THE APPROBATION

Yet another Norwegian band pops into Prog World--yet this one is more exciting than most in that its members are all quite youthful--and none of them have participated (yet) in the rather incestuous member-swapping that has produced so many "new" bands in the past ten years. I really like the isolated winter cabin concept (from René Magritte's "The Lovers") behind these songs.

1. "Østerdalen" (0:26) a couple guitar arpeggios lead into: 2. "The Pale Moon" (6:15) powerful opening leads into a very sedate yet satisfying multi-instrument weave. In the second half of the second minute a pleasing sustained-note electric guitar enters, shifts a couple times, and then disappears to be replaced by Mellotron before the vocals begin. The vocals and their melodies are quite nice, sounding a bit like mid-2010s VOTUM or KARNIVOOL. Great sound palette--full dynamic spread. At 5:15 some heavy power chords and riffs take over, giving the song quite an ominous downturn as the wailing sustained lead guitar rejoins. Then at 6:00 growl vocals enter to finish the song. Wow! Impressive! (9.25/10)

3. "Isolation" (5:40) opens like a fairly standard with syncopated "Eye of the Tiger"-like guitar chord intro with second guitar shredding fast arpeggi riffs. The music takes a few turns in the second minute--as if this is an overture (since there has been no singing up to this point)--a feeling that is augmenteed by yet another mood and stylistic shift in the second half of the third minute. Gentle singing voice enters at 3:15 over this gentler (though still metal--latent with potential energy) section as if just another instrument. Guitar riffing returns (though in the background) between vocal passages. Another tempo and stylistic shift works its way out at the end of the fifth minute allowing for a nice synth solo in the sixth. Very interesting song yet it feels like an awful lot of unresolved issues have been left loose. (8.875/10)

4. "The Great White River" (6:30) Very interesting dynamic between the syncopated electric guitar chord strumming and the much calmer, more simplified bass and drum rhythm track. When the vocals enter (over a much calmer, more pop-proggy soundscape) in the second minute I am reminded of a cross between SMALLTAPE/TINYFISH and ALAN PARSONS PROJECT. Very interesting. Surprisingly saccharine melodies. Quite pretty (especially considering the lyrics seem to be about the contemplation of death's unexpected and yet unavoidable arrival). Growl vocals at the four-minute mark, but then we return to the dreamy, floaty APP/TINYFISH sonic field for the finish. A top three song. (8.875/10)

5. "Arcane Clouds" (6:03) a gorgsous song that sounds like a cross between VIENNA CIRCLE and the softer side of KARNIVOOL or THE PINAEAPPLE THIEF. Some very nice, unexpected, shifts in sound and pacing--even style--especially for the excellent choruses and the disquieting finale. Quite pretty and fully/mature proggy. A top three song for me. (9.25/10)

6. "Anodyne" (10:14) the first five minutes are totally instrumental and full-on heavy prog-by-numbers--like a warm up of RUSH, whereas the second half turns into quite the lovely, melodic, atmospheric vocal music. Hard to rate cuz the first half is mediocre though impressive while the second half is pretty though syrupy. (17.5/20)

7. "The Approbation" (13:36) wonderful, bombastic NeoProg opening sounding like something from MYSTERY or NINE STONES CLOSE, backs off to arpeggiated acoustic guitar chords until 1:15 when the NeoProg bombast returns. So nice! At 1:48 the guitars take us into some metal music (though the drums remain rather constant and controlled--very cool!). Muted/effected lead vocals sound metallic--as if the singer might go off into some growls at any minute--but the music slides into surrealistic dreamscapes for the fifth minute as percussives fill all of the sonic field--until, that is, the progression of power chords enters at 4:30 and gradually take us into an instrumental exercise similar to OPETH c. 1998. At the end of the sixth minute the music shifts into more staccato-rapid fire drum and guitar rhythm-making but then we switch back to the OPETH-like motif (and backa nd forth again) while Edvard's lead guitar wails away somewhere in the inner sanctum. At 7:50 everything cuts out--as if a nuclear explosion or EMP just shuts everything down--leaving industrial devastation ... until guitar and Mellotron bring back some forward momentum. Nice drumplay shows progress as power chords plod forward. The surrounding sound builds layer by layer as the melodic chord progression rhythmically repeats over and over. The final 45 seconds are just wrap up and decay. Who knew this was going to be all instrumental?! (26.625/30)

Total Time: 47:04

I really like the unexpected turns and often quite-mature prog songscapes and song constructs this band of young persons uses. They will definitely be a band that I will follow as their career continues to unfold.

B+/4.5 stars; a most excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection. I think everybody's going to like this--even the dinosaurs!