Review Summary: The first of an amazing trilogy. An inspiration for many Scandinavian prog bands.
“Hybris” is the debut studio album of Anglagard that was released in 1992. The line up on the album is Tord Lindman, Jonas Engdegard, Thomas Johnson, Anna Holmgren, Johan Hogberg and Mattias Olsson. The album had also the participation of Par Lindh.
Anglagard is a Swedish progressive rock band that was formed in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden. Anglagard became as one of the most influential progressive rock bands of the 90’s. The 90’s were a decade when many new prog bands appeared, some of them in the Scandinavian Peninsula, especially in Sweden. Those bands began to revive the classic progressive rock style that had their golden era in the 70’s. They became known as the third progressive rock wave.
Anglagard got itself noticed in the small international community of prog rock fans due to the quality, originality and complexity of their music. Both of their two studio albums which were released in the 90’s, this one and “Epilog” released two years latter in 1994, were voted albums of the year on the internet progressive newsgroups, and that put Anglagard as a cult band. This is one of those rare cases of obscurity combined with reverence. Many like to compare Anglagard with the American progressive rock band of Detroit, Discipline. Both are two bands that become legendary.
Anglagard’s music is quite similar to the sound of the progressive rock bands from the 70’s, because their music was strongly influenced by bands like Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Van Der Graaf Generator. However, Anglagard’s music is much more than that. Their music is also deeply influenced by the Swedish folklore music. The final result was the creation of a style with a well defined personality, within the recognizable Scandinavian melancholy.
I don’t think that any other prog band combines the retro elements with such originality and skillfully as Anglagard. Pure melancholy speaks from the countless minor chords, the use of Mellotron, Hammond and flute conjures up unbelievable goosebumps. An almost casual playfulness is encountered in everywhere. We can experience complex multi-part songs with a melancholic sound with the addition of delicate passages with gentle guitars, flute melodies and Mellotron. There are also powerful, driving, slanted sections and in general there are almost no instrumental solos.
“Hybris” has four tracks. “Jordrok (Earth Smoke)” is a dark melancholic instrumental that reminds me the long and cold winter season in Sweden. It’s a complex progressive track with constant changes and where all instruments have its function and where no one dominates. This is an incredible opener for this very special album from this unique band. “Vadringar I Vilsenhet (Wonderings In Confusion)” is another complex progressive track with great rhythm changes. It’s the first track with lyrics in Swedish. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for me to understand what is said on it. Lindman’s voice is nice and delicate and, for me, it improves the song. There are some amazing individual performances by all band’s members. “Ifran Klarhet Till Klarhet (From Clarity To Clarity)” has a surrealist begin with a kind of a carnival circus sound. The music sounds relatively complex, combining the great versatility of Anna on flute, good guitar work, great Mellotron sound, nice bass line and powerful drumming. This is another excellent catchy track. “Kung Bore (King Winter)” is the highest moment on the album and is, in my opinion, one of the best songs composed by them. It’s also, probably, my favourite Anglagard’s track. It’s a very complex track very nostalgic, with great vocals, some classical parts, good keyboards and an interesting rhythm section. It’s a perfect way to close this unique album.
My remastered CD version has a fifth bonus track, “Ganglat Fran Knapptibble (Marching Tune From Knapptibble)”, which was recorded in 1993 for the English magazine Ptolemaic Terrascope who wanted to release a single to come with the magazine. This bonus track features some music parts which also appear on “Epilog”. It’s a great song too that doesn’t compromise the high quality level of the entire album. It confirms the high complex structure of their music.
Conclusion: In my humble opinion, “Hybris” is one of the most innovative, surprising and original progressive rock albums ever made. Its music is completely progressive with a lengthy format, very complex and very creative, and with abrupt passages and constant change of rhythms. However, it’s at the same time very melodic. All of this makes of it a perfectly unforgettable work. As I said before, on “Hybris” we can discover so many varied and diversified influences on its music. They pass by influences from several progressive rock bands from the 70’s such as Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Van Der Graaf Generator, for instance. However, in my humble opinion, the main musical influences are clearly Genesis and King Crimson. Those influences are perfectly married with the influences of the Swedish folklore and the traditional Scandinavian melancholy. That makes of it a unique, original and surprising album.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
