LEGEND

This album and this band has been a big disappointment to me, maybe due the different expectations I had towards them, the reality not matching my own personal taste. I got the CD version with bonus materials, and it starts promisingly with a single cut "One Day", cellos and flutes entwining together in a traditional way. But as the track really opens later, there are brought forth in my opinion annoying pop drumming, and this element accompanied by vocal and melodic harmonies appearing disturbing to my ears, I feel really quite uncomfortable whilst listening this stuff. "Marshy Legend" continues with similar style. The musicians are evidently technically very skilled, as there are witty twists in the rhythms and arrangements, but stylistically their music sadly mostly irritated me. On this track we hear also "demonic voices" familiar from Walt Disney cartoons, accompanied later with furious bellowing, until the song ends up with the annoying theme on which it started. "Resignation" gives me some associations of The Beatles, only here the orchestrations are more sophisticated than on their recordings. This mellow track is one of the better ones here in my opinion, though it sounds more like a pop song to my ear than a medieval folk tune. "8 Years Later" starts with good classical music sounding themes, soon accompanied by an electric guitar. This track rolls also quite well, until the vocal parts are introduced. Wow, that boy choir just sounds irritating to me. Without that element, this composition would have been very good. And then "Senseless No. 6" is one of the most banal anti-Vietnam songs I have yet heard, though wars should always be condemned. The short track "Wall Bungalow" is a real gem here for me with fragile piano and pretty flute melody, and lacking both menacing chorus singings and drums. These beautiful moments among the elements which I can't stand make my feelings towards this record even more complex, it's like getting a gourmet dinner consisting from caviar, oysters and BigMac hamburgers. "Empty Land" starts nicely, but moves toward pathos and tension build ups which didn't please me. Then we get the 16 minutes long "Groove Inside", and this is nearly the best track here, being a very archaic open improvisational number. Still, there is one thing hidden here, which made me really upset: Instead of ending up this great jam with dignity, the group starts to mimic a Beatles song in a very silly druggy manner. Do these things happen if the players are stoned when doing recordings? The whole piece of gold was ruined with that outburst, what a waste in my opinion. The two following 1969 demo songs are then quite forgettable tunes inspired by the band upon which they spat on their previous track. It seems that many listeners have enjoyed this record quite much, so if you're interested in early German proggy folk and music with strong melodic flute presence, give this one a listen. But I personally couldn't recommend anyone to buy it blindly, as the ancient themed name and beautiful medieval package brought a big disappointment to me.