MUNDUS INCOMPERTUS

I wasn't sure about giving this album 5 stars, but I just can't see giving it less. No weak tracks, no real low points, and only a couple of small complaints. I'll get those out of the way first, as they are pretty insignificant in the scope of this album.

First off, the drummer is way too double bass happy. His drumming is generally quite good, but he really overuses the double bass drums more than even someone like Mike Portnoy (who is also a great drummer). It wouldn't bother me at all, if it wasn't obvious that he is capable of subtlety, as he displays at certain places. But again, this really doesn't take away from the music, and being a short album it doesn't really even get on my nerves that much. There are plenty of places with no drums as well to keep it from marring the album. The other complaint is that the vocal lines sometimes sound tacked onto the music, and Magdalena, while a great singer, has some English pronunciation problems. Since she is Swedish, this is something I can forgive, but it does make it hard to follow the lyrics without the booklet.

As for positives, there are too many to list really. This is, as Sean Trane states in his review, a perfect blend of classical and rock. Sure, it can be a little bit too much like ELP at times, making it sound less original, but I think it is better than most ELP, thanks to the addition of electric guitar as a prominent instrument. Also, because of the rhythm section, this is much heavier than ELP ever got, and in a good way. The singing is sublime, Magdalena has a fantastic voice and stunning range. Each track is extremely well written and has it's own character and feel, though the first and last do share some themes.

This may not come across as a masterpiece because of its similarity in sound to ELP and other classical mixed with rock type of prog bands, but it is probably the most well done of any of these (there is no The Sheriff or Are You Ready Eddie here to spoil the album). There is no doubt that at this point, this is certainly Par Lindh's masterpiece. So, no weak tracks, great compositions and playing, great integration of classical music with hard prog, great singing and interesting lyrics, great guitar playing, great keyboard playing, great rhythm section (aside from my one small complaint above). I can't give this less than 5 stars. If you like ELP and classical rock oriented prog, this is a must. Even if you don't, its worth giving this a listen, as it is the best of them all in my opinion and it may change your mind about this type of prog.