HÄXAN

A brilliant new collection of instrumental songs composed/created in an analog domain as a soundtrack to what is believed to be the oldest surviving full-length animated feature film, from 1926, "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" by Lotte Reiniger.

1. "Peri Banu vid sjön" (3:01) an atmospheric experimentation in dronescapes with bass and simple drumming. Nice. (8.5/10)

2. "Jakten genom skogen" (4:10) is an amazingly soothing though uptempo two-chord acoustic guitar-based instrumental jam drenched heavily with Mellotron and incredible percussion work. One of my favorite songs I've heard from all year. Not to be missed by any prog lovers! (10/10)

3. "Wak-Wak's portar" (1:35) heavily distorted electric guitar strums and pans while free-form flute 'child's play' form this wildly psychedelic song.

4. "Den fattige Aladdin" (0:30) sounds like someone listening to flute over the radio or television.

5. "Trollkarlen och fågeldräkten" (4:30) sounds like a VINCE GURALDI TRIO or KOOP loop over which guitar(s?) and organ(/synths?) are racing in a wild tapestry. Cool! Psychedelic entropy. (9/10)

6. "Grottan" (0:58) eery space music culminates in 7. "Häxan" (2:48) plays like a funeral march over which folk themes are explored. "The Witch" to be sure. (9/10)

8. "Aladdin's flykt över havet" (0:59) is a brief synth and Mellotron play over toms and bass. This one sounds like it could come out of a Miyazaki/Studio Gibli film. More of this! (9.5/10)

9. "Kalifen" (4:37) starts out sounding very much like the organ, drums and bass tracks to PROCUL HAREM's "Whiter Shade of Pale"--which came from a Bach melody, if I'm not mistaken. By then end of the third minute it has shifted into something more jazz experimental--almost SUN RA or LARRY YOUNG like. Awesome song! (9.5/10)

10. "Achmed flyger" (4:33) piano, Mellotron and upbeat drums and bass make this uptempo instrumental another winner. The true adventurer in this one is the Mellotron (especially in trying to keep up with that piano). The main melody is quite familiar. Awesome jam--like an ANEKDOTEN live jam. (9/10)

11. "Aladdin och lampan, del 1" (0:49) heavily treated solo piano. It's pretty. And still quite DUNGEN/ESTES-like. 12. "Aladdin och lampan, del 2" (1:12) flute and upright piano take the leads for this one--over bass, drums and acoustic guitar. Nice flute play. Strange fade out into 'radio background' while "del 1" returns.

13. "Achmed och Peri Banu" (3:10) broody, moody, and deeply emotional, this gorgeous song sounds like it could come out of some Greek tragedy film--except for the KOOP-like bass play. Incredible song! I feel like crying! (10/10)

14. "Andarnas Krig" (6:21) the only long song on the album, it opens with some Hendrix-like feeback & distortion strums of electric guitar. Alone. At 0:40 the rest of the band kicks in to create a jam that is truly reminiscent of the best psychedlia from the late 1960s and early 1970s (both CREAM and NEKTAR come to mind). The pace gradually picks up until, by the fourth minute, the speed is almost breakneck. Just when you wonder whether they can go any faster or if the guitar shredding (literally) can get more frenetic, everything starts to 'crash' and 'fall apart.' (What kind of animated film was this??!) But then the phoenix gathers up its ashes and begins to pull itself back together for one more sprint into frenzied chaos. Wow! Quite free for all; quite a jam. THE WHO at their most violent. Makes one wonder what the studio looked like after this song was over! Amazing! (9.5/10)

A masterpiece of progressive rock music and one film that I definitely want to see (if it has this soundtrack attached to it)!

I must admit I've lost track of this band over the last several years as the last album I bought from them was their 2008 release called "4". "Haxan" is their first all instrumental album and it's a soundtrack for what is believed to be the oldest cartoon in existence, a silent film called "The Adventures Of Prince Achmed" from 1926. "Haxan" is Swedish for Witch, one of the characters of this film. The appeal for me is the abundance of mellotron on this one, plus the many spacey sounds along with floating organ. I am surprised at how heavy and raw the final tune is, very much a fuzzed out guitar driven tune.

"Peri Banu Vid Sjon" is a trippy tune with percussion, bass and atmosphere. "Jakten Genom Skogen" is one of my favourites. Just a beautiful sound to this one with the acoustic guitar and mellotron. It picks up as the percussion and bass join in. Man that mellotron/ drum sound is incredible! "Wak- Wak's Porter" is surprisingly noisy with flute playing over top. Not big on this one.

"Den Fattige Aladdin" is a short and light flute led piece with shuffling drums. "Trollkarlen Och Fa Geldrakten" opens with bass as piano, drums and more kicks in. This is repetitive with experimental sounds over top. The rhythm stops after 3 1/2 minutes as the organ continues to the end. "Grotten" is spacey throughout. "Haxan" is heavy sounding with plenty of fuzz until it mellows out before 2 minutes and eventually keys join the repetitive beat.

"Aladdins Flykt Over Havlt" has lots of keys and deep sounds. "Kalifen" reminds me a lot of PROCOL HARUM with that organ sound leading the way. That vibe changes though when the guitar expressions and keyboard sounds take over with a beat. "Achmed Flyger" is another favourite of mine. Piano to start before we get hit with a mellotron storm, head for cover! A driving rhythm kicks in quickly and the mellotron here is relentless until it gives way to flute before 3 minutes but the mellotron does return later. Great tune!

"Aladdin Och Lampan, Del 1" features laid back piano lines that come and go throughout. "Aladdin Och Lampan, Del 2" is flute driven with a beat. "Achmed Och Peri Banu" opens with piano and it will come and go as we get a bass line joining in. This is fairly simple and laid back. "Andarnas Krig" ends the album as I mentioned earlier in a raw and heavy manner with lots of distorted guitar from Fiske. They just seem to jam in a heavy way.

I do prefer the spacey sections, especially the mellotron driven ones over this heavy tune and the odd other heavy section on this album. Still a very solid 4 stars for this mellotron feast, one of the better mellotron albums of 2016.