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Thread: FEATURED ALBUM: Änglagård- Hybris

  1. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progatron View Post
    Yes, the early days of the internet really (not counting old 80s BBS modem systems etc.)... I loved those early digest groups like Paperlate, Notes From The Edge, The National Midnight Star, Freaks... what was the Gentle Giant one again? Kevin Gilbert was on there... anyway, like I mentioned earlier, Hybris was sent to me in 1993 as part of a tape trade from someone in California if memory serves. We used to do a lot of live boot tape trading etc... looooonnng before some of those shows were cleaned up ('remastered') and easily obtained via assorted download methods. The idea of transferring that amount of data back then was practically unheard of. Besides, what if someone needed to use the phone?

    I'm pretty sure Greg Walker was selling his music via a catalogue in those days, I can't quite remember. But I did order Hybris as soon as I could. It was only about a year later that Epilog came out and then the live album (along with boot cassettes of them on their U.S. tour, where they often played "The Musical Box" with a wildly out-of-tune mellotron). And then - silence - for about eighteen years until wonderful album #3.
    Hmm, I'm wondering if that person was me? I live in California (have my whole life) and I used to do a lot of tape trades with people. The reason I wonder if it was me is because Atavism of Twilight and Anglagard are two bands I remember making tapes of for people, in addition to lots of live show trading. I used to frequent the old Fidonet echo called 60S_70S_PROGROCK in the 90s. I was its moderator at one time.

    Anyway, on-topic, yes Hybris is a must-have for any Prog fan.

  2. #52
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    What a fantastic album! The sound is sharp and organic at the same time. I have no idea how they managed to balance clarity and feeling. I also have no idea how they came up with all the weird harmonies. I do know that the band was influenced by obscure prog bands rather than the big ones (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson), at least, consciously. There are six different editions of Hybris:
    LP 1992 (Colours, COSLP 013)
    CD 1992 (Mellotronen, MelloCD 004)
    CD 2000 (Mellotronen, MelloCD 4004)
    CD 2003 (Exergy, EX 9)
    CD 2009 (Anglagard Records)
    CD 2013 (Disk Union, ARC3035)
    The last one is the Japanese Mini-LP version. All but the 1992 releases have "Gånglåt från Knapptibble" as bonus track. I have the last four... :-) I have no fancy story about how I got the album. I bought a copy from Ken Golden / LaserCD, which arrived on December 7th, 2000. In terms of tape trading, a Californian once sent me a copy of the Milwaukee tape back in the days, which was very generous (I hadn't anything to offer in return) and made me totally happy!

  3. #53
    This CD is so friggin great I can't even put it into words.

    Still pinching myself to realize I've seen this band LIVE twice (both NF)

  4. #54
    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    Yes, I'm familiar with SFF, Cathedral, TK, and others.
    For the record; I'm the one who mentioned those groups, but I never applied the "d"-word. Like I stated, ânglagård's approach to lineary structure was quite refreshing and peculiar - if not innovative. I still think they did a helluva lot better on their second and third albums, but this was one mutha debut.

    For actually "derivative" so-called progressive rock... Well, I won't even go there. At least not in this thread.
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  5. #55
    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    I first heard a bit of Hybris at a listening party in early ’93, but my first real experience with them was at their US concert debut at Royce Hall in L.A. that Memorial Day weekend.
    Yep, that was my introduction to this album as well. I was lucky enough to snag one of the few remaining CDs they had at PF '93, and you could tell the band were completely gobsmacked that they sold out of their stock so quickly. I've always been a bit more of an IQ-head, so I rate their performance (my first time seeing them live) at that festival higher, but I think everyone in the room knew they were watching something special that night.

    Ah, I long for the days when a little festival with no money could bring a band like Anglagard all the way to LA for a one-off.

  6. #56
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    Yes, I'm familiar with SFF, Cathedral, TK, and others. And yes, there are similarities in dynamics, texture, and composition. There's no doubt they have cited SFF as an influence. But for me, there are only certain elements and passages that remind me of Anglagard's work. And there's only so much of SFF's work that can be referenced. It's like if you hear a "signature" Crimson guitar, ELP organ excursion, or Yes vocal harmonies. These are less derivative per se, and more influences in my opinion - to such extent that I can take any band that's exalted here and point out their influences.
    I had a musician friend (guitarist who a superb Gibson Les Paul) that knew all of the 70's giants and not-so-giants' music quite well... When I made him listen to angla in the mid-90's, he asled me to loan himl the CD for three weeks... He made a list of all the lifted passages from Anglagard 's Hybris... I remember seeing the list ... there weren't many holes where he couldn't find "the inspiration"...
    Though I believe him (still nowadays), I never took the list he wanted to give me, because I guess I didn't want to know just "how much/bad" it was... I loved Angla's music (still do), and didn't want to be drawn away from it. Thing is that nowadays I wouldn't know where this guy's whereabouts... Haven't seen him for at least a decade...
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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    I like this one a lot.

  8. #58
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by clarkray View Post
    Hmm, I'm wondering if that person was me? I live in California (have my whole life) and I used to do a lot of tape trades with people. The reason I wonder if it was me is because Atavism of Twilight and Anglagard are two bands I remember making tapes of for people, in addition to lots of live show trading. I used to frequent the old Fidonet echo called 60S_70S_PROGROCK in the 90s. I was its moderator at one time.
    Clark, I'm quite sure it was you! I actually PM'ed you a week or so ago because I recognized your name. Check that.

    I remember the Fidonet channel well, as well as a number of other people from that time. When a package of tapes would arrive in the mail, it was always a joyous occasion. Anyway, don't mean to derail the thread.
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  9. #59
    Member Oreb's Avatar
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    Really solid, but not as good as Epilog IMO.

    Does it matter that this waste of time is what makes a life for you?

  10. #60
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    I really liked the album, although I must admit the writing style was a bit odd. They would come up with a section/phrase, repeat it so you knew it wasn't a mistake, then do another section, repeat it, then another...

    But it didn't stop me from enjoying the very retro quality and interesting phrases in the music.
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  11. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mikhael View Post
    I really liked the album, although I must admit the writing style was a bit odd. They would come up with a section/phrase, repeat it so you knew it wasn't a mistake, then do another section, repeat it, then another...
    Go listen to something like "Karn Evil 9" by ELP. Same thing -- come up with a phrase, repeat it once or twice, maybe a bridge to another phrase, repeat that a couple times. It gets to where you wonder if people are conscious of the fact they're stitching together arrangements that way.
    Last edited by Paulrus; 08-16-2013 at 03:05 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    Regarding the "derivative" nature of Anglagard, I have to call BS. Just because we know the influences of the band and you can spot 5-10 seconds here or there that sound like something you've heard, there really is very little out there that Anglagard sounded like at the time. Fans of 70s prog have always been critical of bands who are "copycats" and I think the immense, almost across the board respect that fans feel about Anglagard - even 20 years later - speaks more volumes as to it's uniqueness and individuality than anything else.





    I've found most native English speaking prog fans are turned off by foreign language vocals in general - with Italian symph being the primary exception.
    With me I listen to a lot of opera and most of that is in a foreign language, so it's not the language that bothers me as much as the vocals themselves. Soon as they come on I cringe pretty much the same way when I here Steve Howe sing.

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    I agree with this notion about arrangements that are mostly a chain of individual parts. With "Hybris", I like both the parts and the transitions. It's one of the key aspects I consider "progressive" - as in "not an ordinary pop song structure". Such an approach can, of course, backfire. I suspect that the band was so busy writing their first collaborative material that the songs just happened that way.

    My impression is that on "Viljans Öga", the arrangements became much more intricate. It's actually the main difference to my ears, and - if I have to name a reason - why I like the third album (which by the way contains both of the songs that were played at NEARfest 2003) best. The main melodies keep popping up throughout the song. For example, I just love how two of the hooklines of "Ur Vilande" are played simultaneously at the 6.30 mark - and it all fits and sounds hauntingly beautiful. "Sorgmantel" sustains its main groove throughout much of the song while a lot of different stuff happens overhead. Again, fragments of catchy melodies appear throughout the song and make me happy, happy, happy. This being said, "Hybris" is still a masterpiece!

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    I agree with this notion about arrangements that are mostly a chain of individual parts.

    This is one of my faults with the two Anglagard cd's I have. The parts are disjointed with no cohesion.

    Rick

  15. #65
    Estimated Prophet notallwhowander's Avatar
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    I felt that they put their influences on their collective sleeve on this one. They still managed to be authentic, imo.
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  16. #66
    Quote Originally Posted by Paulrus View Post
    Go listen to something like "Karn Evel 9" by ELP. Same thing -- come up with a phrase, repeat it once or twice, maybe a bridge to another phrase, repeat that a couple times. It gets to where you wonder if people are conscious of the fact they're stitching together arrangements that way.
    The compositional style, if not the actual sound, reminds me of Finch. Some bands did this with more success than others, see Dice’s The Four Riders of the Apocalypse, which comes across to me as a chaotic mess of disparate parts thrown together haphazardly. There’s a grace and flow to Änglagård’s and Finch’s compositions. Anyway, I prefer it to the Spock’s Beard school of composing (i.e.: take a stack of half-finished AOR anthems, glue them together with some Berklee College diddling and call them “suites” ).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    The compositional style, if not the actual sound, reminds me of Finch. Some bands did this with more success than others, see Dice’s The Four Riders of the Apocalypse, which comes across to me as a chaotic mess of disparate parts thrown together haphazardly. There’s a grace and flow to Änglagård’s and Finch’s compositions. Anyway, I prefer it to the Spock’s Beard school of composing (i.e.: take a stack of half-finished AOR anthems, glue them together with some Berklee College diddling and call them “suites” ).

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    Seriously, did you have to go into the Beard bashing?

  18. #68
    Quote Originally Posted by JIF View Post
    did you have to go into the Beard bashing?
    His criticism is wholly at place - it's not "bashing". There's no denying those dudes are good musicians, but their "pieces" are strings of Richard Marx-tunes glued together by GGiant'ish interludes and Beatle-esque fanfares - that's just how some of us hear it. It's all about the "IMHO" factor, of course. However, for meticulously through-composed "symphonic" progressive rock, I'd much rather hint at The Enid (albeit not too much "rock"), later era Gryphon, Alas from Argentina, Stern Combo Meissen, Gorizont/Horizont (from Russia), Trilogy (the German band) et al.

    Or one could go all the way and take in "Living In the Heart of the Beast" by Henry Cow - by which point you'd have a hard time returning.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    His criticism is wholly at place - it's not "bashing". There's no denying those dudes are good musicians, but their "pieces" are strings of Richard Marx-tunes glued together by GGiant'ish interludes and Beatle-esque fanfares - that's just how some of us hear it. It's all about the "IMHO" factor, of course. However, for meticulously through-composed "symphonic" progressive rock, I'd much rather hint at The Enid (albeit not too much "rock"), later era Gryphon, Alas from Argentina, Stern Combo Meissen, Gorizont/Horizont (from Russia), Trilogy (the German band) et al.

    Or one could go all the way and take in "Living In the Heart of the Beast" by Henry Cow - by which point you'd have a hard time returning.
    If Richard Marx could write a tune like Spock's, I'm sure that he would have more fans.

  20. #70
    Quote Originally Posted by JIF View Post
    Seriously, did you have to go into the Beard bashing?
    He is spot-on. At least that's exactly what my ears heard on the only Beard CD I ever gave a try ("V").
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    Quote Originally Posted by spacefreak View Post
    He is spot-on. At least that's exactly what my ears heard on the only Beard CD I ever gave a try ("V").
    If you've only heard one Beard CD, how can you judge them? They have ten other studio albums.

  22. #72
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    His criticism is wholly at place - it's not "bashing". There's no denying those dudes are good musicians, but their "pieces" are strings of Richard Marx-tunes glued together by GGiant'ish interludes and Beatle-esque fanfares - that's just how some of us hear it. It's all about the "IMHO" factor, of course. However, for meticulously through-composed "symphonic" progressive rock, I'd much rather hint at The Enid (albeit not too much "rock"), later era Gryphon, Alas from Argentina, Stern Combo Meissen, Gorizont/Horizont (from Russia), Trilogy (the German band) et al.
    Hey that's more eloquently put than I coud ever do so


    Quote Originally Posted by JIF View Post
    If Richard Marx could write a tune like Spock's, I'm sure that he would have more fans.
    I think he meant Groucho Marx... et least I read it that way

    Quote Originally Posted by spacefreak View Post
    He is spot-on. At least that's exactly what my ears heard on the only Beard CD I ever gave a try ("V").
    Quote Originally Posted by JIF View Post
    If you've only heard one Beard CD, how can you judge them? They have ten other studio albums.
    Well, I heard them all back then until V... and since I've only heard tracks here and there... I kind of prefer them without Neal Morse
    Last edited by Trane; 08-16-2013 at 04:26 AM.
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  23. #73
    Just my .02 that Hybris is a good but not great album. To me they got, ummmmm, progressively better on the next two. Viljans Oga is fantastic.


    Comparing Anglagard and Spock's Beard is kinda like comparing dovetail joints and Cool Whip.
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  24. #74
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    It's Neal Morse, not Steve Morse, Trane.

  25. #75
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JIF View Post
    It's Neal Morse, not Steve Morse, Trane.

    Ooooopsssss... I knew I'd fuck up on that one

    I'll correct
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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