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Rating: The style of King Crimson, particularly during the second period (thus the respective works "Larks' Tongues In Aspic," "Starless and Bible Black," and "Red"), has left a significant mark on the Rock of the '90s and on today's music: the Math Rock of Don Caballero, the Prog-Metal of Tool, and the Post-Rock of GY!BE are some of the main examples of this stylistic influence.
Wettonian bass lines, Frippian intricate guitar work, the expressiveness of Bruford's drumming, and the sublime violin of David Cross represent essential "trademarks."
The early '90s was also a very good period for true Progressive Rock, as bands such as Anekdoten, Landberk, and Anglagard formed in Sweden.
1993 marks the recording debut of Anekdoten with "Vemod," an album that is very cohesive. The aforementioned King Crimson elements blend perfectly with the vocals and the keyboard background by Per Wiberg (a current member of their compatriots Opeth).
We find more eclectic tracks like "Karelia" and "Where Solitude Remains," which have a structure that might relatively resemble certain "Starless" elements but also includes some gigantically gentle symphonies. "Thought In Absence" furthermore represents the calmest moment of the album, a sort of "weekend read."
In this debut work, the guitar parts by Nicklas Berg are more prominently highlighted. The band further developed their style with the subsequent "Nucleus," relatively moving away from these sounds and venturing into works where more "accessible" parts are not lacking, such as in "Gravity" and the more recent "A Time of Day," dominated by the Mellotron sound.
As far as I am concerned, Anekdoten are among the most original bands of the '90s scene and the current one. Comparing them with certain key bands of the genre is surely necessary to understand their sounds and artistic influences, but their compositional skill does not leave any sense of déjà vu.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 The Old Man and the Sea (07:49)
The storm has raged here for hours,
the water's plunging in on me
The remains of my creation
is swallowed slowly down
by the troubled sea
into unconsecrated ground
gone eternally, gone eternally
Feeder of my visions,
carrier of my soul
The last hope for the dreamers,
now crashing to the shore,
pinioned and torn
In presumption and with my foolish pride
I challenged the storm, I challenged the storm
I'm the sole survivor,
the only one left alive
Now my limbs seem to fail me
and time has blurred my mind
I'm doomed to this fate
The deal has already been signed
and the hour's getting late
The hour's getting late, much too late
05 The Flow (07:00)
Purposeless man of clay
Darkness: roll away
A silent stream leads the flow,
moving on and on
Random lines fall in place,
adulterines slowly fade away
I'm sucked in deep by the flow,
taken in by the undertow
07 Wheel (07:52)
My mind's falling down endless tunnels until I find myself in the void Somewhere down there I could hear them calling me through walls of silence I heard them weep The wheel was just about to roll me over and for a moment I lost control Stars were falling and worlds colliding I always knew that they would track me down Tried so hard to break through to the surface, but entered into yet another dream I held tighter on to the lifeline and sensing light I broke free!
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