HYBRIS

With no doubt, this Swedish band has had a lot of influence on other of their fellow countrymen. I'm instantly thinking of "Anekdoten" of course. But before being a source of inspiration, it is obvious that they borrowed a lot to Crimson and Genesis. Equally, I would say.

For sure, their music is probably not love at first sight for the majority of listeners. But when I listened to "Jordrok New", I was really impressed. It sounds as if Tony (Banks of course), is behind the scene; while the first part has the complexity of any Crimson track.

They sound at times very melodic, while at others the music is hardly accessible. But it is really worth an effort. Some sections are of the masterpiece calibre (the closing section of Kung Bore for instance).

Each of the composition ranges to the long format and as you might know, I can't really complain about that. The intro of "Vandringar I Vilsenhet" is very much "Trespass" oriented, featuring some enjoyable fluting and peaceful music. The song will then evolve to a more upbeat and symphonic piece.

Still, the key plays is bringing us back to Tony again and again. Some might say this is regressive prog, but I don't consider it as such. On the contrary, there are lots of reasons to fall in love with this album. Some might argue that this is pure nostalgia, but there is more than that.

The only minus point here being that some tracks are maybe too long. But this is not too damaging to the global quality of this album.

But don't expect fine melodies or catchy chorus. The music is almost all instrumental and while sung, it is in Swedish (which is rather unusual and completely incomprehensible unless you are Swedish of course).

Änglagård was sadly short lived, so you have to take advantage of their music while listening to Hybris. This album is highly recommendable to any Crimson and Genesis fan (but not only). I rate Hybris with four stars.