4th Round Moderns: Hybris v. Viva Koenji

Here begins the 4th round of the Modern albums. In previous rounds we did song samples, great PA's reviews, with this round I wanted to do something a different. So I went outside PA's..  what do people outside of this site say about these albums.

First up..  one of the handful of certifiable modern classics..

Hybris by Anglagard

If I could give it 6 stars, I would!
After a few months of searching, I was finally able to get a copy of this album. It's the digi-pack version with the bonus track to make things even better. If you are a fan of symphonic prog, especially the stylings of Genesis and King Crimson, this is THE album for you. Here is a band that knows their influences, but offers their own unique take on things. The Swedish folk overtones add a dimension that helps to make the compositions unique to the giants of '70's prog. The musicianship is almost startling, even more so when you consider the age of the band members. The drumming is what struck me first and foremost. The drumming is both utterly complex and amazingly delicate depending on the mood the band is trying to achieve. And speaking of moods, Anglagard switches time signatures and musical styles with blinding speed and dexterity. Music this complex is rarely shown on a debut release. And yet, they have the uncanny maturity to make all that complexity musical. This isn't just complex for the sake of showing off, they are very congnicent of this being music and not a mathematical excercise. I'm simply in awe of this band and I'm so glad that the ProgArchives exists otherwise I would never have known about them. One listen to Jordrok and I was hooked. Now I would consider it my absolute favorite instrumental, even more so than La Villa Strangiato. That's something I never thought I'd say. If I could give this album 6 stars; I would. I honestly don't think you can be a serious symphonic prog fan without a copy of this album. Hybris is that good and that important.

and against that.. we have the slayer of SWilson

Viva Koenji by Koenji Hyakkei

Yoshida Tatsuya’s never been short on side projects outside of his venerable Ruins, though aural evidence of these extracurricular activities has never been easy for Western listeners to acquire, with very few discs available outside of his native Japan, and import prices, as usual, daunting for the curious without cash to burn. Luckily, Skin Graft (Ruins’ American home) picked up on the problem, and released Koenjihyakkei’s fourth album, Angherr Shisspa. The disc garnered somewhat scattered praise; even Ruins fans weren’t always sure what to make of its sound, with Yoshida’s signature brand of tightly wound prog uncoiled amidst operatic vocals and a whirl of bright cosmic futurism. Viva Koenji!!, the group’s second release, now issued in the US for the first time, may feature a slightly more conventional (at least in Yoshida’s world) version of the band, but while there are obvious ties between the music therein and Tatsuya’s work with Ruins, Koenjihyakkei is in a galaxy of their own, a band with a very distinct voice.

All difference aside, however, those who come to Viva Koenji!! primarily fans of (and familiar with) Yoshida’s work with Ruins will have plenty to aid in the assimilation of the album. In large parts, a number of his musical ingredients are similar to those which have informed his sound for years: segments of hyperspeed prog, interspersed with breakneck turns, unexpected breakdowns, and distinctive vocals sung in a language of undetermined imaginary origin. But whereas Ruins, at this point in the game, seem in need of a minor reinvention, Koenjihyakkei offer enough of a departure from Ruins’ rubric to soothe the ire of anyone clamoring for something new from the mind of Yoshida, even if this music is a decade old. Yoshida’s love affair with classic French prog is in its most noticeable form here, full of epic songwriting, jazzy flourishes, and a heavy reliance on soaring ensemble vocals. But while tracks like “Graddinoba Revoss” might work the zeuhl angle faithfully, almost to a fault, Viva Koenji!! isn’t about the ghosts of prog past, instead it’s an unquestionably modern creation, a vibrant update on a classic sound easily believable as being 10 days old rather than 10 years.

Those who’ve found Yoshida in a rut recently would do well to rediscover the drummer’s compositional voice in Koenjihyakkei. Whether Skin Graft will continue to release Koenjihyakkei’s material is still to be seen, but even if a follow-up to Angherr Shisspa isn’t imminent, the label could do far worse than to continue to unearth previously unavailable artifacts from Koenjihyakkei’s past.

They're gonna lose, but...

f**kin' Koenji, bitch!!!

Koenji!

Watch out with the Swedes

This is going to be a bloodbath

The-time-is-now wrote: Hybris.

Koenji!!

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: This is going to be a bloodbath

I saw 4 going into yesterday that likely would be.. 3 of them in the moderns.. thankfully only 2 have come to pass so far.

Koenji

Koenji Hyakkei