are repetitions) this version coming with a grand piano played by their former member Krok, while I've Got No Time (from the same earlier session) is an acoustic ballad that evolves into an average hard rock. Both tracks are not well recorded or well produced, and the last Perspektiv (a live recording from that era) will not dephase you either.

As with all TK recordings, this album definitely sounds under-produced, and if the band was purposely raw, I'm not that sure that they intended to leave the record that way; another thing striking me is that outside lyricist's text are way too present in some songs. A rough uncut gem that could be one of the diamond of your collection if you give yourself the patience enough to delve deeply into it, but IMHO, it is hard to give a fourth star.

This is their debut album from 1974.The music can be described as dark with some light jazzy moments.It's not that accessible as this is a grower.It does boast some terrific guitar(the guy can play!).The vocals are in Swedish, and this band has been a big influence on bands like ANGLAGARD and ANEKDOTEN.The cover art was done by the drummer who is an artist. "Kaledoiska Orogenesen" is about the creation of the Caledonian Mountains and it opens with an outburst of guitar and noise.There is a quotation in english from the song "The Battle Of Epping Forest" by GENESIS.The song ends in a chaotic way. "Roster ran Minus Till Plus" opens with bass and vocals.There is some spoken words with a jazzy backdrop.The guitar melodies 6 minutes in with bass remind me of RUSH.Nice.Mellotron on this one too. "Fjarilsattityder" has a jazzy intro.I love the guitar solos 3 1/2 minutes in.I could listen to that all day. "Mina Lojen" is my favourite tune.It's an uptempo song that starts and stops a lot to open.The song then builds quickly to a full sound 3 minutes in with mellotron and vocals.Some aggressive guitar to follow and what a wonderful guitar solo 6 1/2 minutes in with a bass solo to follow."Ur Djupen" has some great mellotron floods a minute in.Vocal melodies remind me of Ian Gillan from DEEP PURPLE on "Child In Time".The song is just dripping with mellotron at this point."Handlingens Skugga" slowly builds with vocals.It becomes raw and chaotic 4 minutes in until vocals come back.A great guitar solo to end it.One of the bonus tracks "I've Got No Time" has english vocals and it sounds great!The last bonus track "Perspektiv" was actually the first song they ever wrote in 1970.It features a passage where the guitarist just jams for about 3 minutes.Incredible! As i said, this one takes some time to get used to but it worth the effort my friends.

Trettioåriga Kriget is a living legend of vintage Swedish prog. Not unlike Kaipa, the band reunited in the last years and managed to retake their musical vision and still today remain an active item (if intermittently). This is where the similarities end, since the musical trend of Trettioåriga Kriget, at least for their debut gem album, is one of heavy prog open to the inclusion of jazz-inspired complexities and frontal psychedelic expansions. The band's heaviness even predates Rush for a few months, given the big doses of zeppelin and Sabbath elements jointly effective with electric blues flavors. But mostly, "Trettioåriga Kriget" is a genuine prog statement from a band that bears a clear vision from the starting point: the band is not just exploring the realms of art-rock, it is deeply involved and going for it all the way. 'Kaledoniska orogenesen' kicks off the album like a metallic eruption of whirlwinds aiming to sweep anything off of the ground: such menacing emergence of guitar, bass and drums almost makes Black Sabbath sound like Bread, at least for a few seconds. Funny how this song begins in a chaotic way that is usually reserved for explosive endings. Anyway, once the main body is installed, the vibe displays an energetic mixture of blues-rock and heavy-oriented psychedelia in a progressive framework; it won't be long before the inception of some jazzy deviations in the rhythmic development adds an interesting variation to the overall mood. Zima's ultra-high pitch makes the vocal deliveries fit well within this particularly powerful instrumentation, be it that he shouts or sings. Both his range and style can be bones of contention among prog fans and reviewers, but anyone who listens to this album from a clinical point of view can notice that he is the right singer for the band regarding both sound and repertoire. The track's finale is quite explosive, but actually it is more schematic than the opening passage. This opener has really heated things up, a definitive attention catcher. Track 2 'Röster från minus till plus' states a more constrained mood, sounding like a jazzy Hendrix, plus mellotron washes that display some eerie elements from the background. The track's development hints at a hardening in the mood, but it is only delivered very subtly: anyway, the empowered bass sound makes it crucial for the track's consistence, especially in those moments in which Åkerberg has to leave the riffing in order to solo. The final moments may lean closer to King Crimson with a slight Sabbath twist and an added touch of jazz in the rhythmic structure. Things won't get any softer with 'Fjärilsattityder': the power trio sound elaborated by the instrumentalists continues to be explored enthusiastically and gracefully, with a robust bassist and a confident drummer who state the nucleus for the whole band's dynamics. 'Mina löjen' opens with a frantic prologue, very much obedient of the jazzed heavy-prog framework that has been consistent so far; the emergence of a sung section based on acoustic guitar brings some calm, as well as a reference for the track's subsequent development that alternates lyrical and powerful moments in an ordained fashion. 'Ur djupen' is the album's shortest piece - basically, it is a slow rocker with a slightly complex rhythmic developments and a catchy bluesy intro. Actually, there is an earlier, longer version of this track that appears a bonus track in the CD edition: you can tell by the album's version alone that this track had a lot more going on than what was recorded in this album. This bonus shows that this is not an undeveloped track, but a (sorely) reduced refurbishment. The album's final 7 ½ minutes are occupied by 'Handlingens skugga' - it starts bearing a similar mood to the one displayed in the previous track, but some complex interludes bring in an interesting dynamics despite their brevity. The coda is an energetic jam that gives room for Åkerberg to deliver his best soloing in the album: I'm not totally charmed with the abrupt ending, since all the other tracks had benefited from appealing conclusions, but this is just a minor objection to a track that I enjoy so much. My personal highlights are tracks 1, 2 and 4. Overall balance: an excellent item that should grace any good prog collection.