Epilog

Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 7320470038604
ASIN: B0000DJDIZ

Release Date: 2003-11-04

Epilog

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Tracks:

Prolog
Hostsejd
Rosten
Skogsranden
Sista Somrar
Saknadens Fullhet

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Album Description

Reissue of 1995 album in a digipak. Swedish band Anglagard is part of a whole breed of progressive rockers who have cut their teeth on King Crimson's Red.

Customer Reviews:

Good solid cd that's worth the investment.......2005-12-30

There is nothing dissapointing about this cd. It covers some safe ground, but is pretty darn good. It has long tracks and great keyboards that are rich and full, with lots of deep organ sounds. No vocals (which is good) :)

A prog album that my generation can be very proud of.......2004-08-17

I remember the buzz that swept through the prog community when this album was released by the now (sadly) defunct Swedish proggers Anglagard back in 1994. Certainly, I was not immune to the effects of this exciting development, and at the age of 27 it was my favorite rock album and Anglagard was my favorite new band. It appeared (back then at any rate) that a renaissance was being ushered in, whereby really good prog rock would once again take center stage after nearly a 20-year hiatus. Although that never did happen, this album will, in my opinion, forever remain as the single best symphonic progressive rock album released in current times (1994-present day). I also regard the album as the last gasp from a progressive rock style that all but faded away around 1976 or so.

The neat thing about Epilog is that it borrows from the past (early Genesis, 73-74 King Crimson), but also has its own unique voice. In fact, that is precisely what the best 1970s progressive rock was all about - a signature sound.

The music on the purely instrumental Epilog album is brooding, characteristically gloomy in a Swedish way, and alternates between very heavy, thunderous passages and quieter, spacey sections. The five pieces on the album include the 2'00" opening track Prolog; the 15'31" Hostejd; Skogsranden (10'47"); Sista Somrar (13'10"); and the closing track Sakandens Fullhet (1'59"). Themes are restated at specific points throughout the album, linking the five tracks. Although there are six tracks listed on the album, Rosten simply consists of 11 seconds of silence.

With respect to the lineup, Anglagard was comprised of keyboardist Thomas Johnson (Hammond organ, mini-moog, mellotron with string and voice settings, and acoustic piano); superb bassist Johan Hogberg (he used a newer-sounding and trebly six-string bass); excellent drummer Mattias Olsson; and fantastic guitarists Tord Lindman and Jonas Engdegard. Non-rock instrumentation includes flute, cello, and violin amongst other instruments. Although this album is 99% instrumental, there are some very brief and haunting female vocalese sections.

One of the most significant features of this album is the sophistication of the music itself. These guys had a good grasp on composition and really knew how to put a larger piece together - which is no small feat I might add. In terms of the level of virtuosity these guys could play bloody well, and unusual root movements, intricate time signatures, and abrupt metric shifts abound. On the other hand, they knew when (and more importantly, how) to back off and spacey, delicate sections nicely balance the heavier sections (as a warning, sometimes the change between loud:soft can be very jarring). Their pieces also show absolutely no trace of the radio-friendly pop; arena rock; heavy metal/nu-metal; and hard rock styles that are favored by many of the current crop of bands.

The digipak format is very nice and features excellent sound and detailed liner notes that feature a series of very gothic images, and lyrics to the songs in Swedish. Other exciting new groups that I personally enjoy fuse rock with styles such as electronica, ambient, the European avant-garde and psychedelic rock including the post rock group Sigur Ros (Iceland); Porcupine Tree (England); Ozric Tentacles (England); and Dungen (Sweden).

All in all, I would highly recommend Epilog to all prog fans old and new alike.

Melancholy masterpiece of modern prog-rock.......2004-01-30

This effort is different from the Hybris project, Anglagard's previous album. The style is less cheerful, and requires careful listening. It's a game of contrasts, really - the music is highly dynamic (fast-slow-fast, loud-slow-loud), and the musicians worked on complicated compositions.
This album is less "prog-rocky" than before, but it's more mature, deeper and more demanding. The recording quality is better than Hybris, the playing is tighter, and the special studio effects are masterful. The new digipak version has nice pictures and booklet, but the audio quality sounds the same to me. I'd recommend this to people who are not afraid of sad, modernistic & angry music.

Disappointed.......2004-01-29

For years I had been hearing all the buzz about Anglagard. In 2000, I was able to score a copy of their debut, Hybris, on Ebay for under 20 bucks. (Hybris was routinely going for $25 on Ebay). I LOVED Hybris; it had all the prog ingredients I dig - mellotron, Rick bass, angular guitar, Bruford-like drumming, touch of flute, and lots of dynamics. Since then, I have had my eye out for Epilog, and apparently it is hard to come by, as another reviewer mentioned.

So you can imagine my joy when I learned of the new re-issues! But my joy quickly turned to disappointment. This just doesn't measure up to Hybris. Epilog is all-instrumental while Hybris had vocals, and even though the singing was in Swedish, and not all that great, it still sounded like it belonged in the music. Something is lacking for me without the vocals.

Plus, it's a short album to begin with, and when you take into account that several of the tracks are just boring solo pieces on piano or cello that serve as interludes to the longer tracks, you're not left with a whole lot of music for your money. The parts where the whole band does ensemble playing are very good, as expected, but it still doesn't seem as compelling to these ears, as the ensemble playing on Hybris.

While Hybris kept me riveted, Epilog leaves me bored for a good deal of the album. Wish it weren't so, but I have to be honest....

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