ANEKDOTEN

As with the "Larks Tongues.." thru "Red" era of KING CRIMSON, ANEKDOTEN proposes an intense mellotron soaked take on heavy prog rather than the mellow romanticism of early MOODY BLUES, Crimson, or the myriad disciples that followed. Comparisons to a RIVERSIDE and growl-free OPETH are also appropriate. Nonetheless, on this album, the band also navigates pathways of resounding beauty that contrast with the claustrophobic atmosphere elsewhere. Moreover, rather than overexerting the tron flutes and brass, the band invites guests to lend their respiratory systems to the authentic instrumentation. How quaint! But also most effective, especially when blended with 12 string guitars and their ilk, like in "If it all comes down to you".

As a fan of the lighter end of the spectrum, I find plenty to enjoy here, in music that works for lazy drifting and active listening, but my personal highlight is "The Writing on the Wall", especially the last few minutes, at first palpably light, almost dainty, before a brilliantly emotive guitar/mellotron blend parades triumphantly to the exits accompanied by dignified choral effects. But on the more big P prog substantive scale, I also want to signal the tasteful saxophone work over hypnotic rhythms as the album's closing instrumental winds down. In contrast, "Shooting Star" is a bit too SPOCK'S BEARD like for my taste, with a rather trite verse-chorus structure and lyrics somewhat redeemed by instrumental illuminations in the break.

Landing somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, "Until all the Ghosts are Gone" bubbles up because of its appeal across the prog diaspora, a knowing blend of dark and light to haunt us until...

Anekdoten's first brace of albums all largely chase the same broad style of heavy prog influenced strongly by mid- 1970s King Crimson, and an audience thirsty for new prog lapped them up eagerly. (For my part I find that they tend to sound a little samey, with From Within standing a little ahead of the pack.) A Time of Day finds the band sidestepping into a quieter style, with psychedelic influences suggesting that they had been listening to a good deal of 1960s proto- progressive works in the intervening years since Gravity, establishing a new sound for themselves which they would successfully polish further on the following Until All the Ghost Are Gone.

If you are highly invested in the early Anekdoten sound, take a breath and clear your mind a little before listening to this one, because it's not going to meet your expectations - but if you find that Vemod, Nucleus, and From Within tend to mash together into one indistinct mass in your head, you may find this the refreshing new take that Anekdoten needed.

Vemod is the result of the talent of a bunch of musicians who had the ability to consider the past while achieving to sound actual for their time!

And yes, this album sounds a lot like King Crimson, and sometimes even like Van Der Graaf Generator. But it's also has glimpses of grunge, alternative rock and even punk. Yes! That's what I ask of a progressive band, and Anekdoten delivered in a magnificent way.

Nevertheless, the production of the album is not the best. The drums are a bit too loud in occasions and the vocals are not really good implemented. I think Jan Erik Liljeström is not such a lousy singer as he seems to be in this album. In Nucleus he sounds better, and in posterior releases even better. So, I think that the out of tone segments that we can hear in this album are in part because of the weak production.

But it's all part of the charm of Vemod, I guess.

Karelia starts the album and Anekdoten's career in a great way, with a dark keyboard and a precious mellotron melody. After that a pungent bass appears introducing some guitar melodies very reminiscent to King Crimson, but filtered out by heavy distortion (or punk) which set us undoubtedly in the 90's.

The Old Man and the Sea starts with a schizophrenic riff which leads to another calmer one, imitating the sound of the waves. Just great! And at this moment the vocals appear? And I don't really know if I love the singing or I hate it. After repeatedly hearing this album I find the vocals not so annoying, but I guess that it's an acquired taste. At 3:47 we find an outstanding punk riff which leads to a great progressive section. Just incredible! Shame of the weak singing in this one.

Where solitude remains has a brutal bass line at the beginning, which lead to verses dominated by keyboards, very good despite the mediocre vocals. The chorus is more intense and the great bass appears again. After the chorus Anekdoten show their most psychedelic side, with an outstanding guitar solo. But the singing is just lame? "Taiaiaiaiaiaiam Looost" Just awful.

Thoughts in Absence is a marvelous acoustic song which had a lot of influence through the 90's in my opinion, especially in acts like Opeth or Green Carnation. And the vocals are undoubtedly better in this one! Thanks God. The Flow has a completely atmospheric beginning but after that we can hear another crazy riff and piercing bass flowing, intertwined with great notes of cello and mellotron. The vocals are not good, but at least not so annoying this time. At the end of the song we can hear where Opeth took inspiration to create their characteristic riffs!

Longing is another instrumental composition with precious acoustic guitars and cello. Almost a perfect one! And Wheel is also outstanding, with its melodies which go up and down through a limited scale in attempt to imitate the form of the aforementioned wheel. The Jan Erik Liljeström's vocals are accompanied this time of the Anna Sofi Dahlberg ones, achieving the best vocal interpretation of the album. After a prodigious solo of drums, bass and trumpet we encounter the initial riff again, closing this album properly.

Conclusion: Vemod is an outstanding mixture of piercing bass melodies, tons of mellotron, weak vocals and imaginative guitars in the vein of King Crimson, and a cello (and trumpet) work reminiscent of Van der Graaf Generator. But Anekdoten has the ability to mix this 70's influences with the typical grunge, alternative rock and heavy of the 90's, achieving a unique and very influential sound.

I think a lot of bands, especially in Sweden, took a lot of ideas of Anekdoten and Vemod. So, despite the weak vocals (maybe given by the sub-par production), I think this album is an excellent addition to every prog-music collection.

Best Tracks: Karelia, The Old Man and the Sea, Longing, Wheel.

My rating: ****

Although I've been aware of Anekdoten since 1996, I only bothered buying any of their stuff recently. I was able to acquire original CD copies of Vemod and Nucleus for cheap, which helped me. I can understand why it took me this long to bother buying anything from them. They're simply overrated. They're not bad, but let me explain. Most detractors will accuse these albums as being nothing more than Red-era King Crimson ripoffs. That's not what bother me, but when I listen to this, it sounds more like '90s alternative rock that happens to used quite a lot of Mellotron. That grungy guitar from Niklas Berg could easily come from any given hard-edge alternative rock album of the '90s as would be King Crimson. Anekdoten is often referred to as a retro prog band, but to my ears it sounds clearly from the 1990s. Änglagård is much more retro, even though there's some traits yout can tell that it originated in the 1990s (despite the complete lack of digital keyboards). Regardless, I can see why Anekdoten appeals to many, because you can't deny the intensity of these songs. Nucleus is their second album, released in December 1995, and it sounds like a continuation of its predecessor, although perhaps a heavier approach. Anna Sofi Dahlberg gives some nice mournful cello work, and Niklas Berg is nothing short of a tron fanatic, so there's really no need in saying that on any given Anekdoten release you get treated with plenty of Mellotron. Honestly I'm really torn about this, I guess I need to be in the mood. I really can give it a three and a half star rating. I really feel that being blown away by Änglagård that I was perhaps expecting a bit more with Anekdoten. But even if it's not entirely my thing, I can still recommend Nucleus for those who like their style.

Anekdoten returns after a long absence to gift us with Until All the Ghosts Are Gone, another rock solid entry into the 'heavy prog' sub-genre, and heavy it is, abounding with massive bass and guitar riffing, and pounding, tension-filled songs. However, it's also filled with beauty and nuance through artfully arranged songs and many- layered sounds of mellotron and organ.

"Shooting Star" wastes no time in showing us why Anekdoten remains one of the more powerful, creative, and heavy sounding bands around - even after 8 years of hiatus. The two guitarists lay down an amazing amount of sound, crushing the listener during the song's numerous fortissimo moments while also showing their restraint during other moments. The use of negative space and ambiance has always been a strong suit for the band, and here it's juxtaposed to the massive riffing - and not to mention unexpectedly aggressive soloing from Barker - very well indeed. It's an optimistic song that takes you to places dark and bright in 10 jam-packed minutes of thick, heavy, wonderful music; off to a great start, though things get much darker thematically from here on out.

"Get Out Alive" sadly takes a while to get going, weighed down by vocals that plod along until electrified by a terrific instrumental break that concludes with a sense of strong sense of drifting melancholy. A busy song, even though slow tempo, and probably the weakest on the album.

The wonderful "If It All Comes Down to You" shows the band's ability to craft very likable and approachable music using a blend of sensitively incorporated mellotron, vibes, and guitar tones. It's about as pop-friendly song that the band has ever produced, though its complex instrumentation and prog-feel probably won't convince people who aren't use to listening to music this dense. Still, its a great moment of lightness in the mix, even though it's basically a break-up song, and the contributions by Theo Travis' flute soloing is a great touch.

"Writing on the Wall" continues in achingly melancholic form, being excellently composed for dramatic and emotive effect, especially the four minutes of instrumental work that concludes the song. This leads me to album's conclusion, "Our Days Are Numbered," a powerful instrumental song with amazing tension and performances throughout. Once again, when Anekdoten is at their best, they absolutely nail it. This may be one of their best songs, and it certainly carries an 'end of the world' feel to it's rousing climax.

While not a perfect album, Until All the Ghosts Are Gone does a tremendous amount of things exceptionally well. This doesn't surprise me, given my ratings of past Anekdoten albums; the band rises above in so many ways, but there's just something illusive that keeps the music from resonating with me. It's this lack of emotional connection that I've decided to keep my rating at a 4-star. You will not be disappointed with Until All the Ghosts Are Gone, but if you're like me, you probably won't connect or remember much of it specifically afterwards. A great album for fans of loud, heavy, artistic rock.

Songwriting: 4 - Instrumental Performances: 5 - Lyrics/Vocals: 3 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

For a while I'd written off Anekdoten as also-rans of the Scandinavian prog scene - it's not that I didn't like their sound, From Within is a pretty good album, it's just that the sound didn't really vary enough from album to album (or, for that matter, from song to song) to really keep me interested.

Well, after taking a good long break to recharge their creative batteries I'm pleased to say that Anekdoten have pulled off the difficult task of extensively revising their sound whilst still creating something that is true to their personality and history. There's still plenty of Crimso-fied technical noodling afoot, but this time it's enhanced by a sense of playfulness and whimsy reminiscent less of 1970s prog and more of the 1960s psychedelic forerunners of the prog scene. Organ gets to play as much as, if not more than, the Mellotron which was previously the band's trademark, the vocals actually occasionally seem hopeful or cheerful, and there's a sense of dynamism and spontaneity which I haven't previously heard in Anekdoten's music, but which is extremely welcome. Welcome back, gang.

A couple of years back, I purchased "Nucleus", Anekdoten's second album I believe. I found I really liked some tracks and always thought to someday grab another album. Then one day in 2015, I saw that the band had a new album out and I decided to grab it and check it out.

The opening track "Shooting Star" is quite a surprise. It sounds a lot like some recent Opeth and in fact, a couple of times that I've had this song and some from Opeth's "Pale Communion" on a mixed playlist and on shuffle, I actually mistook this song for an Opeth song at first. It's an excellent opening to the album and I can't help but notice the smoother and warmer sound compared to the sometimes crushing and pulverizing sounds on "Nucleus". This song has become a favourite off the album.

The final track too is a memorable one. "Our Days are Numbered" is an instrumental with more heavy guitar but a lighter, atmospheric part with some saxophone before coming to a dramatic finale. It's an instrumental with moods and tension. Great work!

Unfortunately, I keep fading out during the four songs in between. I understand that this is a top rated album of 2015 and I even read a raving review praising this album to high heaven. But I'm afraid that I can't find and become absorbed by the genius music that many others are claiming in there. There's supposed to be this totally far out guitar solo packed with sweet emotion on "Get Out Alive". Yes, the song really comes out strong in the second half and builds nicely in the first. But I am not totally blown away. "If It All Comes Down to You" includes some lovely flute and Mellotron. It should be really marvellous and listening to it now on my iPhone without headphones it is indeed very beautiful.

But I've tried to listen to this album through a few times and my attention always wanders. What's wrong? It sounds like it should be a great album to me. Is it Nicklas Barker's vocals, which aren't exactly the strongest in progland? No, I can get along with the vocals, especially since there's so much instrumental work. What is it then?

Well, I listened on the way home tonight and I think I know what's missing. I heard someone say recently, "Have you ever had an album ruined for you for one thing and that one thing only?" My impression is that this album isn't mixed very well. I find the sound murky and thick. Turning up the volume usually helps in these cases but it still seems to me that the middle songs especially just don't sound as clear as they should. Listening to recent albums by Opeth, Pandora Snail, or Nice Beaver for example, the music is just so warm and rich in sound. That's lacking here and I think that's why my mind keeps losing focus and I don't know what I've just listened to.

Yeah, I'm listening one more time to "Writing On the Wall" now without the ear buds in and the music sounds better like this actually. I can see why some people rate the music of this album so high. As for me, I would really like to have heard a clearer, cleaner production of the sound here.

Surely a great album that happens to be suffering a bit from the mixed sound of the music. Four stars knocked down to three.

My ALL-TIME Greatest #7

As much as I love their past albums it's fair to highlight the present work in recognition of the maturity attained. What was already so good acquires in these songs, specially on the composing department, an extra dimension of quality: the original way they sound and makes them so immediately recognizable is fortunately untouched but the music is more elaborate and 'finished'.

Global Appraisal

What amazes me most since the first time I heard them, and gets now even more nuanced, is the uniqueness of the mix they achieve of characteristic affinities with 'traditional prog' and a modern and very personal 'progression', exploring on their own account new ways of expression.

I get immediately captivated right from the first notes by this singular architecture: the bass soloing upfront in the mix, the ever present Mellotron giving profundity and grandiosity, the peculiar voice of Nicklas carrying a dramatic accentuation to the lyrics, the rhythm guitar and drums marking the odd time in a kind of balancing move - what a treat, really, this band is!

Goodies

I have to praise the tasteful and criterious use of acoustical instruments (namely guitar, vibes, flute, sax & cello) that far from getting submerged in the dense sea by the opposite punctuate the surface with interesting tasteful surprises that heighten the mystery of the journey, making it more the most rewarding.

"Untill All The Ghosts Are Gone", the sixth album from Swedish rockers Anekdoten seems to have stirred up quite a fuss around here. Now, Anekdoten is a band that I am only mildy familiar with. Having only listened to their "From Within" album, and some tracks from "Gravity". I was intrigued to see that one of their albums had managed to rate higher than "From Within". So having thoroughly enjoyed "From Within" in the past, I decided to give it a listen and see if all the hype is really true.

It doesn't take long to realize that this was a much different beast than the Anekdoten I was familiar with. "Until" features the Keyboards and Mellotron much more than the Guitar and Drum focused music I had previously heard in "From Within". As a result, their sound is much fuller than in the past; and with the occasional use of Acoustic Guitar, it has a much lighter sound as well. However, that's not to say that they have dropped their trademark dark and heavy sound, but rather expanded upon it. Focusing less on the heaviness has allotted them a lot more free space in writing than in the past, and they take full advantage of it here. Now sounding less like a full-force hard-prog band, and more towards a dark hard-symphonic sound.

Their new musical direction shines brightly in each track, and it's clear that all the time away from the band has really gotten their creativity flowing again. There is never a moment where I feel the urge to press the skip button, considering how much of a shame it would be to miss even a second of this!

"Until" is a breath of fresh air in an era dominated by Swilson and company. Anekdoten demonstrates to us their mastery of moody heavy-prog, as well as revealing the more beautiful side of their music to us; and for that, they have earned a fan in me.

Since the early 90's, Swedish band Anekdoten have delivered a series of melancholic Mellotron fuelled heavy prog albums, and their latest release `Until All the Ghosts Are Gone' is only their sixth studio album in 22 years. The band have never released anything close to a poor album, each one a honed progression and refinement of the previous work, always growing in confidence every single time. While `Ghosts' doesn't herald a massive change in direction, it moves on from some of the Alt/Indie rock experiments of previous discs `Gravity' and `A Time of Day' for something of a return to the earlier brooding lengthier moments of the albums before those (without the outright heavy King Crimson aping of their early days), and it quickly reveals to be their most dense, mature and even subtle release to date.

Opener `Shooting Star' instantly pleases with heavy gutsy guitar bursts, slinking bass, Hammond organ ripples and that searing Mellotron that's the Anekdoten trademark, and despite being loaded with lengthy instrumental passages, it features an early killer chorus that roars like a chest-beating anthem. Some of the twisting riffing guitar moments over eerie electronics remind of the recent Opeth albums (unsurprising to find an ex-member of that band Per Wiberg guesting here on organ), and the opening electronic drone is the hint of a direction that the band should explore more often in the future! A plodding heaviness pervades `Get Out Alive', and Anna Sofi Dahlberg's softly groaning cello in the finale is sophisticated and grand without being overwrought. `It Comes Down To You' is an instant Anekdoten classic, as surprisingly romantic and warm as the band can get with gorgeous chiming guitars, a calming vocal from Nicklas Barker with a wistful lyric and a reflective flute solo from guest Theo Travis, it's sure to become a favourite amongst fans.

Founding member, bass player and original main vocalist Jan Erik Liljestrom takes his sole lead vocal on `Writing on the Wall', driven by weeping sombre Mellotron but with a few scorching devilish twists to make it truly infernal and overwhelming! Cello, flute and 'Tron weave together throughout the gloomy title track, and instrumental `Our Days Are Numbered' is a thrilling finale. Mellotron alternatively swoons with orchestral-like flair and slices like a razor, the bass rattles and pulses with purpose, guitars wail histrionically, Peter Nordin's snappy drumming holds down dark grooves and Gustav Nygren's unhinged saxophone blares with dirty debauched unease.

As always, the vinyl length format the band adopts means the album stays at a reasonable length and never allows any filler moments to sneak in, just six extended atmospheric pieces and not a wasted second. The status Anekdoten now hold these days in progressive rock circles is well deserved, and it's also refreshing to find a band that takes their time with each work, not putting out product every single year to fill a gap, instead patiently releasing superior musical statements that make for yet another superb addition to their small but precious catalogue of work.

`Until All The Ghosts Are Gone' is a crowning achievement for Anekdoten, one of the absolute standout progressive rock albums of 2015, and sure to feature highly in the end of year Top Ten lists.

Five stars.