EPILOG

To be perfectly honest, I have to say I wasn't that much convinced with this ÄNGLAGÅRD second album in the very beginning, but as the months with all its weeks and days went by, it completely earned my admiration. The harsh thing for me to overcome when paying complete attention to "Epilog" after listening to and embracing "Hybris", was the incomparable sound the band's first production carved out on my mind. This prominent second composition was quite a challenge not only for the band to arrange, but for the fans to accept as well. The energy placed in between every single track of "Epilog" is constantly projected in a different shape not to overshadow "Hybris", but for to prove that this Swedish band could go further off from the already crafted, to make themselves sure that what they accomplished in their first album wasn't a fortuitous strike, and most of all, to keep on growing as the icon Swedish prog band they still are.

ÄNGLAGÅRD suffered way to many changes and went through considerable rough patches. Tord quitted the band to pick up his filmmaking career from where he left it, Anna went back to college in Stockholm to study a M.d. in music, Thomas is currently a Ph.D. student in theoretical fusion plasma physics, pretty advanced stuff that no one else understands... and so on. Eventually the band decided to split up and went separate ways. They toured for a while and performed before thousands of people at several stages such as the Progfest in '94 (Double CD compilation available) and most recently at the last year's NEARfest. Later on, they released a live recording, "Buried Alive" (recorded at the Variety Arts Centre, Los Angeles on 5th of November 1994, during Progfest '94) which wasn't that much convincing and satisfactory among the prog community.

"Epilog" is an outstanding artistic work. It has got not only the mellotrons and the exceptional drum striking by Mattias, it contains the pure essence of the nowadays Scandinavian prog. This album still works as the engine for some other Swedish bands to innovate and to reach certain level, not to match the one achieved by ÄNGLAGÅRD, but to walk hand in hand within the European scene.

I found this production spotless. Every single detail from beginning to end was harmoniously entwined and played. This symphonic piece called "Epilog" posses two of the most revealing Scandinavian prog songs: Rösten and Sista Somrar. Very powerful, absolutely intriguing and wonderfully executed. The instruments sounded off heavenly soft yet strongly shocking. The poems to Rösten (The Voice) and Sista Somrar (The Last Summer) were written and translated by Rut HILLARP.

Hardly to oversight, "Epilog" is the complementary phase to "Hybris". Can't get one without the other. Absolutely Swedish, completely bold and musically unexpected. Highly recommended.