AUTUMN BREEZE

Prog is the one musical genre that reaches out to history and literature in order to create a soundtrack for a good story and further the depth of adventure and art. I always found it rather surprising that one of the most ground shaking events in history has had such a light influence on prog, as there are few references to WW2 around. I can think of Coda's understated "Symphony", Big Big Train's "Gathering Speed" and a few great tracks (Renaissance, Al Stewart, The Flower Kings) but there is quite a scarcity of material that focuses of the calamity of WW2. I have been studying and writing about this catastrophe since I was a young lad, fascinated by the extraordinary righteousness of that war, a rather rare event I can assure you, as no other war was as justified and ultimately heroic than the last big one. I shudder to think what life would have been like as an 'untermensch' under such a devilish authority. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact refers to that extremely treacherous and thus brief alliance between the 2 bitter idealistic rivals of WW2, Nazi Germany (represented by foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop) and the Soviet Union (foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov), the two opportunistically ganging up on their neighbour poor little Poland and attacking it from both sides. No time in history had ever witnessed two more brutal and sinister dictatorial governments, repressing their own populations with dreaded secret police (OGPU/NKVD on one side and the Gestapo/SS on the other), Stalin and Hitler are easily among the top three mass murderers in history. Swedish progressive artist Autumn Breeze took up the challenge and created a rather disturbing symphonic opus based on this clear example of political backstabbing and moral cowardice. Composer, lyricist and vocalist Gert Magnusson has researched this tragic event with a great amount of curiosity and interest, having read thoroughly amid various available archives and has come to the same conclusion that so many have come to: madmen can take over any society by promising illusion ("Nobody has to make war") and providing destruction. The various themes are all encompassing events that offer a window into a space and a time that still resonates today with potentially lethal consequences. There are tons of samples, hysterical speeches by Adolf Hitler, air raid sirens, detonations and pompous military bravado. The whole is deliberately chaotic, startling, at times monstrous and certainly never peaceful. Gert's hushed voice is brilliantly unique and original, sprinkling the tracks with quirk, strangeness and charm (Hey, Hawkwind). The backing crew is a full prog compliment of guitars, keys, bass and drums.

The opening song "Watchguard in Auswitch" (misspelled) is infectious, I was caught singing it the other day, a totally mesmerising intro into this quite eclectic recording. There are some extreme juxtapositions, a modern 'danse macabre' of colliding emotions, with contrasting manic guitar phrasings ("Vodka in the Moscow Night"), insane drum fills throughout and bizarre contradictions such as on "Katyn" the infamous massacre of the Polish elite in a forest that was blamed on the SS but in fact perpetrated by the NKVD, the Soviet secret police. 22,000 of Poland's finest minds, including military officers, diplomats, landowners, priests, jurists and politicians who were shot and reduced to disappear into mass graves. The chorus sounds almost like a love song until one realizes the context! There are Zappa-esque moments, such as the rumbling bass and oddball weirdness on "Helsinki fires in the Night" referring to the pre-WW2 Soviet invasion of Finland and the subsequent valiant defence put up by the taciturn Finns who beat the living daylight of the Red Army, a 10/1 kill ratio that is still taught today at military academies such as West Point, Sandhurst and St-Cyr. There are also moments that are straight out oblique rock music twists that wink at RIO and Avant, throwing in some cabaret stylings as well, raunchy guitar not withstanding (Party Girls). Carnival piano and merry-go-round 'Achtung' nods at Falco (the 80s Austrian rock singer who died in his prime). The miss- spelled "Bliezkrieg" is reminiscent of electronic duo Yello in its insistence and almost danceable mania. There is also a ton of sarcasm as the USA literally became an overnight super-power when attacked at Pearl Harbor, something many people seem to forget. And on it goes until Hitler's death.

This is a disturbing, choppy, frenzied, insidious musical symphony of immense originality and a rarity in the prog world, a subject matter still relatively untouched for reasons that I cannot understand.

5 fall winds

They took the risk and succeeded

A couple months ago received a message of Jan Warnqvist telling he would send me a copy of AUTUMNS BREEZE latest album "The MR Pact", honestly expected another pristine Symphonic album as they have done all along their career, but the name he sent, didn't prepared me for the surprise that was about to receive.

After months of problems with the Peruvian post office, received the album and the title was shocking...The Molotov Ribbentrop Pact, well it caught my interest being that I've been always interested in this obscure chapter of Soviet and German history, but when I read the titles noticed it is a conceptual album about the whole Second World War.

Honestly thought this guys were crazy, that they had bitten more than they could chew...Gladly I was wrong and noticed that in order to achieve success they have radically modified their musical approach, leaving Symphonic as just one more of the genres they cross to reach their goal, adding Heavy Rock, Avant, Post Rock, Folk, and many more styles that I can hardly describe but surely can enjoy.

I will avoid a song by song review being that as a conceptual album it must be listened from start to end (better in one session), but there are some high points that must mention.

The opener "Watchguard In Auswitch" works as a chaotic introduction to the war with Hitler speeches mixed with a collage of musical bits, and even when the song advances and turns into some sort of ultra-elaborate Symphonic, they dare to take risk with dissonant and even out of key choirs to express confusion and fear. Simply impressive.

"Vodka In The Moscow Night" in contrast is a beautiful rock track with a killer rhythm section and a nice guitar work by Mikael Syväjärvi who plays in the border of Prog Metal, while the band enters into a beautiful pandemonium of sounds and styles.

Now, if I have to choose one song, would go with "Paulina Semszjuchina (Molotovs song III)", a beautiful and softer track that blends marvelous Russian Folk music with a heartbreaking keyboard performance by Jan Warmqvist.

But as I said before, the tracks are not important individually, but f chapters of a story, what really impressed me is the whole album as a unity, being that the guys from Autumn Breeze have managed to create one of the best conceptual albums of the decade.

So if after a long career this guys dare to abandon the confort of "status quo" and change their sound so radically to create a great musical piece, I dare to rate them with 5 solid stars.

Highly recommended.

It´s been a couple of years since we last heard from Sweden's pride "Autumn Breeze", The trilogy 20:12 was an ambitious work of art and supposedly a Hugh project for the key members involved, probably hard to top!? But even this 2015 release takes off in a conceptual direction, a theme album with focus on the Second World War, and a total of 21 parts is laid down on this CD. It is not an easy album to deal with in any way, the theme is serious stuff and the atmosphere is very harsh, it needs repeated listening and you need a lot of time! This is not the kind of record you have in the background, you got to concentrate and listen active, and if you do so, "The Molotov Ribbentrop Pact" will take you on a scary trip into the darkest places of man's psycho. I can spot some Gentle Giant influences in some moments, other parts like "I've signed a pact with the devil" sounds like "Pete Brown & Piblokto" into the 21 century.

There are some beautiful distinctive heavy guitar parts splattered around on this album as well as some sensitive fingerpicking acoustic parts (Paulina Semszjuchina) and the brilliant keyboard/piano playing of Jan Warnqvist is as evident as ever, especially on tracks like Achtung (Ribbentrops Song 1). The song "Katyn" have a tasty memorable repetitive chorus that stick to your mind and if there was a single picked from this record it certainly should be this one. The final track, that is also the title track of the album is a heavy progressive monster with a modern sound in the territory of "Therion" or even "Ghost" but also reminiscent of "Zappa" (the "Overnight Sensation" period) with intricate playing, and again I am impressed of how great these people are at handling their instruments. After the last short tale from Adolf Hitler you are left totally breathless, wondering what an intense journey you've just been taken on!?

Without doubt this is the darkest work we have seen from Autumn Breeze so far, they have really succeed in creating a schizophrenic atmosphere with this concept and the massive repetitive lyric lines are hammered into your head like mantras from an insane dictator! I cannot foresee which direction they would take after this, but the path is set and it suites them well.

Peter Wallgren March 2016

Since the return of AUTUMN BREEZE after the 31 years sabbatical, the band started to work in a three part trilogy called 20:12 (The three tracks have an exact length of 20 minutes 12 seconds), but a few days ago my good friend and keyboardist Jan Warmqvist sent me a compilation CD of 20:12 with the three complete suites plus a 1:06 minutes untitled track (As a fact the photo of the album was scanned from my copy with the dedication signed by Jan, being that it's hard to find an image in the net), so I will proceed to review the whole album.

20:12 is opened by Glimpses from a Lifetime , a track that I already reviewed when Jan sent me the first CD, and about which I won't talk again except to repeat how impressed I was with the new complex and elaborate sound that the band had created, keeping that 70's atmosphere we all love, but adding a new modern edge.

The vocals performed by Ragnar Klevman and the peculiar style of Sara Bergqvist are delightful, while the combination of the talents of multi-instrumentalist Gert Magnusson and pianist Jan Warmqvist provide us of all the Prog we can ask for. But that's not all, the addition of William Bellbrandt in the guitar provides that heavy distorted touch reminiscent of guys like Mick Box from Uriah Heep, creating a wonderful nostalgic feeling on all of us who search for this kind of music since childhood, a sound that usually we can only find buying albums released 3 or 4 decades ago.

But if the opener took me by surprise, Demolition Suite blew all the preconceptions I had about the band. From the first second of the track it was obvious they are imprinting a new energy, a heavy sound plethoric of Mellotron choirs, but also full of changes that take us from Prog Metal to soft passages where the voice of Sara Bergqvist sounds sweetest than ever.

If we add the flutes (in the style of Ian Anderson) and the brilliant drumming, it's obvious we are before a band that didn't felt comfortable recreating past glories, this guys are going for the big prize, sounding even better than in the 70's.

The third track Suite Avis Fenics take us to a new place, now they go with a softer sound that almost breaks the heart, the good thing is that in this case soft is not a synonymous of simplicity, they really give all they have to create an oneiric mysterious atmosphere that falls over the listener as thick mist. But around the eight minute there's a dramatic change to a semi Baroque tune that goes in crescendo and leads us to a breathtaking finale plethoric of organ and Mellotron.

The album ends with an untitled short vocal song, some sort of a joke but very pleasant to listen. When I rated Glimpses from a Lifetime ,gave four stars because it was only a song that didn't allowed me to notice a real evolution in the band, but the 20:12 Full Trilogy is another thing, Here we notice the respect for the icons of Symphonic Prog but also the versatility of a band trying to recover the sound they had three decades ago and going even further, with a new sound that combines the 7'0's and the second decade of the 21st Century, so I will go with 5 solid stars.

A must have for fanatics of classic Symphonic.

You never know what to expect from old cult bands who made new records, a couple of years ago "Autumn Breeze" The Swedish symphonic rockband from the seventies appeared on the scene for a second time with the CD "The Autumn Band" At parts that was a fantastic album, "Massösen" and "Life is just another day" belongs to the very best of their work, but it was also an album that included many different styles of music, that made the whole affair a bit confusing about which direction they wanted to go!?

The answer is the CD I have in my hand right now, and it's very clear, they wanted to go progressive! This very ambitious work with three long suites start where "Höstbris" left us. The record is named 20:12 (for the length of each suite, but also for the year it was written)and the three keymembers Gert Magnusson, Kenneth Halvarsson and Jan Warnqvist are responsible for one suite each.

The first part is "Glimpses of a Lifetime" written by Gert Magnusson, who seems to be the progressive mind of the three songwriters, as you can hear references and influences from "Pink Floyd" in both the music and the lyrics. As usual the fluteplaying is exceptional, but also the guitar part from "William Bellbrandt" shines like a crazy diamond here.

Second part "Demolition Suite" creeps upon you like a massive pumping machine, or an earthquake that shakes the foundations you stand on, with a hint of"Also Sprach Zarathustra" in some way, but this is also the most heavyrocking part of the trilogy, Kenneth Halvarsson, who probably is the "hardrocker" in the band have created a very fateful, but fresh little rockopera on its own inside the whole context. At the end of " Demolition Suite" a sudden breach of softer music appears, like a natural overture to the third and last suite..

Third Part "Suite Avis Fenics" written by the classic trained keyboardplayer "Jan Warnqvist" is a, mostly instrumental, very symphonic piece that makes me think of the late 70s krautrockbands on the "Sky-label" but also Mike Oldfield, it ends the journey in a rather harmonic way that makes one feel that after the "Demolition" Fenix flies into a more colorful world!

To sum up this trip I would say, Before the Storm, The Storm, and After the Storm! I have been through all moods in 20:12.

Peter Wallgren July 2014

In 1979 the time had eventually come for Autumn Breeze's only known official album from the 70's.The line-up of the group at the time was Birgitta Nilsson on vocals, Gert Nilsson on guitar, Kenneth Halvarsson on bass, clarinet and sax, Gert Magnusson on flute, Lennart Olsson on drums and student Jan-Anders Warnquist on keyboards.''Hostbris'' was recorded in just a week at the CMC Studio in Autumn Breeze's hometown Arvika and released on the Orecords label.

To my ears this works sounds exactly how an album should sound saying farewell to the Classic Prog era and opening the doors of a more conventional style, marking it as a nice example of late-70's Prog Rock.Basically ''Hostbris'' is much more symphonic than any of Autumn Breeze's previous outakes withot loosing the certain psychedelic depth of the early recordings.It is just a more melodic, tightly structured and more focused work with short tracks, retaining the true spirit of Progressive Rock and leaving the genre's most creative period for an upcoming contemporary age.They sound often like the Swedish CAMEL due to the strong use of flute with a definite Scandinavian taste on vocals and atmosphere but also a fair amount of synths and electrified guitars next to the discreet organ and the scarce Mellotron echoes.They remind me also of some mellow bands from the Teutonic Symphonic Rock scene, a bit of ANTARES, a bit of REBEKKA and even a bit of ANYONE'S DAUGHTER stylings.While all tracks are rather short, the music is very nice with beautiful flute themes and decent keyboard arrangements with changing synths and analog instrumentation, mostly perfomed in a somber mood and offering lots of instrumental room for some symphonic textures.Compatriots ISILDURS BANE could be another good reference point.Nice, melodious soundscapes with downtempo music, occasionally flavored by slightly psychedelic nuances and an overall extremely balanced sound with fine female vocals.The production is unfortunately pretty mediocre.

As the album's fame is constantly rising over the years, no proper CD offering has appeared in the horizon, the only one known being the bootleg Tachika reissue.Pretty good example of late-70's Prog Rock with a strong symphonic/melodic content, which deserves a more fair treatment.Warmly recommended.

Well here is my third installment of the "classic" Autumn Breeze trilogy. In my previous reviews I pretty much covered the band itself, so there isn't much more to add here. That actually goes to the biggest problem with this review. I just don't have that much more to say.

"Demo Tapes" is just that, a collection of demos. With two exceptions, different versions of these tracks can be found on "Höstbris" and "På Radio 1978." There is enough variation to make it worth hearing, but it is by no means to be referred to as an original collection.

The performance is somewhere between the other two albums. It is not nearly as refined as "Höstbris," but neither does it have that passionate live performance fire of "På Radio."

If you are interested in Autumn Breeze, try the other two albums first. This would not be the best place to start. Once a fan of the band, "Demo Tapes" would probably be a worthy addition to a collection. It is the completion piece to a set.

For a better picture of the band, check out my other reviews.

H.T. Riekels

For many years Autumn Breeze had been a one-album group. That is no longer the case. The band did not reform but new material was unearthed. Too often this means demos of already released material or outtakes. "På Radio 1978" is actually something quite different. In 1978 the band did a live performance in a radio studio and played nothing from their only studio album, "Höstbris."

I look at this as the other Autumn Breeze album that could have been. There are some tracks that appear on the other new "Demo Tapes" release, but this is the set that easily could have constituted a studio release. That possibility is also discussed during the interview portion of the album. Unfortunately the recording studio and record company were already in financial trouble. Even though CBS was interested in Autumn Breeze, the band was worn out, so they broke up.

This may not be a "proper" recording, but it stands up very well. "På Radio" also has a much different feel than "Höstbris." There is no doubt it's the same band, but there is a heightened energy. Sure, this would be expected with a live performance. However, the material is also a big factor. On "Höstbris" the key was subtlety. Here it is passionate jamming. I am not using that term loosely. They actually adopted more of jam band aesthetic. It is the same instrumentation and blending of styles, but they definitely took the top down and swung it.

What also makes this album different from similar recordings is the structure. The tracks are laid out conceptually. "Overture" is just that. It is an overview of what is to come. The beginning is a bit abrupt, lacking an intro. It was probably cut this way as a lead in to the radio show. The next track is the interview, followed by a tight flow of musical tracks, and ending with the spoken "Epilog."

The music is catchy, compelling, at times spacey, and often flat out rocks. There is less progginess than on "Höstbris," but it is not missed. Whether it's was a jangly jam, as on "Evil Light," or a slow blues/jazz workout, as on "Ta Mig Med," the band was right on point. The sweet spot was found, and all the music comes right from that moment.

Since the interview is in Swedish, I asked Jan Warnqvist for a little help. Most of what was discussed can be found in the bio on the Autumn Breeze site, but he did clue me in a couple of the more interesting items. The band was adamant about expressing the vocals being one instrument amongst all the others. This is evident in Birgitta Nilsson's tendency toward jazz styling. The best comment was concerning Swedish dance music and Punk (remember, this was the late 70's). They said that those genres of music were worse than Swedish Class II beer, in which everything good was extracted. Ha!

Where it took another look for the aforementioned album to reveal its charms, "På Radio 1978" grabbed me right away. In many ways I prefer it. The artful essence of the studio work is very enjoyable, but this seems to be the band up close and personal, having a good time. Since Autumn Breeze never did get back in the studio, this is the second album. Unlike many "lost recording" offerings, it works as well as something that could have been released at that time. Definitely check this album out. It truly is a lost gem.

H.T. Riekels

Heading to their only official release during the 70's, Autumn Breeze appeared in a radio show in 1978 in a performance, where original singer Leif Forsberg appears to have left the band with Birgitta Nilsson remaining the only member responsible for the vocals.This archival recordings contain alternative versions from three of the ''Demo tapes'' tracks along with unreleased material.It was published by the group in 2009 again on their own My Records.

The sound here is mainly along the lines of Heavy/Psychedelic Rock with lots of flute work and evident symphonic leanings in the soaring keyboard parts.Obviously they wanted to sound quite original, but the bootleg quality of the recordings somewhat buries the good ideas of the group.The music is pretty raw and largely instrumental with extended flute solos in the vein of JETHRO TULL and electric guitar as the leading instrument, offering both melancholic and upbeat tunes in the rhythmic and solo parts.The sound is pretty dated with bluesy influences around and the only thing reminding of the period is the use of synthesizers, which add an atmospheric flavor.KEBNEKAISE and KAIPA vibes are also evident in the folkier and more ethereal moves, although the group avoids any certain melodic content in the sake of heavier and more psychedelic soundscapes.However the combination of electric guitars and synths in some tracks is really attractive and shows a band with a good potential, even if this premature material present a confusing and rather inconvinving sound.

This document shows Autumn Breeze struggling to find a sound of their own, passing through straightforward and more progressive paths at the same time, while the quality of the recordings is pretty mediocre.Recommended to fans of the band and those fond of 70's Psychedelic Rock with a rough edge...2.5 stars.

As I wrote on previous reviews, AUTUM BREEZE is a surprising band, they were active in the 70's with only one release and resurrected in the 21st Century, originally to offer us previously unreleased material but then turning into an active band again, and now we have their second original release, a 20 minutes multi part epic recorded in "Yellow Snow Studio - Stockholm" in 2011, the rebirth of an excellent but obscure band and a second chance for excellent musicians.

Since their previous release "The Autumn Band" it was obvious that the 70's hadn't ended for this guys, playing in a style that older Progheads always miss. The only problem was that the albums were a bit simple for the most demanding fans of the genre, but this has changed, "Glimpses From a Lifetime" is a well elaborate album with radical changes and complex music.

The vocals performed by Ragnar Klevman and the peculiar Sara Bergqvist are delightful, while the combination of the talents of multi-instrumentalist Gert Magnusson and pianist Jan Warmqvist provide us of all the Prog we can ask for. But that not all, the addition of William Bellbrandt in the guitar provides that heavy distorted touch reminiscent of guys like Mick Box from Uriah Heep, creating a wonderful nostalgic feeling on all of us who search for this kind of music since childhood, a sound that usually we can only find buying albums released 3 or 4 decades ago.

The only minor flaw I find is the production, which in my opinion is a bit rough, but I'm here to talk about music, not about technical issues, and the music of AUTUMN BREEZE deserves no less than 4 solid stars.

I just hope the next time they release a full studio album, because this EP has left me with the taste of honey in the lips and asking for more.