BLÅKULLA

Finally it's here, the re-issue on CD of BLAKULLA's LP from 1975. Once again it's APM that has given us an old Swedish symph-classic. Earlier they have given us ATLAS ""Blå Vardag" from 1979 who also are a true Swedish symph classic, and many more. Now the time has come for BLAKULLA. The music is hard symphonic/progressive rock that stands out in competition with other early Scandinavian albums. The lyrics are written by among others Gustav Fröding and like the music they are of a high quality. The guitarist Mats Öhberg are especially worth mentioning.

The CD consists of the original LP's 9 tracks + 3 bonus tracks that are recorded 1974, before the LP. The main part of the tracks is unusual short for being symph rock, but are equally good. Sometimes it sounds like a harder version of KAIPA, sometimes like in the first song "Frigivningen" like ISILDURS BANE sounded in the beginning of their career, but also like ATLAS.

The best songs are the long track "Erinran" (10:35), "Sirenernas sång", "Maskinsång", "I solnedgången" and the instrumental "Mars". Another funny thing is their arrangement of "Drottningholmsmusiken, sats 1" by Johan Helmich Roman. If you're into Swedish symph from the 70's, this is a must. APM are always doing very beautiful booklets to their CD's, often with a lot of extra information. But thankfully they are keeping the original LP's cover even on the CD, which I think is very important.

Another Swedish symph album that APM are planning to reissue and that we can look forward to are Opus Est "Opus 1", which is a private pressed album from 1983. So keep your eyes and ears open. While you are waiting you can buy both Atlas and Blåkulla from APM. Recommended.