After touring the London underground circuit since 1966 with legendary lysergic and multi-colored presentations at the mythical UFO club (one of the preferred venues for such purposes) and with the singles "Arnold Lane" and "See Emily Play" as initial letters of introduction, Pink Floyd released "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (1967), their debut album and the only one with Syd Barrett at the helm, accompanied by the still secondary Roger Waters on bass, Richard Wright and Nick Mason on keyboards and percussion respectively.

Without all the production that would later be one of the hallmarks of the Englishmen, the album presents an original proposal dominated by psychedelia and astral voyages that Barrett's creative and unstable mind used to draw, with tracks like the emblematic "Astronomy Domine" and the journey through the planetary confines with Morse keys included and an interesting guitar riff by the singer, with the note of sanity that Wright's jazzy piano brings to the instrumental and wandering "Pow R. Toc H.", and with "Interestellar Overdrive", another cosmic lucubration extended to infinity.

Maintaining that permanent and impregnating psychedelic halo, the work is also tinged with delicate and even candid folk elements that the singer's oscillating personality developed from his interest in literature, especially children's literature, such as the nostalgic "Matilda Mother" inspired by Hilaire Belloc's "Cautionary Tales", the fabled "The Gnome" influenced by "The Lord of the Rings", and the baroque sadness of "The Scarecrow", themes that, although rudimentary, show a very attractive sense of complementarity and unity of the album.

To add an additional mystical component, the hypnotic "Chapter 24" refers to the "I Ching", the book of changes of the millenary Chinese philosophy, and the conclusive "Bike" makes it clear that folk and disturbing bizarre experimentations could be united in a single track.

The erratic behavior and disconnected from reality that wandered through hidden mental paths aggravated by the consumption of hallucinogens, made unviable the continuity of Barrett in the band and after the difficult promotional tour of the iconic and successful "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (# 6 in the UK charts and # 13 in the US) in mid-1968 in the United States, he was replaced by David Gilmour.

3.5 stars

— First review of this album —

This is such a joyous and life-affirming concert despite related tragedy, or maybe more so because of it. People can be so resilient, pay fond homage to that which has been, and move forward with joy and pride in their hearts. It feels like, and is, a celebration.

In 1999 the Fishmans' frontman, singer, primary song-writer/composer, and guitarist Shinji Sato died. This effectively put an end to Fishmans, but the tribute band Fishmans+ with surviving Fishmans members and other other band members formed later for concerts. Only one of these songs, the longest, "A Piece of Future", is performed particularly by the group Fishmans+, the rest is considered to be Fishmans with many guests. This concert acts as a tribute to Shinji Sato, whose father reputedly was involved in organising the concert not long before he in turn died, and I think also in tribute to the great collaborator Honzi (violin, piano, keyboards accordion) who died in 2007. This concert happened just two months after the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami which made waves around the world with the news of it in 2011.

This concert is best worth seeing and not just hearing. Watching the crowd in the rain, say, adds to the feel, and seeing the smiles and enthusiasm adds to the experience. I love the sound of the rain too when you hear it. It does help to know some Japanese, at the least, or have subtitles in your own language to get a feel for some of what is being expressed to the audience. My Japanese is limited, and I have not seen subs, so I lacked detail in what I heard commonly. Of course things like recognising the performers and thanking the audience is obvious. I think because I have worked in Japan and travelled there quite a lot, and my time in Japan has been very important and special to me and changed the course of my life, as a non-Japanese person I probably would feel more of a sense of connection with the whole "happening" than most. Also, it would really help to appreciate this concert if one is already a fan of Fishmans, as I very definitely am.

One thing I love about Fishmans is that they would consistently take their compositions and improvise and evolve them for later performances. Every time I have heard a different version of a Fishmans' song, there were surprising and delightful differences to me. The music in this live shifts and moves in both interesting and unexpected directions (after listening to it a few times, I notice more each time). I do tend to favour Fishmans later work (into the second half of the 90s). While the loss of Shinji Sato meant that they lost their main creative force, and to my knowledge no more original compositions were produced as Fishmans or Fishmans+, what was left of Fishmans, and working with others, lead to other creative takes on Fishmans material. Sato's last composition that I know of, "A Piece of Future" which he had performed at about 8 minutes, shorter, or a bit longer depending, has now been tuned into a 26 minute piece (the "talking" start of that sounds very Swans, by the way. It has post-rock qualities).

Instrumentally this is very good. The drummer, Kin-ichi Motegi, who was a big part of organising this and was with the original Fishmans, plays drums very well and I think his vocals when he sings are very fitting. And i think he does a great job taking on the front-man role while talking to the audience. It makes me feel happy. The guitar playing is superb, and I love various vocalists, especially the female vocalists and I love the choir aspect. The violinist does a great job is the absence of Honzi. Honzi may have had quite small feet (I can't report on the actual physical dimensions), but those are some big shoes to fill metaphorically-speaking.

The dub (reggae) influence and aspect is very significant in this performance, and I love the joy of that. Fishmans was more of a dub band early on before it went in more of a dream pop and neo-psych direction. There is plenty of dreamy music too. It is long, but the energy of it translated to me.

Some personal highlights are "In the Flight" and "Weather Report" (two of my favourite Fishmas songs and I love these takes) as well as "Walking in the Rhythm", "Night Cruising" and more. I really like this version of "I Dub Fish". It's often the instrumentals that come into the songs that really lift the music for me despite liking vocals. And I appreciate the hip-hop that is utilised. There is diverse expression coming into the music from a diverse group of performers. One thing I have noticed with Fishmans is that elements that might not be much in my wheelhouse normally I can appreciate and enjoy when incorporated into their music. Fishmans has got me to love dub.

While I like "Season" on this, playing "Long Season" might have elevated this farther. It's already long, but I would have happily had a 40 minute plus version of "Long Season". That would have made for a very long night for the band and audience if added to the performance. They might not have been so joyous after that, but aren't we supposed to suffer for our art? They had the players for it to put out an incredible, dynamic version of that "epic" (so to speak). That said, I can't complain, but there is a little regret there. Hopefully some other time. Fishmans reunion for 2026! This time I will try to be there be it in Tokyo, or even in Vancouver. I'll be the one in the audience wearing the trout mask replica and codpiece. One can wish; I wish for more Fish, man.

This was my most anticipated release for 2024. The thought of the legend known as Terje Rypdal playing lead guitar with this heavy power trio had me drooling. My favourite ELEPHANT9 release is "Silver Mountain" and certainly a big reason for that is the participation of Sweden's own Reine Fiske on guitar. The liner notes are written by David Fricke, and I don't think there's a music fan out there who wouldn't buy this cd after reading his words. He was at this show. And he offers up a very long review that is almost a short story it's so long. And he relates a lot of information about this band I didn't know.

Keyboardist Stale Storlokken was a teenage fan of Jimmy Smith and WEATHER REPORT before discovering the electric Miles Davis and Keith Emerson. Stale first played with Rypdal in 1997 when he began to play on some of Rypdal's studio albums as well as going on the road with him. Rypdal in turn played with Stale in his SUPERSILENT band for a 2007 live show. Stale says this about Rypdal, "When I started playing with him that mix of rock and experimental elements with wonderful melodies really got to me. With ELEPHANT9 when the band gets crazy, Terje gets on top-not with more crazy, but these melodies. That's what's needed when we are in that mode. His melodies are contrapuntal to the integrity."

Fricke relates how Rypdal's involvement with Jan Garbarek was crucial to his career. He played on Garbarek's "Afric Pepperbird" which was only the seventh album released on the ECM label. But it was the start of a lifelong collaboration between Terje and ECM producer Manfred Eicher. ELEPHANT9 began in 2006 when drummer Torstein Lofthus in his last year at the Norwegian Academy of Music, asked Stale and bassist Nikolai Haengsle both from SUPERSILENT to play some seventies Miles Davis stuff with him. The rest is history.

Fricke describes Rypdal's playing here as being like he's firing jagged-block chords and feedback spasms across ELEPHANT9's eccentric funk in "Dodovoodoo", the opening track. "As if guitarist Pete Cosey had left the Miles of "Dark Magus" to join VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR" Frick relates. Fricke also mentions the track "Psychedelic Backfire" and how Rypdal has this howling-dog tone and spatial flourishes that recalls the Hendrix of "Red House" and "Third Stone From The Sun". He describes "Fugi Fonix" as being on the verge of combustion, like PINK FLOYD's "Meddle" crashing with the climax of THE DOORS' "The End".

And I need to mention the song "John Tinnick" which Haengsle described as "If you're in a bar, had a few and can't speak clearly, when you order a gin and tonic, it's a 'John Tinnick." One of the reasons Stale said that they wanted to release this album was because Terje turned 77 that year and has essentially retired from playing live. They wanted this live document for posterity sake. And he also related that this was the best concert that they played with Rypdal.

One last thing I'll mention from the liner notes is that Rypdal is a patient musician. There are extended periods where Terje doesn't play, he just waits for that opportunity, for his moment. Stale says it was like he would have something to say, then he would listen. We get six tracks worth around 80 minutes. Three songs from their debut "Dodovoodoo", two from their second record "Walk The Nile" and the final one from "Atlantis" where it's interesting hearing Rypdal play what Fiske had already done previously.

My favourite track on here is "Fugi Fonix". My least favourite is the opener. The 9 minutes of mellow to start the album is disappointing to me. When the organ and sound crashes in at 9 minutes I'm ready for the next song. Just my feelings. A 4 star record and an overall disappointment to be honest. Too much here though to not give this a solid 4 stars.

In The Court Of The Gabriel King

The first time I heard Peter Gabriel's solo work in 1980, I felt confused and even somewhat repulsed. Could this be the same Peter Gabriel of Genesis? He sounded like a poor imitation of David Bowie with certain ethnic overtones, and even his voice had changed, now more of a whisper. Obviously, Genesis had never been what I'd believed for years; apparently, neither was he.

Even Gabriel's first album, Car, included some songs that seemed like remnants of Genesis. But even so, the album didn't meet any of my expectations.

But then came the next two albums, and especially Security. It was then that I found something deeper and began to understand that Peter Gabriel was on a personal journey, with his creative compass just beginning to take shape. Then came So, and from that moment on, the mind behind the artist truly began to shine, moving even further away from his Genesis roots. So was so powerful that it became a timeless pop classic, one that even fans of other musical styles, like myself, could enjoy without hesitation.

Three years later, word spread that Gabriel was working on the soundtrack for a Scorsese film: The Last Temptation of Christ.

Passion: Music from The Last Temptation of Christ is not only Peter Gabriel's finest musical work, but also his true consolidation and recognition as a brilliant musician. In Genesis, and even in much of his solo work up to that point, that brilliance was only glimpsed. But with Passion, it can finally be fully understood. This album is one of the greatest in the history of music: just as So stands as a pop masterpiece, Passion is a triumph of serious and transcendent music. Without a doubt, this is the album that establishes Gabriel as a serious contender among the greatest musicians of all time. A genius, and in the best sense of the word, someone who surpasses his former bandmates.

Passion is an ethnic electronic ambient album that, from its first sound, transports you to the landscapes and paths once traveled by Jesus Christ. It is a mystical and spiritual musical experience, so carefully crafted that it evokes time and place with a hypnotic rhythm. Gabriel collaborated with some of the finest musicians on his record label, Real World Records. The album introduced many listeners to world- renowned artists such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N'Dour, L. Shankar, and Baaba Maal. N'Dour and Shankar had previously collaborated on So, and Passion also features recurring collaborators such as David Rhodes, Manny Elias, David Bottrill, and Manu Katché. The evocative album cover, Drawing Study for Self Image II by artist Julian Grater.

It would be pointless to discuss Passion song by song; the album is meant to be appreciated as a whole, not in parts. Gabriel did not release it alongside the film because he felt it was incomplete; he worked for two more years to present it as a complete artistic statement. That's why it's titled Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ, music that was used in the film, but not in its entirety.

After Passion, everything Peter Gabriel played carried the aura of genius. Even for me, his earlier albums took on new meaning in its light. Passion is his masterpiece and his true consolidation as a brilliant composer, something that never quite happened with Genesis 15 years earlier. It happened here, after So. That was the moment when Peter finally shed the wounds of his personal battles and emerged victorious, having overcome his own demons.

The already-prolific and inexhaustibly eclectic studio output of Norwegian band Motorpsycho gets expanded by their 2025 self-titled album, a bold release that works as somewhat of a statement for the duo and their creative intentions in this decade of shifting trends and musical oversaturation. The exuberant mixture of styles on this double album is impressive to say the least, with the songs' styles ranging from fancy and ecstatic psych-pop numbers to sprawling jazz-infested krautrock monoliths of music, all part of a frantic and unpredictable musical world that lies somewhere along the lines of King Gizzard, The Mars Volta, King Crimson, and Led Zeppelin, yet always remaining true to the Motorpsycho aesthetic and usual sonic onslaught. Beware that the band's mixture of psychedelic, progressive and indie rock is quite dazzlingly eclectic as much as it can catchy and upbeat.

And not only this, but the music on here has been exclusively written by the two core members Bent Sæther and Hans Magnus Ryan, with a cast of guest musicians contributing to the record still, which probably makes this one of the most self-affirming and representative albums of the entire Motorpsycho catalog. Shorter songs inhabit the space between the three major pieces, which are all quite majestic - opener 'Lucifer, Bringer Of Light' is a quirky psychedelic roundabout, with its pop-like structure and repetitive rhythms over which the band experiment. This is definitely a heavy-psych piece working as a krautrock soundscape, followed by several shorter songs, some of which are heavier, others are a lot of fun, but throughout all of these, the dizzying hard rock soloing infiltrates so swiftly the bold and futuristic spacey soundscapes that the duo of Sæther and Magnus craft. The instrumental interlude 'Kip Satie' gives way to the epic and sweeping 'Balthazaar', one of the most expansive and sonically rich compositions on the album, soon enough followed by the big, progressive suite 'Neotzar', which is where the band allows some fusion to infiltrate the song's build-up and deliver one of the most demanding and inspiring performances of the year, without a doubt. Three more songs finish off the album, much in the same vein as the preceding tracks, but not as tremendously cathartic. But one thing is certain here - Motorpsycho's self-titled album is a wonderful creation of sprawling, epic psychedelia, progressive to the core and impenetrable at times, with just the right amounts of experimentation and fun.

A MUST FOR THE VINTAGE KEYBOARDS AFICIONADOS!

After his first solo album Storytelling from 2023 here is Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Lars Fredrik Frøislie (Wobbler and White Willow) with his second solo album entitled Gamle Mester (which means Old Master). Like on the previous album Frøislie takes on vocals and drums, as well as an impressive array of analogue keyboards: from the Hammond C3 organ, Mellotron M400, Minimoog Model D synthesizer and Chamberlin M-1 (pre-Mellotron) to the William de Blaise Cembalo Traverso harpsichord, Hohner D6 Clavinet, Rhodes Mk II electric piano and Arp Pro Solist synthesizer. Joining him are Nikolai Hængsle (Elephant9, Needlepoint, Bigbang and Band Of Gold) on the mighty Rickenbacker 4003 bass and Ketil Vestrum Einarsen (ex-Jaga Jazzist, Weserbergland and White Willow) on flute and recorder.

Wow, what a wonderful keyboard driven album, featuring tons of exciting vintage sounds, backed by an excellent rhythm-section with an often growling bass and dynamic drums, and at some moments layered with pleasant native vocals. Most of the 6 compositions contain flowing shifting moods, between mellow, mid-tempo and bombastic, very tastefully arranged.

From a wonderful churchy Hammond, soaring Mellotron violins (evoking Trace) and flute to mellow with piano and Mellotron choirs, in the vein of Rick Wakeman, in Demring (Dawn) (5:01).

Lots of variety, between dreamy, a catchy beat and bombastic, embellished with Mellotron, harpsichord, piano, Emersonian Hammond and Minimoog, and topped with flute and native vocals (evoking Anglagard) in Jakten Pa Det Kalydoniske Villsvin (The Hunt for the Calydonian Boar) (10:09).

A cheerful atmosphere and a wonderful churchy Hammond solo (sounding like Procol Harum) in Gamle Mester (Old Master) (7:17).

Between mellow climates and sumptuous interludes featuring an overwhelming vintage keyboard sound (evoking Anekdoten), from Mellotron choirs to a swirling Hammond solo (Jon Lord comes to my mind) in Medusas Flate (The Raft of the Medusa) (9:08).

The alternating longest track De Tre Gratier (The Three Graces) (12:27) delivers again an awesome vintage keyboard sound: dreamy electric piano, majestic Mellotron choirs, a pitchbend driven Minimoog solo and tender harpsichord, topped with native vocals and sparkling flute, and fuelled by a dynamic rhythm-section.

And finally the short Skumring (Dusk) (3:13) that features beautiful interplay between Grand piano (from tender to sparkling) and intense Mellotron choirs, the moods shift from dreamy to bombastic, the rhythm-section does a great job, what a short but very dynamic and compelling track.

This is Vintage Keyboard Heaven, highly recommended to the aficionados of Trace, The Nice, ELP, Triumvirat, Rick Wakeman solo and the Skandinavian prog like Anekdoten and Anglagard!

This is the second album of a Finnish psych band, a new acquaintance to me (haven't listened to their eponymous debut, 2017). The opening track 'Wildfire' immediately fascinates me with a gloomy atmosphere and a trippy yet sophisticated soundscape. The flute is a nice addition, and the electric guitar sound is suitably echoed, and not too gritty despite having a retro feel of the late sixties psychedelia. 'Shigir' is a more conventional rock song with a more normal vocal contribution, but Antti Pasonen's guitarwork is again pleasantly psychedelic.

'I Remember Summer' features treated & whispered vocals to underline the psychedelic essence while the playing has a lovely jazziness to it, Russian prog musician Gleb Kolyadin (of Iamthemorning) guesting on keyboards. On 'Turso' I enjoy Pekka Takalainen's nuanced drumming, Riku Hyötyläinen's precise bass, and of course, as always, the juicy guitar tones, but not that much the shouty and somewhat preachy vocal delivery.

During the album the vocals -- comparable to the early, Barrett-era Pink Floyd and such -- start to become a bit annoying. It helps to have an instrumental, 'Das Boot', which however is not sonically as colourful as several other pieces, understandably so since the piece succesfully paints a gloomy submarine setting. Basically 'Dandelion Tea' is an instrumental too, but I am quickly fed up with the looney conversation ("Would you like more of this dandelion tea maybe?" "Oh, it's good!" "Just one cup for you", etc.). Guest musician Anders Von Vaffendoffel plays his tenor saxophone in a freaky manner just like the core trio, so this track is indeed also musically the most "out there" and the wildest.

On the hectic final piece the vocals are again too attention-seeking as they keep shifting between a theatrical narrative style and more forced parts, but luckily there are vocal-free sections as well. The band is on fire! To sum up, the musicianship is powerful and charmingly varied, creating a special psychedelic atmosphere, but the vocals are generally less enjoyable, if not downright childish in underlining the psychedelia rubbed against your face. The album starts very promisingly but fails to maintain its sonic charm towards the end. For example the flute is missed after the opening. 3½ stars.

Going by Natasha here, SALLY OLDFIELD doubles down on her world music fascinations. If she did invite the world to guest on "The Flame", it appears only half of them showed up. She even tries her hand at reggae again ("No Heart"), and light jazz rock (title track) but doesn't go far enough with each before descending into lower level synth pop territory which was never her forte. While preferable to the attempts to resurrect old glories in glossy format, or the dire version of VAN MORRISON's "Into the Mystic", the real triumph is the earthy new age of "Autumn Prelude" with its festive vocalise. At best a one alarm blaze at 2.5 stars rounded down.

I have been playing a lot of fighting games recently, and I always like to relate things I enjoy with music. So, now I kinda see an artist's or band's discography as a sort of select screen, with different archetypes. You got the grappler albums that hook you in and never let go, you got the rushdown albums that never let up, you got the zoner albums that are quite tricky to get your hands on. And then you got albums that are just kind of weird, even in a discography that might already be weird. You know albums that are kinda like Zappa from Guilty Gear XX, or Hornet from Fighters Megamix. Albums that are, in the grand scheme of things, just really weird in a discography. And for black midi, which is a band that already has two other notably weird albums, it's no surprise their debut is one of their weirdest yet.

Unlike Cavalcade and Hellfire which are more of a controlled chaos, Schlagenheim is just out there. This album was before they really delved into a more progressive rock leaning sound, so they were more known as a very experimental noise rock group. And noisy this album is, because by the first track of 953 they rarely relent on their super noisy aspects, making music that is extremely intense. As a fan of noise rock, this album is a treat to listen to, especially on the more overtly post-hardcore tracks like Speedway and Years Ago.

The album is also more overtly math rock and post-punk in comparison to their other albums, giving this one a very different aura around it. If I had to describe the album's energy, it would be '1800s insane asylum'. Their other albums are definitely crazy too, don't get me wrong, but again, the controlled chaos does make them feel less wild, which isn't bad, but Schlagenheim certainly is unafraid to go full throttle, which it does most of the time.

I do think that the albums later on in black midi's discography is much better though, mainly because I find they work more in a progressive leaning stance more often than not. Don't get me wrong, this album is definitely prog, but it's more prog second and noisy math rock first. I think if the band upped their progginess on here it'd be just as good as Cavalcade or Hellfire in my opinion. What we got here is still really good, but I feel like its unrelenting wild, fenetic energy does lose a bit of the edge that the two future records they made have.

But this album has one thing that gives it some extra points in comparison to Cavalcade and Hellfire...it has bmbmbm. I freaking love bmbmbm. It's crazy, it's stupid, it's edgy, it's basically black midi saying 'we're not gonna be accessible anytime soon' and I love it. Play this infront of your grandma.

While it may not be Cavalcade or Hellfire, Schlagenheim definitely proves its worth and mirth by being a crazy noise rock record for all to hear. In a way, I feel like black midi's already small discography wouldn't be as fruitful to listen to if Schlageneheim didn't exist. Like a good roster, you gotta have that one or two weirdos to really complete the select screen. Sometimes, you just gotta have Schlagenheim in your life.

Best tracks: Speedway, bmbmbm, Years Ago

Worst tracks: n/a

Norway's all-star virtuoso keyboard player is back with his second solo album.

1. "Demring" (5:01) an instrumental with a keyboard-centric YES-like sound palette used to construct a piece that could pass for a Wakeman-like piece that is informed by pre-20th Century classical music traditions as well as, I'm sure, some Norse folk melodies (and cheerful spirit). (I have to admit that the song's opening had me expecting a lead into something more like BOSTON's "Foreplay.") The delicate parts are my favorite despite the use of "dated" 90s electric "acoustic" piano sounds--I like the infusion of the John Tout-like Russian feel here. (9/10)

2. "Jakten På Det Kalydonske Villsvin" (10:09) a cool "little" epic that seems to bridge some of the sound produced by SEVEN IMPALE, IVAR BJØRNSON & EINAR SELVIK's Viking Prog Folk (2018's Hugsjá), and WOBBLER while presenting something that feels as if it was some relic from the 1970s that was just discovered in an old trunk hidden in a Norwegian country farmhouse. Unfortunately, this song does little to draw me in, hold my attention, or wow me: Lars' vocals and melody lines chosen for his vocals are a bit too foreign (or just plain drab and monotonous) to the way my little American brain has been conditioned. (17.5/20)

3. "Gamle Mester" (7:17) in terms of the flow of this album, this song feels immediately as if it is a more dynamic continuation of the previous song. As one lets oneself get immersed, it begins to feel and sounds like a song that was inspired by FOCUS' "Hamburger Concerto"; as masterful--and, I don't doubt, original--as this piece is I never stop hearing the Focus song at any time in Lars' song (okay, maybe for a bit during that seventh minute)--which, I have to admit, does, unfortunately, distract me. (13.375/15)

4. "Medusas Flåte" (9:08) injecting a little more guitar rock (and BLUE ÖYSTER CULT/FALCO/ SIMPLE MINDS sounds and melodies) into his mixes (despite still being generated by keyboards) sounds like it might be a good idea, but it is the more "natural" (or, perhaps more accurately, "familiar") keyboard sounds and tracks that attract my attention (despite their being "familiar" due to their presence/prevalence in the "classic" symphonic prog music created back in the 1970s). I like the prominent organ work in the song's third quarter. (17.75/20)

5. "De Tre Gratier" (12:27) harpsichord opening certainly propels one back a few centuries. But then full prog palette bursts forth at 1:00 to present a conglomeration of multifarious layers for the next three dynamic minutes before devolving back into a harpsichord piece over which Lars lends his gentle vocalese before a synth enters to solo like a wood nymph. At the end of the eighth minute the more bombastic motif returns with Ketil Einarsen adding his wonderful woodland flute prominently to the mix, becoming the lead and co-lead during the tenth and eleventh minutes, respectively (as I hear in my head the high-reaching voice of Andreas Wettergreen singing like he did on Wobbler's wonderful Rites at Dawn LP from 2011--which is still my favorite album from that band). At 9:20 Ketil and Lars transition into a slower pastoral motif as a bridge to the song's final motifs: first pounding militaristic rhythm then the more JETHRO TULL-like Bluesy Prog Folk stop-and-go motif--both of which Ketil continues to lead over the rest of the layers--until the final 90 seconds when Lars merges several of the previous motifs into a multi-layer weave until the delicate little dénouement of the final 10 seconds. It's empirically quite a nice composition--perfect as an example of the "prog epic" format--with lots of twists, turns, stops, rocket launches, layers and well-harmonized weaves; it just fails to win me over--fails to get my adrenaline pumping or heartstrings pulled. (22.125/25)

6. "Skumring" (3:13) solo voce of that "dated" 90s electric "acoustic" piano. Maybe Mussorgsky would've used the same equipment if he were a product of the 21st Century! The the piano is the star, I really do like the way Lars uses the timpani, cymbals and Mellotron. (9/10)

Total Time 47:15

I feel as if I'm sitting on a fence with regards to how I feel about this album. Despite well-conceived broad-scale keyboard-oriented compositions, I have to admit that retro/"classic era" imitative music like this finds itself falling on numb ears: I just don't enjoy it (anymore); it rarely feels fresh to me. While I respect Lars' careful and insightful homage to the pillars of the Ancients, it's just not where my interests or preferences lie. At the same time, I do find myself quite entertained by Lars' keyboard work--especially his performances on the various organs--and especially in the thinner, more folk/pastoral passages.

As I stated in my review of Lars' previous solo album, 2023's Fire Fortellinger: despite Lars' obvious overflow of talent, I do think he would benefit from more inputs from other collaborators (besides the wonderful Ketil Einarsen and bass wizard Nikolai Hængsle)--(especially a drummer)--if only for a broadening spectrum of ideas (and sounds). (Perhaps he's been publishing these solo albums due to his former band [Wobbler]'s sluggish output since 2020. Perhaps they've even disbanded?)

B/four stars; a masterful conveyance of expertly-conceived "retro prog" that, for whatever reason, fails to draw me in emotionally. While I applaud the music from an intellectual perspective, that isn't always enough for me.