TRETTIOARIGA KRIGET: Till Horisonten (PROGRESSIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

If the time of "Seaside Air" (2016), their previous album, the Swedes of Trettioåriga Kriget (The Thirty Years' War) had forsaken their native language for the benefit of English, "Till Horisonten" sees them renewing with the idiom they had defended until then on their eight previous albums. A fidelity to their roots which is also reflected in the exceptional stability of the line-up, unchanged since their beginnings almost 50 years ago.

So we are dealing with a veteran of the progressive music whose roots go back to the sources of a rock strongly typed 70's, having retained from the period the exotic character nimble with a melancholic sweetness rather than the experimental and adventurous side. Except for the introduction and the conclusion of 'Staden' whose dissonant guitars and cataclysmic rhythmic evoke King Crimson, the rest of the journey is rather calm and melodic.

Which does not mean boring. Because Trettioåriga Kriget plays intelligently with the duration of the tracks (from 49 seconds to almost 14 minutes) and the ambiences, avoiding any effect of weariness while preserving the album's homogeneity. 'In Memoriam' and 'Brevet' assume a dynamic and nervous rock, 'Tidigt' is adorned with atmospheric tints, 'Till en Vän' oozes melancholy and 'En Gång' breathes Scandinavian folklore. The bravest moment of the record, 'Vägen Till Horisonten', entirely instrumental, is a succession of melodious and soothing themes resembling a cross between Wishbone Ash, Camel and Genesis.

The melodies are mainly carried by Christer Åkerberg's electric or acoustic guitars. Omnipresent, they are declined in riffs and arpeggios, not forgetting to serve us delicious solos on most of the tracks. The bass must also be credited with a remarkable work, giving a lot of relief to the tracks, well helped by an efficient drumming. The keyboards show their presence most often in majestic layers. The vocals, shared between Robert Zima and Stefan Fredin, are sober, even neutral. Certainly the only weakness of the band, the most lenient listeners will find the phlegmatic character of Canterbury (Caravan, Camel, Hatfield & The North), the others will undoubtedly judge it monotonous.

With "Till Horisonten", Trettioåriga Kriget unfolds a delicate seventies progressive rock, devoid of complexity but tinged with some inventive touches and whose benevolent melancholy of the melodies plunges the listener into a soothing and relaxing universe, a real balm in the tormented and anxious period we are going through. - Official website

TRETTIOARIGA KRIGET

TILL HORISONTEN

AUTRE LABEL

PROGRESSIVE ROCK