ART TO THE BLIND

I was surprised to read this band didn't name themselves after the ANEKDOTEN song.They had just completed their first demo and still didn't have a name when one of the guys wrote BOOK OF HOURS on the cover of the demo, and the rest is history. I was astonished to see that Stefan Zell sings on this record, and his brother plays keyboards and guitar.The Zell brothers have been part of WOLVERINE for some time now. Stefan actually was with BOOK OF HOURS from the beginning but quit to form WOLVERINE back in 1995, he's listed as a guest vocalist here. Stefan sings so much better now than he did here or even on earlier WOLVERINE records.This album "Art To The Blind" was released in 1999 after which Mikael Zell and the lead guitarist here Per Broddesson left to join Stefan in WOLVERINE. They released their first album in 2001 called "The Window Purpose".

The first song on "Art To The Blind" is a nice heavy instrumental called "Angloksangest". Nice chunky bass lines and pounding drums.The guitar 2 1/2 minutes in is good as the heavy sound continues. "Fifth Dimension" has this releaxed intro as vocals arrive a minute in. It kicks in at 3 minutes. Mellotron follows then guitar after 4 minutes. It settles again but then kicks back in at 6 minutes. mellotron follows. Excellent track. My favourite song is "Infinite", this could be an ANEKDOTEN song. It hits the ground running with heavy drums and bass. Just an awesome sound here. It settles with angular guitar and fat bass as vocals arrive. A tasteful guitar solo 4 minutes in. "Endearment" begins with mournful vocals, which are replaced by flute, which in turn are replaced by vocals that sound processed this time, mellotron rolls in and the song builds into a great sound. It sounds like ANEKDOTEN before 3 minutes and after 4 minutes. Some interesting guitar moves at the end of this one with mellotron.

Some maniac drumming on "Infertile Ground". I like the instrumental section after 3 minutes that lasts almost 2 1/2 minutes. Grinding guitar to end it. "Tender Contempt" has a heavy SABBATH sounding intro with menacing vocals. It does lighten and calm down though then kicks back in but it's not doom-like. The contrasts continue. "Fading From Grey" opens with keys as laid back vocals join in then flute. It kicks in at 2 1/2 minutes (great sound) then settles again. "Den Trettonde Manaden" has Swedish vocals and is dark and powerful. It reminds me of ANATHEMA. A top three track for sure.

This is beautiful Swedish music that I highly recommend. WOLVERINE fans especially might be interested in checking out the Zell brothers and Per earlier in their careers.