THE WATER ROAD

This is one of those classic cases, along with Echolyn's As the World and Discipline's Unfolded like Staircase in that it really left me cold and I can't understand the fuss behind it. This was a British band but the first to bring in Thomas Johnson of Änglagård, which means I should be totally blown away but instead it just seems stiff and over-long. A lot of the Mellotron passages are unsurprisingly Änglagård- like, but unfortunately the music overall is without the inspiration. I noticed Anna Holmgren and Mattias Olsson are on this as guests but really doesn't help here. I know many will enjoy this but the sterile production and stiff performance doesn't help. Luckily Thomas Johnson redeemed himself big time with the Änglagård reunion that gave us Viljans Öga, and the truly wonderful All Traps on Earth with A Drop of Light (featuring himself, Johan Brand, his daughter Miranda Brand and current Änglagård drummer Erik Hammarström). That stuff totally leaves The Water Road in the dust. As for The Water Road it just isn't for me.