Isildur's Bane Thread

[wideopenears]

Been reviewing their stuff lately, and noticed we haven't had any discussions about them on PE in....a while.

What are they up to now?

Anyone know? They have quite a varied discography, with everything from symphonic, orchestral stuff, through fusion and experimental music.....MIND Vol. 5 struck me as their most "poppy" though I wouldn't call it commercial...."poppy" may even be a stretch.

Thoughts? Favorites? I like Mind Vol. 1, and also Cheval--very different records.

[calyx]

Favorites? I like Mind Vol. 1, and also Cheval--very different records.

I also like these, but The Voyage and MIND Vol. 2 are also firm favourites, the latter for the live version of "The Voyage" with full orchestra and guests (Bjorn J:son Lindh...) which is just one of the best examples of orchestral prog I can think of.

I think it's high time Isildurs Bane make a strong move to reinstall themselves as major protagonist of the prog scene, which they were in the late 90s and early 00s. It seems that for years they've been concentrating on the IB Expo events, which only a privileged few have enjoyed and heard, since there is no official documentation to this day. And I must say I didn't find the post-Vol. 2 MIND albums as good as the first two.

So, I'm really hoping for a strong, new album sooner rather than later !

[SteveSly]

I have mixed feelings on them. Some of their stuff I have really liked and some not so much. I would probably also go with "Mind Vol 1" as my favorite.

[mellotron storm]

The only one i've been able to really enjoy is Vol. 2 the live one for some reason and that one really isn't my cup of tea but I can't help but be impressed.

[Digital_Man]

The only one I've ever heard was "the voyage" but I liked how it blended prog, chamber classical and light jazz.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Mind Vol 1-3 are pretty excellent, with Vol2 being the standout IMO.

I sadly missed the voyage, but the one sample I heard from it was quite nice.

[Sunhillow]

My favourites are Mind Vol 2 Live and Mind Vol 4: Pass.

[ChrisXymphonia]

Basically I like all of their releases except for the freeform improv MIND Vol. 3 (if anyone is intereted I am willing to part with it. Contact me through PM). AFAIK Isildurs Bane as a going band is finished. At least that is what I got from various replies on FB. What I find weird that no official live recording have ever beem released of the IB Expo concerts. So many great collaborations it seems happening there.

[BrianG]

I've been following them since their performance at NEARFest in 2002. I agree with the impression that IB as a band is finished, but I thought Thomas had posted something on the Facebook page last year about another album in the works. They once had an email newsletter, but that languished about three years ago.
And the publishing issue is frustrating for us non-Swedish fans. The only IB Expo to be published was pretty experimental and not very interesting (MIND V. 3). With their stellar list of guest appearances - Tony Levin and the Stick Men, Liesbeth Lambrecht and other members of Aranis, Mastoletto, and lots of others - there is no shortage of material. In addition, I remember that Mats Johansson did some side projects over the years, mostly keyboard ideas, that came up on his FB page.

I foresee an eight-CD compilation set including the Best of IB Expo, recordings of new projects, an extensive booklet with Johansson's ideas on music and art, and a poster of the band. OK - which label is in?!!

[simon moon]

Love this band!

The Voyage and Mind Vol I are my favorites, but they have so much great stuff.

There performance (before the vocalist was added) at Baja Prog in 2000 was unbelievable great.

[Yanks2014]

Good band. Didn't even know there was a "Mind Vol. 5". I liked vol. 4 a lot, including the vocals. I know the vocalist turned some fans off when they played Nearfest, but not me.

[Smörgåsbord]

I saw them live in 2003, a great set with a lot of "Mind" material. One of the best shows I've seen.

[Dave (in MA)]

I haven't checked them out before, probably because their name is taken from that tiresome hobbit crap. Should I?

[TheH]

I bought their first two LPs back then, which I haven't heard in ages but rember as rather nice.

I totally love Mind Vol. 2, that really is an awesome album (and works much better than Vol 1 (which is great too).

[calyx]

I haven't checked them out before, probably because their name is taken from that tiresome hobbit crap. Should I?

Absolutely. Remember this band was formed in 1976, and was a VERY different beast in the early days... Their first two albums were symphonic prog à la Camel (mixed with strong elements of Nordic folk music), then the next two added brass and moved away from sympho to a slightly jazzier sound. "Cheval" in 1989 was a turning point - with the use of more advanced composition techniques and expanded orchestral instrumentation. "The Voyage" in 1991 marked the culmination of this phase, even including pure chamber pieces. Around that time a CD of Johansson music performed by the Zorn Trio (regular collaborators of IB since "Cheval") was put out, which is highly recommended too. It included a suite called "La Rûche", which provided material for the band's next project, "MIND Volume 1", which again featured the band throughout, but augmented with guests (flute, trombone...) and is probably the best starting point. "MIND Volume 2" was a collection of live material on a double CD. About 2/3rds of that is some of the best music IB has ever produced, but mostly reworkings of older music. The new material on that is a little underwhelming sadly, though still good. In their various ways, the next volumes of MIND were also (imho) relative disappointments based on the promise of the original instalment. There was a DVD put out at the end of the MIND series. I haven't seen it - would people who have it recommend it ?

[spacefreak]

I've been a follower since the early 80s and have all their albums, up and including "Mind #2" . My favourites are "Voyage", "Mind #1" and "Cheval".

[Scrotum Scissor]

I find them a most impressive band, and I thought the transition from Bo Hansson/Camel-like "symphonic" rock act into full-blown contemporary chamber-jazz/rock with the MIND series was astounding. I like their earlier stuff as well. Overall a rather underrated band, I'd say.

[ChrisXymphonia]

Good band. Didn't even know there was a "Mind Vol. 5". I liked vol. 4 a lot, including the vocals. I know the vocalist turned some fans off when they played Nearfest, but not me.

MIND Vol. 5 is a live dvd.

I was at that NEARfest performance as well and although they did well the pieces with the vocalist somehow weren't working. It is however interesting to note that this performance predated the MIND Vol. 4 album and I believe much of what they did with vocals on that album (with the same vocalist) was informed by the playing of these pieces live. They knew something wasn't working, even employed an outside producer to help them, rewrote some of the pieces and eventually created a very strong album that again combined all the familiar elements of IB with new things, in this case highly accesible melodic songs that at that time reminded me of Peter Gabriel's UP album.

[spacefreak]

I thought the transition from Bo Hansson/Camel-like "symphonic" rock act into full-blown contemporary chamber-jazz/rock with the MIND series was astounding.

Exactly. The IB Expo events must have played a major role in that musical trajectory.

[calyx]

The IB Expo events must have played a major role in that musical trajectory.

No. The IB Expo events happened AFTER the whole MIND series.

[spacefreak]

No. The IB Expo events happened AFTER the whole MIND series.

My error. I've been misled cause my CD version of "Voyage" contains some flyers with info on them... They are labelled IB Expo-09 and I thought it was the ninth event but it proved to be from 2009.

[Zeuhlmate]

Funny. I skipped them long ago beacuse of the symph affinity, but this thread and its participators made me curious.
This is great - lots of Zappa & RIO in there...

Mind volume 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVlQdtEeh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntWPTZwM_5A

[Scrotum Scissor]

Funny. I skipped them long ago beacuse of the symph affinity, but this thread and its participators made me curious.
This is great - lots of Zappa & RIO in there...

Mind volume 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVlQdtEeh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntWPTZwM_5A

What was almost overwhelmingly surprising about the MIND thing when it started out, was not only the vast musical transition but the fascinating quality of the recording and production concepts, realized through extensive funding which apparently made it possible for them to employ a rather large orchestral ensemble backing. This, I think, resulted in that grand, huge sound of a seemingly thousand details - and a sound palette more resembling the likes of Arvo Pärt than your usual chamber-fusion band. And they managed to remain highly melodic in their metrical structure, rendering their music perhaps a bit more accessible than many an experimental, "rehearsal-intensive" kind of group.

[arise_shine]

I haven't listened to IB in a while, but I recall liking the idea of the band much more than their actual music. To me, only MIND Vol. 1 came close to living up to their high-brow vision for the IB project. Cheval and Voyage, I found too light and thin-sounding. I recall liking (not loving) the two Sagan albums. Their performance at NEARfest was very disappointing. Even the instrumental portions, I had a hard time getting into. I felt like it was missing something. And then the songs with the vocalist: ugh. Not as horrible a contrast as when After Crying brought a singer on stage, but .. yeah.

[calyx]

Their performance at NEARfest was very disappointing. Even the instrumental portions, I had a hard time getting into. I felt like it was missing something.

I made myself a CD with just the instrumental tracks from that performance, and it's an excellent CD.