PÅ STERKE VINGER

Truly a fascinating release from yet another overlooked band out of the 70's. Høst played twin-guitarleads a couple of years ahead of Iron Maiden, so one could say they had their roots in full-fledged hard rock. Combine that with the operatic vocalwork from Geir Jahren and the folky melodies composed by S. Rønning and you got the groove that is "På Sterke Vinger". They also managed to sneak in a couple of timesignature changes here and there just to spice up the whole mix, and they pull it off with a lot of credibility. The musicianship is outstanding. Knut R. Lie and Bernt Bodahl really secured the heavy foundation. You will find that type of evidence on track 6, "Samhold", where they groove on a heavy riff played in 7/8 time. "Fattig, men Fri" (poor but free) displays a little bit what the band was about in lyrical terms. This is indeed a heavy bohemian rock anthem. The lyrical content is about a man telling the world that he would rather be a lonely drifter without having materialistic objects like money. This lyrical concept can be found throughout the whole album.

My personal highlight on this album has got to be Satans Skorpe. A neverending groove with a highpitched howl from Geir Jahren at the end of the track. Truly an excellent hard rock track.

This album won't get full score from me, mostly because of "I Ly Av Mørket" and "Dit Vi Må". They aren't exactly fillers, but they fail to outconquer the great melodies which can be found on the other tracks. An excellent addition to any prog music collection! I would recommend this album to prog rockers, people who listen to metal and to the hard rock fans.

Truly a lost gem!

If I were to recommend similiar music out of Norway, I would say Popol Vuh (they later changed their name to Popol Ace). Their leadvocalist was Jahn Teigen who wields the same type of vocalstyle as Geir Jahren did. The music of Popol Vuh/Ace is quite a different story as they nod their heads a little bit more to the krautrockscene in Germany.