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Anekdoten - Nucleus CD (album) cover

NUCLEUS

Anekdoten

 

Heavy Prog

4.02 | 460 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

The Owl
Prog Reviewer
5 stars Form the first scrapings of metal strings, you know this is NOT going to be some flowery dungeons 'n dragons prog outing.

Anekdoten, while being heavily influenced by Starless or Red-period King Criomson takes great pains to NOT be a clone. Instead, they manage to transcend their influences more times than not.

Overall, the majority of "Nucleus" presents a sometimes barely controlled maelstrom of harsh dissonances occasionally counterbalanced by fragile beauty (evidenced in songs like "Here", "This Far From The Sky"). The relentless heaviness is the product of the rhythm section of Peter Nordins (frums) and Jan Erik Liljeström's angry, distorted Zeuhliish bass. This is counterbalanced by the layers of Mellotron (played by both Nickolas Berg and Ani Sophia Dahlberg) stern piercing guitar (here, notable for its restraint from showy pyrotechnics) and haunting cello lines. The overall mood is somber and at times despairing, but yet oddly beautiful at times. The final track "In Freedom" bears out this dichotomy rather beautifully with haunting, longing major-key overdubbed cellos set against minor-key guitar figures and hazy Mellotron vibes (a rather arresting sound that doesn't get used a lot by 'Tron fanatics).

If Anekdoten could be faulted for anything, it would be the vocals. They're not bad or unbearable by any stretch but they're not exactly commanding or compelling either. In the overall picture though, this is a mionor quibble as there is plenty or instrumental and compositional variety and brilliance to go around.

If you're in the mood for something relentless and intense, this is your ticket. However, don't listen if you're despairing or about to hang yourself.

The Owl | 5/5 |

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