THAERIE WIIGHEN

Well, it had to happen. Someone made an album out of one of the masterpieces in Norwegian litterature. Henrik Ibsen's poem Terje Vigen, that is. Octopus is here following a trend in Norway where masterpieces were upgraded to folk rock or even rock'n'roll. ProgArchives also have some other entries of this kind in it's database.

Very little is known about this band or even the musicians on this album. This album is from 1981, but feels like a mid 1970s Norwegian album. Maybe the melodies is from the mid 1970s too. That would explain a lot.

This concept album is pretty good though. I have some issues with the overly pronounced vocals which just does not feel natural to me in this day and age. It has to be said though that the lyrics was written at least 150 years ago. The rest of the musicians does a great job though. The music is a mix of heavy prog, prog folk, art rock and symphonic prog.

This being a concept album, the music is packaged around Henrik Ibsen's lyrics. The music follows the poem in all it's drama where it ebbs and flows. Full marks there. The quality of the music is good throughout. There are several great melody lines here too. This is in my view a good album and a good method to teach yourself this famous poem, one of the pillars in Norwegian litterature and philosophy. Most things Henrik Ibsen wrote is very relevant today and this poem is a prime example. So a re-release, if someone would be kind enough to re-release this album, should be included in the schools in Norway. This album beats the teaching of this poem hands down.

A very good album it is and perhaps one those who speaks Norwegian in ProgArchives should put on their must-have list.

3.5 stars