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Paatos - Kallocain CD (album) cover

KALLOCAIN

Paatos

 

Crossover Prog

3.63 | 148 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Eetu Pellonpaa
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars This album starts the process of merging the stylistic ingredients presented in the band's fabulous debut album as more compact sound. Vintage progressive rock elements are inherited from late Landberk and some flavors of modern electronic music, and I'm very happy with the results.

"Gasoline" opens the album with violins, which lead the listener to the hazy and hypnotic world of Paatos. It has a powerful verse which ends to hypnotic guitar chords, thus creating a wonderful dynamics. The drummer of the band really shines here, and there is also really great sound in the bass guitar. Songs are here really mellow and moody, and the electronics are used mostly to paint aural landscapes. "Holding On" is another beautiful slow ballad, pleasant to the ear like luxury satin. "Happiness" has then a really sensual chord progression which pulses sexually like the mellow violin part of King Crimson's "Lark's Tongues in Aspic part two". There are some programmed drums here too, but they are much softer and pleasant than on the trip-hop song of their first album, which I didn't like very much. Wonderful melodic verses, which are the band's trademark, are also present here. On the following track "Absinth Minded" the electronics are used for drumming and to create an abstract intro for this oppressing minor key song. There are some very delicate details to be spotted behind the louder parts of the music, and the verse has strong Mellotron chords. Next tune "Look at Us" is more delightful track, with acoustic guitar and peculiar rhythm, which grows to a strong whirlpool at the end. "Reality" is another minor key song, with electronic treatments and drums, lasting over seven minutes long. There's a short funny twist to Major keys in the verse, and the trip-hop rhythm creates spaces for interesting aural visions with really powerful melodies. "Stream" is the a very slow and fragile minor ballad with soft acoustic drums and piano, and the next song "Won't Be Coming Back" introduces an interesting jazzy rhythms, which emerge from the electronic hazy intro, which seems to be another common characteristic of this group. This composition resembles the songs of album "Indian Summer" quite much. Last song "In Time" starts very quietly and evolves as delightfully floating ethereal musical space, where one could fall into sleep. This track also has some post-rock qualities, which are more strongly present in their next album "Silence of Another Kind".

The extended CD has a DVD disc with four songs from the concert at Rockpalast, January 2004. The selections and night's overall mood were fine, and also revealing the differences on live situation and careful studio sessions, maybe most notable on the "Gasoline" performance. From other dynamic compositions "Won't be Coming Back" and "Reality" work fine on stage, "Hypnotique" falling to ethereal charms of fragile beautifulness borne from Petronella Nettermalm's vocal lines.

If you like lady singers and Mellotrons, and you are not fanatically against modern musical elements, this sensual album should please you. (I personally adore it!) Among Anekdoten this is one of the best contemporary bands carrying the torch of classical moody progressive rock, and thus both are from Sweden, they prove that this nation holds strongly the musical heritage in their bloodline, which can be tracked down to the ancient days of Carl Michael Bellmann.

Eetu Pellonpaa | 5/5 |

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