KRIGSSÅNG

Trettioariga Kriget (The Thirty Years War) is a Swedish progressive rock band that was formed in 1970 in Saltsjobaden, a seaside resort southeast of Stockholm. They were at the time all around seventeen and still in high school. The first line up of the band was a six piece with two drummers. From the start the band included Stefan Fredin on bass and vocals, Dag Lundqvist on drums and Olle Thornvall on harmonica. In 1971 some members of the original band left and Robert Zima joined on vocals and guitar. In 1972 Olle quit playing harmonica to concentrate on the lyrics, leaving the band to concist only of Stefan, Dag and Robert. They decided they needed a good guitarist and started to audition some guitarists. Through these auditions they found Christer Akerberg who joined the band in 1972. The band rehearsed intensively for a year and a half and developed an own style quite unlike the main trend in Swedish rock during the 70's.

Their debut studio album was released in 1974. The album was named only "Trettioariga Kriget". The musical talent and the originality of the group were duly recognized in the reviews. They also now started to tour extensively in Sweden and also did several live performances on the national Swedish radio. In 1975 their second studio album "Krigssang" was recorded, though it wasn't released until 1976. This is commonly regarded as Trettioariga Kriget's masterpiece.

Describing the music of the band is a no easy task because they don't really sound like anybody else. The music of Trettioariga Kriget has definetelly a universal progressive rock appeal. The Swedish outfit's a unique take on the heavy progressive rock may not knock you out on the first, second or even the third listen, but over the time, these tunes will haunt you. They have a dramatic vocalist in Robert Zima who sounds like a cross between David Byron and Robert Plant. There are some good falsetto voices as well, calling to my mind some of the classic Italian progressive bands. With regard to instrumentation, most of the music consists of electric and acoustic guitars, ringing fuzzy bass guitar and excellent drums. There's some keyboard work here as well, mainly a sprinkling of the Mellotron and the Minimoog.

So, "Krigssang" is the second studio album of Trettioariga Kriget. The line up on the album is Olle Thornvall (lyrics), Robert Zima (lead vocals), Christer Akerberg (backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars), Stefan Fredin (backing vocals and bass) and Dag Lundqvist (backing vocals, drums, percussion and keyboards).

"Krigssang" has six tracks. The first track "Krigssang" is the title track song of the album. It's split into two parts, leading off the album with a normal length song and finishing it with a side-long second part. It's led by the guitar and the vocals. It's a track full of contrasts with some Mellotron work. The second track "Metamorfoser" is also a very good track. It's great in mood and melody and it's also a very pastoral song. It has a jazzier tendency and state a consistent presence, in this way catalyzing the main motif's melodic development. The third track "Jag Och Jag Och 'Jag'" is particularly a very nice track with acoustic guitar and some lovely vocal harmonies. It's mainly a track with acoustic guitar and some laid back vocals. It's an acoustic pastoral ballad that's stylistically connected with the sort of folkish spirit so common in the 70's. The fourth track "Mitt Mirakel" is a song full of energy. It opens with drums and prominent guitar. It settles when the vocals arrive but the contrasts will continue. It has some nice guitar work too. It was originally omitted from the 70's vinyl version but luckily it was recovered for the 2004 CD re-edition. The fifth track "Murar" is an instrumental track. It has a funky rhythm, and the bass, guitar and drums are all great. Stefan's bass is often the star of the show, with a great solo on "Murar", where he sounds like Chris Squire gone off the deep end with a wah-wah pedal. The sixth track "Krigssang II" is the great epic of the album. It goes through many moods and emotions, at times dark and oppressive while managing to be uplifting and triumphant. It's an excellent and exciting suite with its progressive style. It's really here where some extended and very well articulated series of several sections that the band's moderate flirtations with symphonic progressive rock get an effective development. This is a true pleasure to listen to this track.

Conclusion: "Krigssang" is usually regarded as a classic Swedish prog rock album and I really can understand why. The album is a mix of Swedish hard rock, symphonic prog and some fusion. The album is pretty heavy and pretty lively. The ideas are very decent and the tracks above mentioned lift this album up to a good rating. "Krigssang" is, after all this time, still a work of powerful intensity, conjuring strange moods and unsettling atmospheres with its tortuous riffs and complex metres. Listeners unfamiliar with this band should start with this album or their self-titled debut, though in truth they've never put out a bad album. They have a style all their own, really. Here it's a worthwhile album from the 70's, which offers a highly independent definition of what is the progressive rock music. So, "Krigssang" is a great follower to their excellent debut, although it's not as heavy overall. It worth be checked out for every fan of the genre.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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