MIKLAGÅRD

This actually isn't a bad album. MIKLAGARD were a trio from Sweden who have a GENESIS flavour to them, but i'd have to say that FRUITCAKE is the band they most remind me of.The vocal style and keyboards are similar to that Norwegian band. No guitar here but the bass is prominant and the drums and keyboards are well done. Some sax too.

"Kastraten" opens with organ before it kicks in with some nice bass. It settles quickly. Vocals after a minute with organ and drums. Synths come and go. Good song. "Tralen" opens with spoken vocals and gentle keys. A full sound before a minute with sax. The tempo continues to shift. "Astrologen" has a light and mellow soundscape as high pitched vocals arrive. "Narren" opens with violin, it kicks in before a minute. Synths wash in. Theatrical vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. The tempo picks up a minute later but it continues to change. Sax 3 minutes in.

"Haxan" opens with reserved vocals,bass and organ. The tempo picks up a minute in in this GENESIS flavoured track. "Mellanspel" features beautiful piano melodies throughout. "Soldaten" is the longest track at close to 13 minutes. Reserved vocals and organ to start. Spoken words follow. It kicks in rather heavily around a minute. Vocals join in. Nice bass too. A drum solo goes on for some time. Great sound before 5 1/2 minutes with drums, organ and bass. Spoken words and marching style drums take over as the contrasts continue between the spoken word sections and the instrumental passages continue.

A solid 3 stars.