Anglagard
Viljans Oga

Release Date: 2012 | Tracklist

Anglagard didn't last very long in their first incarnation after their formation in 1991. They did however manage to release two excellent albums in their brief career which generated considerable critical acclaim and allowed them to carve out a niche in prog rock history. In 2009 it was announced by Mattias Olsson that the band were once again recording new material and then finally the wait was over three years later with the release of their third album 'Viljans Oga'.

After a hiatus of nearly 20 years one might expect some changes in sound and style but it is almost as if the band never went away. Anglagard were renowned for their 70's style symphonic sound with heavy doses of flute, mellotron and guitar latticed over arrangements with shifting tempo changes. Nothing much has changed from that approach on their comeback release apart from perhaps more of an emphasis on the folkier side of their sound. This is pretty much the same line-up that gave us 'Epilog' back in 1994 and indeed this is another purely instrumental release in the same vein. Opener 'Ur Vilande' begins with plaintive classically influenced flute and cello with piano and bass guitar entering into the fray. A meandering current of tenuous melodies weave in and out of the composition painting a backdrop of pastoral moods and colours until chunky angular guitar and heavy bass lines take over and propel the sound bubbling over into the rapids. 'Snardom' opens with some vintage Jethro Tull inspired electric guitar and flute and settles down with some excellent prog inspired riffing interspered with trademark flourishes on the flute from Anna Homlgren. This is not easy music to embrace on a first listen. The sometimes abrupt melodies and ever shifting rhythms lend the music an urgent and slightly impenetrable sheen until finally the intensity relents somewhat and falls away to allow Anna to come to the fore as the song melts away to a more introspective mood with beautiful repeating lead guitar melodies that betray the influences of the likes of Camel's Andy Latimer.

The music on here is quite mesmerising in its restrained passion and complex beauty. Dense compositions full of subtle nuances and jagged riffs with soaring melodies subtly coalesce out of the gentle mist of classically inspired string and woodwind timbres. The compositions seldom settle into a recognisable pattern but seem to build up in intensity like waves about to break on the shore. The breakers crash and fall away to reveal an underwash of attentuated melodies receding into the ocean to build once again to a crescendo. The sheer inventiveness on offer is quite astounding at times as the music ebbs and flows and refuses to descend into any form of stagnancy.

It would be premature to proclaim that 'Viljans Oga' ranks up alongside 'Hybris' but this is without a doubt a masterful effort full of the dynamism, creativity and exemplary musicianship that marked out their previous releases. As I mentioned before in passing this is not the sort of music that bestows all its charms in a single listen, there is just too much going on. If you give it time to grow however it could well become one of your treasured albums. Definitely one of the best progressive releases of 2012.

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4.1 excellent

Rank: #55 for 2012