THULE

This is the last album (so far) that these heavy Norwegian proggers have created. I really think the album's title comes across as being lame. Is it me or does "Liquid (Rock And Roll Dream)" sound lame? "Liquid (Dream)" would have sounded much better. Anyway the important thing is the music. And it's in their usual heavy, gothic-like style but certainly not as good as either of their first two albums.

"Wishful" opens with the waves rolling in but they are drowned out (haha) by a heavy bass driven sound. Processed vocals join in. "Knock On Wood" builds slowly as the vocals join in. A nice intense soundscape follows with gothic vocals. "Oh Yeah !" has some great ripping guitar early on. The vocals replace it before a minute as the contrasts continue. Waves roll in to end it. "Mea Culpa" kicks in after a minute with insane vocals. It settles before 4 minutes and blends into "Once Upon A Time" where those gothic vocals join in. "Repossess" is heavy as creepy vocals join in. Killer stuff. It settles and blends into "Mantra / Prozac" where it kicks in quickly. This settles and blends into "Liquid".

I like "Liquid" because of how experimental it is. It picks up and blends into "Reason". Gothic vocals join in and they are speaking more than singing. Organ 3 1/2 minutes in. "Luck Lipps" kicks in around a minute with processed vocals. Gothic vocals take over and we get some organ 4 minutes in. "Instinct" is dark and haunting as a beat comes in then vocals. "Aurora" is nice and heavy with vocals. Organ before 3 minutes. "Vox Aeterna" ends it with gothic vocals arriving a minute in. I like when the vocals stop, it's surprisingly uplifting here as these sections trade off for a while.

The lyrics certainly don't help the situation here as they are often cringe-worthy. For fans of heavy, gothic flavoured music.

From the cold thule......

This band was almost a enigma throughout their lives, releasing self-produced LPs limited to 1000 x. They hails from the North Cape municipality (Honningsvaag) in Norway and is very probably the most northern prog rock band in the world. They are totally isolated from the rest of the Norwegian music scene and very few have ever interviewed them. They are an enigma in a scene where bands are not afraid of promoting themselves. I have always been aware of this band and I was very happy when I finally bought their two first albums, twenty-five years after reading a review of their first album in a very obscure music magazine in Norway. Street Fighter, I think this magazine was called. So, twenty-five years later, I am trying to enter my thoughts into my computer and then through a fiber optical line to the PA server... Strange world !!

Their music is strange too....... A blend of epic music like Pink Floyd and darkened prog like VDGG. Include some large dosages The Smiths in it too and you get the picture. The best song and the very epic Over de iskledte fjell should be regarded as one of Norway's most definate anthems. It is brilliant. The Shaman song has some sami and VDGG influences. Mostly VDGG and I doubt Peter Hammil would had been ashamed of including this song on a VDGG album. The rest of the songs are a blend of the bands mentioned above. The quality is pretty good throughout. There is not a single bad track here, but no classic tracks either. It is a very good album for those into darkened prog. Don't buy it if you are suicidal. The mood are dark throughout this album. Just like a winter day in Honningsvaag with total darkness throughout. Thule is most definate one of these bands I want to know more about and the rest of their albums is on my to-do list. Please regard this as one of the better Norwegian prog rock albums.

3.75 stars

THULE certainly did their part in bringing life back into the Progressive music scene in their home country of Norway in the late eighties and early nineties. In fact a man I respect a great deal who is from Norway says this album "Natt" is in the top ten of all-time greatest albums to come out of his nation. The music here is really a combination of eighties "Dark Wave" and seventies Prog. Heavy is the word with gothic vocals. Great organ runs with prominant guitar while the bass is especially huge. It's all good though especially the drumming and arrangements."Natt" means "Night" in Norwegian.The vocals are all in Norwegian and so is most of the liner notes unfortunately.There is some English though that tells us that this album "Is the story about what happens when day turns to night, and the darkness comes sneaking down. At first it appears as a friend-a shelter from the absurd reality-later on as an oppressive and constant feel that makes you feel totally powerless". It goes on to say ""Natt" is just a collection of impressions and atmospheres from the outermost outskirts of the Western Worlds decayed civilization".

"Natt" opens with gentle piano as strummed guitar and bass join in. It's building until 1 1/2 minutes in, then here we go ! The synths remind me of RUSH. Vocals come in with a yell a minute later. I like the guitar 5 minutes in. "Taegn" means "sign" as the people leave their homeland in search for signs of life. It opens quietly but it's building. It settles back with synths a minute in. Reserved vocals join in. It builds back up then settles again. The contrasts continue. "Goilitigei" has a deep, heavy soundscape with vocals. Organ before 1 1/2 minutes. The guitar after 2 1/2 minutes makes some noise, it sounds great with the organ. It ends with spoken words and laughter. "Morsketi" is pastoral with keys to open but drums and bass change that, and the vocals that come in are almost spoken. It kicks in before 2 minutes. It settles again as contrasts continue. The guitar before 4 minutes lights it up and the organ does the same. Samples before 5 minutes. Incredible tune ! "Hap" means "hope". It opens with dual spoken words as the bass throbs heavily. Cool ! Guitar comes in and the dual vocals start to get theatrical as drums and synths support. The vocals are now yelling as the guitar rips it up and we get a huge finish.

"Drom" means "dream" and it builds slowly until powerful organ sounds come in. Then it calms down but again builds again as organ and guitar this time kick in around 4 1/2 minutes. Nice. Strummed guitar ends it. "Langfaerd" means "the long voyage" as the people hunt for happiness but can't find it. It sounds like cars driving by to open and close this song. Nice heavy sound with passionate vocals and great organ runs. The guitar rips it up too. A calm before 3 minutes as gothic vocals come in and RUSH-like synths. Fat bass lines too. Amazing sound 5 minutes in with guitar and organ. Contrasts of heavy and calm continue. "Vinterbarn" is a call for the people to search for daylight. Coughing and acoustic guitar to open. Vocals before a minute. Synths before 3 minutes.The guitar and heaviness 4 1/2 minutes in sounds really good.

Not as good as their debut in my opinion, but a must for fans of dark heavy music.

4.5 stars. THULE are a band from Norway who play a dark and heavy brand of progressive music. I've thought about getting their music for years but the low ratings always held me back. I should have known better and checked these guys out long ago. I mean dark and heavy is my favourite stye of music. I was glad to see "infandous" mention the RUSH flavour in his review because I noticed that fairly quickly mostly with the lead guitar work. Interesting that they show 8 songs on this disc, yet on my stereo it shows only 2 long tunes. And it's very difficult to know when one starts and the other ends so i'll review it as two side long tracks. I should mention the vocals are sung in their native Norwegian language.

Side one starts off with the wind blowing strongly as spoken words come in after a minute. A guitar line is repeated as synths and drums take over. Great sound 3 1/2 minutes in. Vocals follow and then the tempo picks up after 5 1/2 minutes. The bass is excellent and a beautiful guitar solo comes in after 6 minutes. Check out the bass and drums 9 minutes in ! Spoken words join in. The guitar reminds me of Lifeson here and then vocals return after 11 minutes. Great sound after 14 minutes. Drums and bass throb as the guitar solos over top. Vocals are powerful. A calm follows then drums start to lead the way as vocals join in. Check it out 18 1/2 minutes in as the organ and drums dominate with the guitar forcing it's way in.

Side two opens with synths and drums as vocals join in this this spacey atmosphere. The vocals get passionate before 5 minutes. A change after 6 1/2 minutes to an almost PINK FLOYD-like spacey soundscape. The guitar sounds so good before 8 1/2 minutes. A calm 10 minutes in then the drums come and go in flurries followed by some ripping guitar. Incredible ! The bass is huge here. Vocals before 11 1/2 minutes then there's that Lifeson-like guitar again as some fat bass lines and background synths fill out the sound. Guitar solo before 16 1/2 minutes. It turns dreamy before 18 minutes. Acoustic guitar and a calm follow. Organ floats in. Spoken words come in as the wind starts to blow just like the beginning of our trip.

Can't wait to check out some other releases from this band.

One word: unusual

It’s not unusual in the way most Avant Rock follows: quirky signatures, crazy mood and insane musicianship. It’s not also unusual in Psychedelic way; it’s hella trippy, but not as much as some other bands I experienced. It’s unusual in its own way. THULE doesn’t consider themselves to be a Prog Rock band I guess, and they are not one actually. This is Norwegian Dark Music, with elements of Goth Metal, Space Rock and Scandinavian Folk equally mixed together in one. A ballad can be interrupted with a trip- hoppish break and then continue with a real rocky drive. Imagine what if LANDBERK would record “On the Sundays of Life” but in a better quality with RAMMSTEIN’s vocalist!!! No, that guy from THULE is not that extreme, but he has the same way LOW BASS VOICE, y’know… They are original, but I just didn’t enjoy them much. It’s good to listen to them from time to time, it clears brains stuck to predictable Symphonic clichés or Avant meanderings, but I won’t recommend them for everyday listening. But if you want to be challenged – get it right now. Recommended after all.

Does effect the weather music? Well, in sunny tropical atmospheres the music is often cheerful with propulsive rhythms but in rainy and cold Skandinavia I notice many bands that play dark music with slow and compelling rhythms. Take for example this fourth studio album by Norwegian band Thule: listening to the 12 compositions you feel the cold and the rain and you start to feel quite melancholical, what a dark music but I was told during my honeymoon in West-Norway that most of the time it is dark, cold and rainy in Norway so you can conclude that Thule succeeded to translate their climate perfectly into the music! The sound has echoes from spacey Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree featuring soaring keyboards and emotional guitarplay with some biting guitar runs. At other moments the music is more dynamic and propulsive but this album never got me very excited and the Norwegian vocals often reminds me of the Swedish cook in The Muppet Show! A decent effort, perhaps their most mature effort.

www.progwalhalla.com

Third album from this Gothic-prog group from Norway, Thule (named after Greenland's capital) might have produced their best (or at least most original) album after a few years' absence. Their sombre rock fits quite a well our Art Rock category even if progheads would find it difficult to relate them to another prog groups. Their most obvious influences would come from the 80's Goth rock like Dead Can Dance or in a weird way Bauhaus (not to be confused with the band in our archives, though) and even Sister Of Mercy or the first Cult album, Love.

While definitely more prog than the previous Forstbrent, Graks is really into depressing melancholic shorter songs with low guttural vocals (typically gothic, but not far away from death metal either, but not screaming them), cold ambiances that often sounds popish, with a few Floyd twinges (Gilmour and Mason). Overall, I seem to be attracted to the longer songs like Daga and its second part (both over the 7-min mark) and Hjaerteslag; Song! starts with a dramatic guitar, but unfortunately it gets drown out soon enough by average songwriting. As is the case with the second half of the album where every tracks follows without much notice: there is a sax in the closing track, Blasar.

Needless to say that the songs are already not that fascinating, but the Norwegian lyrics are not helping out either. Quite difficult for me to discuss their sound, but pleasant enough if prog did not exist in so many forms and much less choices. Hardly essential, but if you are into Miranda Sex Garden, you'll likely appreciate Thule as well.

Fascinating stuff this. Very dark and somewhat gloomy, but yet retaining hints of bands like Rush and even Yes's darker moments. A nordic band doing retro prog...........in 1987!!! Ahead of their time is probably the most accurate description. However, there is something not quite there in terms of compositions and performance. This is no Anglagard, that's for sure. They seem to be more amateurish, which isn't unusual for a debut, but is for those familiar with the nordic onslaught of prog bands in the mid-90's. But then, this was the 80's. All things considered, the recording quality is not bad, and the music itself does have some good qualities. The rhythm section is what probably reminds me most of the 90's nordic bands, but the keyboards and guitar seem to be a bit more "80's" in sound and style. Still, if you can find this album it might be worth hearing what a prog band from Norway in 1987 sounded like. Myself, I got this album on MP3 from a friend, who also doesn't have the original album. But if I could buy it, I probably would. I haven't heard anything else by this band, but this album makes me want to see how they developed over the years. I wonder what they made of the mid-90's explosion of similar bands from their neighbors in Sweden?

On the whole, good but not essential describes this well. Still, considering the year of release, it is an interesting historical anomaly.

Compared to the previous "Frostbrent" album "Graks" was obviously quite a large step for Norvegian band Thule towards more sophisticated modern art rock. Without denying their roots in nordic goth rock they were trying here an approach of neo-psychedelic rock with a strong Floydian touch and I've got to say it works quite well. The majority of tracks can be described as rather mellow, atmospheric and dark having occasionally some more rocking moments and very often quite idiosyncratic sampling effects. The low-pitched vocals and mostly rather sluggish tempo are emphasizing very well the general melancholic mood making up this record to a kind of perfect soundtrack for long (nordic) winter nights (maybe not yet quite the right season for it just now). Actually there is only the opener "Supernova", "Song! (-Graks Vulgaris)" and "Feskehau" which are more in a harder-edged psyche or goth rock vein, all of them having some well-integrated odd sampling added up.

Overall this record being quite different from its two predecessors is an enjoyable listen for those ones who are more into the gothic realm and might offer enough interesting aspects for some Prog fans. But I doubt that it can be considered an essential one in general and it probably won't become one of my all-time favourites. I guess the releases of this band are neither absolute must-have ones as some 5-star ratings here obviously done in some enthusiastic mood might assume nor are they completely negligible. For anyone liking dark nordic music Thule is certainly a nice option. This one here deserves 3 ½ stars I would say!

"Frostbrent" most probably has to be considered as Thule's least progressive album, at least compared to "Natt" and "Graks" and as well to their debut and latest release "Liquid" as far as I could find informations about those ones. Although this album is still dominated by typical Scandinavian somber and melancholic atmosphere the overall tendency here goes rather towards guitar-based folksy gothic rock. Especially due to the similar throaty voice of the singer one gets at times the (false) impression to listen to a progressive type of Fields Of The Nephilim. Nevertheless there are a couple of tracks on here working quite well (namely the longer ones like "Æventyr " i.e.) and the addition of trumpet on some of them certainly helps a lot to differentiate from such bands. But unfortunately great moments are reallly sparse on this album and basically it's rather to be considered a solid guitar-dominated rock album than a progressive rock one. Honestly I couldn't recommend this one to any Prog fan who likes to check out Thule. Rather would I start with "Graks" or "Natt" to become more familiar with this interesting band.