FROM WITHIN

This is the sound of prog. Any retro proggers who don't own this and say that there has been little good material since the 1970's should listen to this. Anekdoten hits the jackpot on their third studio release. Not only is it their most focused and complete album, but it also is more original than Vemod or even Nucleus, which took a lot from King Crimson's work. What is their original sound? I guess it still could best be likened to King Crimson, particularly their Red album, but there's much more ambience thanks to the mellotrons and it "rocks" more.

There aren't really any highlights per se, you just have to start at track 1 and listen to the end to fully understand what they've done. It's almost like one very large song with different movements. While the general sound doesn't vary that much, each song creates a different mood. The longer ones tend to have more dynamic contrast, such as Hole and Slow Fire which can easily compete with GY!BE and the like for awesome climaxes. While everything is dark, it is also extremely melodic and remains so throughout the whole album. That's what is so great about this album. It's experimental, progressive, and beautiful all at the same time.

Get this one if you don't have it already for it is a masterpiece of prog and music in general.