EPILOG

Although this album is clearly highly regarded by many of this site's collaborators, I have to confess to being unfamiliar with the work of Anglagard. Hailing from Sweden, "Epilog" was the second of the band's (only) two albums released in the early 1990's. The all instrumental album consists of just three lengthy (10-15 minute) pieces plus three further interlude tracks.

The lush mellotron strings of the brief opening title track, accompanied by the building orchestration signal that the mood of the album is to be primarily retro. "Höstsejd", the longest track on the album at 15½ minutes, opens with early Genesis/Yes like mellotron, staccato guitar and keyboards. We are then taken through a myriad of soft and harder sections which alternate regularly to create a slightly disjoined but generally satisfying effect. While the music here has clearly been carefully crafted, there is at times an improvised feel to certain passages, thus this is not an easy listen in the way of more accessible instrumental symphonic bands such as Sky.

After the brief, all but inaudible 14 seconds of "Rösten", we indulge in the second long piece, "Skogsraden". This is very much a continuation of "Höstsejd", the bursts of choral mellotron offering a vocalisation of sorts. Once again, the abrupt alternation between loud and soft passages can be unsettling and seem rather clumsy. Overall, I find myself drawn to the softer symphonic, mellotron soaked parts.

The final feature track, "Sista Somrar" once again continues in an identical vein, indeed for those listening to the album for the first time, it would be all but impossible to distinguish between the three main suites. The album closes with the short coda "Saknadens Fullhet", a simple piano melody.

In all, a pleasingly dated sounding album which features plenty of good old mellotron. The symphonic, quasi-classical nature of the music means that it is not really for the casual listener, but those who stay with it will find themselves well rewarded.

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