KALLOCAIN

After the release of ''Timeloss'' Reine Fiske left the band, although he remained strictly involved in the music industry, playing with several Psych, Jazz Rock and Art Rock bands and collaborating with some others like Elephant9.His place was taken by Berklee alumnus Peter Nylander and with this formation the band recorded the second album ''Kallocain'', named after a sci-fi novel by Swedish female author Karin Boye.They were now listed in the crew of Inside Out (which also reissued the debut of the band) and Steven Wilson was responsible for the mix.

Paatos kept doing what they were originally intended to: Producing Nordic-flavored, atmospheric and melancholic music with a definite progressive enviroment, but also refering to a wider audience due to the modern elements injected in their music, like the Post-Rock moods, the metronomic beats and the vocal distortions, blended with some obvious Pop sensibilities.But you just can't leave aside the LANDBERK leftovers and the artistic attitude of the band, as their pieces still contained symphonic orchestrations, psychedelic edges and heavier segments.This inspired use of Mellotron and organ next to the Post-Rock hard-edged guitars and the Scandinavian colors can only be achieved by mature and talented bands.As with LANDBERK, their music bursted some evident blinks to very early KING CRIMSON and the stunning efforts of ANEKDOTEN with the Mellotron and cello popping up here and there, while the guitars and the rhythm section have a much more intense and less refined value.Imagine this sound blended with BJORK's experiments, that is a good dash of Trip Hop, Art Pop and Electronic sounds, moreover filled with crystalline vocals in lyrics plus a nice touch of 70's Scandinavian Psych/Prog with balanced guitar moves.

When we talk about the past meeting the present, Paatos' ''Kallocain'' should be thrown into the discussion.A very modern-sounding album, which keeps the principles of 70's Prog up high.Post Prog/Psych/Pop with a genuine sound overall, no less than strongly recommended...3.5 stars.