KATTVALS

Great but extremely short-lived Swedish trio.Fred Hellman on keyboards played with the bands Down Beat Crowd and Zoom in the 60's, while drummer Rune Carlsson had already entered the Swedish Progg scene as a collaborator of Bo Hansson and Björn J:son Lindh.The trio was completed with talented guitarist Finn Sjöberg, who played also the flute and bass.Kvartetten Som Sprängde's only album came out in 1973 on the tiny Gump label.

With a mix of Psychedelic Rock and certain Classical, Jazz and Scandinavian inspirations, Kvartetten Som Sprängde played an interesting Prog Fusion with an elaborate sound, which often bursts extreme amounts of energy and fading 60's colors through the heavy use of (Farfisa?) organ.Bands like KEBNEKAISE, HANSSON & KARLSSON and RAGNAROK are the most obvious comparisons.Led by a flawless drumming and some intense grooves, the music passes through folky tunes, played on Sjoberg's guitar, and massive, heavy organ runs to jazzy textures and haunting, Classical-drenched themes, the comfort of the trio to switch between different moods being absolutely incredible.The vintage organ comes from late-60's and the jazzy flavors are cleverly adapted in a Heavy/Psych Rock matrix.At times these guys get even virtuosic and pretty loose with nice jams and furious solos, but soon they will get back in a structured mode with the Scandinavian taste being all around.The result is complex enough and well-crafted music, filled with rich and emphatic passages, you will hardly believe that only three musicians could create such dense musical ideas.

The trio backed up Bernt Staf on his solo album ''Valhall'' from the same year, before disbanding.Sjoberg had the best career of all three guys, releasing a personal album in 1978 and appearing in numerous albums as a guest musician, he also collaborated with Bo Hansson in 1975, while Carlsson, who had a strong Jazz background, remained involved mostly in Jazz-related projects.

Very nice jazzy, instrumental Psych/Prog, performed with passion.Great purchase for all fans of 70's Scandinavian Prog, as a couple of resissues do exist.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.