ANEKDOTEN

The first thing that strikes you is the evident Crimson-esque atmosphere. They simply took the King Crimson Red-ish sound and started to play with it. After a decade in the eighties when prog was almost extinct when you hear something like this you could not be other than happy. Together with Anglagard they are responsible for the revival of the dark eclectic progressive phenomenon in the nineties.

Even if the word Vemod meaning in Swedish is sadness there are plenty of moments when aggressiveness is unleashed. Except 'Thoughts in Absence' and 'Longing' which are both around 4 minutes slow songs the other are mixing slow cello/mellotron driven with heavy chaotic parts in a fantastic manner. Lyrics are maintaining and even amplifying the melancholic mood.

My impression after several spins is that we have a solid recording which is one of the few responsible in the nineties with reviving some of the best moments of the seventies. Albums as this one seem to be a strong indicator of how advanced and before of their times were King Crimson in the seventies with their incredible and milestone releases. I'm glad that after efforts like this we are still able to hear as of today so many great bands and albums pushing even further progressive rock limits.

It could be said that, more than anyone else, the Scandinavians instigated the prog revival of the 90's. Sure there were prog bands everywhere and prog metal bands had done well for themselves as the subgenre grew during the 80's. However, in Sweden and Norway several new groups formed with the expressed purpose of creating music with the same mindset as the classic groups of the 70's. One band to take a different direction, however, was Anekdoten.

Typically, the Scandinavian prog revival movement focused on symphonic prog and featured classic prog instruments such as Mellotrone and flute. Anekdoten went and took the Mellotrone and added some cello and violin, some gentle chimes and melancholy guitar and juxtaposed the whole deal with some frighteningly harsh and angular dissonant electric guitar and brutishly fuzz-toned bass.

The Wikipedia article on Anekdoten lists them as progressive rock, psychedelic rock, art rock, and early post- rock. I have also read them as being associated with progressive metal. You will certainly find elements from these subgenres throughout much of the album. The opening track, "Nucleus" features a bombast of churning aggression that might remind you of watching your living furniture turning in a room-sized clothes dryer, while "Rubankh" might been the audio equivalent of watching industrial robots attempt to get up and dance.

Several of the songs are over 7 minutes and others over 6, so there's room for the band to exercise all aspects of their repertoire. Look for the wintry depressing sound of "Here", the string and piano shuffle intro to "In Freedom" and the eerily beautiful yet desolate landscape of "Luna Surface" as well as the short but demented- sounding "Raft". "This Far from the Sky" offers more of the continuous shattering dissonant guitar chords against the assault of drums, cymbals, and a growling bass guitar that strikes like the multiple heads of an enraged hydra.

Musically, this is an interesting album; however, I do wonder when I might be in the mood to listen to "Luna Surface". While sitting up to my nostrils in bathwater late with a candle lit one night after a long day? Also, the vocals are not so impressive. Like many prog bands capable of intensely complex and creative music, the vocalist is often the member who warbles the least and not a truly talented singer.

An album for certain moods but not for just any day, "Nucleus" isn't an easy album to rate, somewhere between three and four stars, depending on how I'm feeling. And since I've been enjoying more aggressive music recently, I'll give it four.

''Vemod'' was shockingly good for the underground community of prog fans around early-90's , who waited for years for the ressurection of their beloved music.For Anekdoten this would be translated into a major tour around Europe - they visited Norway, Germany, Switzerland and Italy besides Sweden - and completed a transtlantic journey to the American grounds, highlighted by their performance at Progfest 94'.This gig would be part of both of the CD and Video formats of this festival by Musea Records.Next came the long-awaited second album of the band, recorded at the Studio Largen and released on Virtalevy in 1995 under the title ''Nucleus''.The same album was also released by Musea Records and the Archangel label for the Japanese market.

While using the same formula as on their debut, Anekdoten returned with an even heavier album, featuring some extreme guitar and bass parts, which usually led into an atmospheric lyricism.KING CRIMSON appear to be once more the center of their influences, the lovely and unique combination of complex guitar moves and powerful dissonances with the mellow lyrical parts had become a trademark of the band.''Nucleus'' seems to open a window into Alternative Rock paths at specific moments, the punchy guitar rhythms were a good reason for this change, but they still retained their genuine approach on Progressive Rock, as long as Berg and Dahlberg were handling the Mellotron and the cello respectively.While they sounded very modern, the use of analog keyboards, the KING CRIMNSON-ian atmospheres and the long instrumental parts with the orchestral overtones still showed some tight links to the vintage era.The Mellotron appears as a regular contributor in almost every track, complemented by occasional organ and electric piano washes, and the cello provides an even darker and more haunting taste to Anekdoten's music.The contrast between the sinister and complicated instrumentals and the ethereal, poetic vocals is always charming and the atmosphere at moments seems to enter a more dreamy and optimistic territory.Very good arrangements with impressive mood changes and the correct dose of prog complexity.

Similar to ''Vemod'', albeit a bit heavier, revisiting the old KING CRIMSON principles with a Scandinavian color of their own.Pretty personal style of atmospheric Heavy Prog, strongly recommended to say the least...3.5 stars.

This is another one of those albums that would have been absolutely awesome if it weren't for the vocals!! The instrumentals in this album are awe inspiring and send shivers down any spines. The heavy instrumental segments are the heaviest you can get without actually venturing into Metal, which is quite the achievement. The brooding atmospheric segments are reminiscent of King Crimson's best gentle moments mixed with an extra tinge of terror. Somehow, unfortunately, the vocals manage to ruin it for me. They are incompetent and drag along for way to long, and sounds rather uninspired. That's not to speak for the lyrics, which are pretty decent. If only the vocals were either cut out entirely, this would be an absolute masterpiece!

This album marks a departure from Anekdoten's traditional Red-era King Crimson-esque sound, making it's way into territory traversed by Radiohead and Muse. Despite distancing themselves from progressive territory, Anekdoten manages to develop a new, more mature personality. Instrumentally speaking, this album is far less complex than its predecessors, given the lack of strange time signatures. Emotionally speaking the band has lifted itself away from the deep, dark, suicidal dismay into a more hopeful melancholy, particularly evident in the vocal melodies. Notably, the vocals are immensely better quality than previous Anekdoten releases. The advantages here are the development of a distinct emotional richness, while sacrificing instrumental complexity. This certainly will not appeal to hard head Red-era King Crimson fans, but will certainly appeal to those who enjoy King Crimson's more emotional side such as in 'Book of Saturday'.

Anekdoten's From Within finds the band still ploughing the old mid-1970s King Crimson furrow which serves as the basis for their sound. However, whereas I was initially impressed with their first two albums but became disillusioned with them over time, at first I was unimpressed with From Within but I have found that it has grown on me. There's a subtlety and delicacy on display here, from the title track onwards, which sees Anekdoten move towards a more distinctive and individual identity for themselves, which makes the album a richer and deeper prospect than their previous work. The opening number, with its crashing intro and its fragile lyrics, grabs the listener's attention instantly and the album doesn't let go for its entire running time.

In 1999, the Swedish band ANEKDOTEN, led by Niklas Barker, created one of the most impressive albums in progressive rock: FROM WITHIN. This album is full of mellotron sound, and impressive bass lines, that together with the guitar, drums and other keyboard instruments, such as a hammond organ, this album is consistent, powerful, mesmerizing. All the songs have Anekdoten's essence that has maintained from the very first album, and Barker's voice, which sounds a bit different to an average singer gives the final touch to the wonderful creations shown in here. The opening track "From Within" is really amazing with the excellent drum nuances, good guitar riff and the fantastic bass sound; from this moment and on, all the songs have a high level, and the last track "For Someone" is an excellent acoustic conclusion for an album that takes you to a rollercoaster of emotive and powerful music!

I know Vemod, Nucleus and From Within are people's favorite albums of the Swedish band ANEKDOTEN., they are mine as well; however, GRAVITY is my special album. I love every single song in this album, and my top favorite is Ricochet, it is kind of emotional for me. The rest of the album ranges from peaceful and relaxing songs to heavier and proggier sounds. This album is the most accessible of the first 4, maybe that is why people think it is not the best, but let me tell you something, ANEKDOTEN's albums deserve a rating of 5 stars, because they are far better than many other albums of other bands.

King Crimson comparisons abound for Anekdoten's debut album Vemod and rather than presenting a dissenting view, I will just join the choir on this one.

Just about everything familiar, alien, loved or loathed from (primarily) ca.-Red era King Crimson can be found on Vemod: keen dynamic awareness and exploitation of the massive power in jumping from the calm to the chaotic in wild abandon, throwing out more minimal atmospheric focus for powerful, musically busy aggression by the flick of a switch along the way. The similarities do of course not end there, but continue all the way down to the sound of the instruments. Along the way you will recognize the unstable, neurotic melodies and slight atonality and chromaticism of Fripp (coupled with the equally familiar angular, uncompromising riffs), the muscular, distorted and dominant bass lines, soaring Mellotron and a mix of forceful and dexterous drumming. Even the moods come across as rehashed: twitchy, neurotic melancholy, sad reflectiveness, a ray of wondrous light in the midst of aching sorrow. Plain old fun if you're into the brooding or dark side of stuff! Take any of those feelings, transport it by a dense, ominous buildup of slightly malevolent sounds and let it explode in a cathartic eruption of frustrated, crashing instrumental thunder.

But it isn't identical. Out goes the violin, in comes the cello. Not the most dramatic of changes, but it definitely brings more fullness to the soundscape. However, the major differences, as I see them, are two. Or possibly three. Because when peaking in intensity, there's a streak of more hard-hitting aggression and speed to the music, making it feel more contemporary metal or heavy rock. It's just a stronger crossover into that world than King Crimson ever tried to accomplish; more riff-driven and direct, rawer and more "honestly" energetic, if that makes sense to you. Some of the grittier parts are sometimes spectacularly heavy, but also rather fast and rhythmically bouncy. Funnily enough, the other main difference I would identify is found in the very opposite end of the music. When in mellower territories, there's a streak of vulnerability and sensitivity to both the clean, precise vocal lines (sometimes even lacking in power) and melodies I don't really associate with King Crimson, something that could be described (perhaps wrongly) as a touch of a more ethereal, introverted indie/alternative-influence. The addition of piano fleshes out these bits and serves as an excellent indicator of the third difference: a will to enrich the arrangements, a search for more melodious fullness ( even mildness) and a decidedly more organic and agile approach to the compositions than the mid-70s-King Crimson, who despite even improvisation can come across as a bit formal and disciplined (perhaps even academical) to this reviewer.

I thoroughly enjoy Vemod, but think the band paid just a bit to much tribute to their apparent heroes here. There is individuality to be sure, but it's a bit underdeveloped and raw at this point, and the band would go on to make more interesting albums later. And sadly, things tend to stay a bit same-old-same-old as well, with songs morphing into each other at a bit too high a rate. This is made even more obvious due to the similarity of mood throughout the album, causing just a bit of listening-fatigue.

A nice addition, a good debut, but far from essential.

3 stars.

//LinusW

Anekdoten's album refines the approach of Vemod, taking the King Crimson-inspired style of that album and amping up the heavy, at points almost grungy guitar riffs. It's an intoxicating mix which at its best threatens to beat the 1990s King Crimson at their own game, but once again it doesn't quite hold up over the course of the album; the tracks begin to blend together and my attention invariably begins to drift at about the halfway point. Though they do manage to do slightly better at judging when to throw in a quieter section to keep things varied, the different quiet and loud sections all begin to sound like each other after a while. OK if you're addicted to Red-era King Crimson, but I'd rather just listen to Red again.