Post by ZombyWoof on Aug 10, 2012 14:39:48 GMT -5
One of the most legendary bands in the recent prog rock revival, Änglagård, from Sweden, began in the Summer of 1991 when acoustic guitarist Tord Lindman and bassist Johan Brand began looking for musicians interested in making music in the style of such early prog bands such as King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Samla Mammas Manna, and Shylock. Eventually, with the addition of Thomas Johnsson on bass, Jonas Engdegård on guitar, Anna Holmgren on flute, and teenage prodigy Mattias Olsson on drums, the classic Änglagård lineup was completed in the Spring on 1992, a name which translates into "Box of Angels", so named after Lindman's grandmother's collection of artistic images of angels.
Throughout the Spring and Summer of 1992, the band honed their original compositions, simultaneously playing several highly regarded concerts in Stockholm and recording and arranging material for their classic debut, "Hybris" (which translates to hubris - the deadly sin of all-encompassing, arrogant pride). The style on "Hybris" can best be described as symphonic, combining classic 70's style Hammond organ, mellotron, Rickenbacker bass, and gorgeous flute work, all with an incredible dynamic punch that could contrast beauty and brutality in every one of their compositions.
After performing at Progfest in LA in May of 1993, the band recorded their followup, 1994's "Epilog" which features a band at the height of tension between members, ultimately recording the most somber of the three Änglagård releases, with plenty of jarring shifts. As a whole, "Epilog" is perhaps the most 'complete' of the Änglagård albums, flowing more like a 40 minute suite than a collection of pieces. Not long after, the band split up following the November 1994 Progfest performance which bore the live album "Buried Alive" to move onto other projects.
Nine years later, however, the legendary band which released two phenomenal albums and disappeared reunited (minus Tord Lindman) to play the fifth NEARfest in Trenton, 2003, a festival which they shared with such classic bands as Camel and Magma, leading them to sell out all 600 CDs they brought to the merch table. Shortly thereafter, the band slumped back into hibernation.
After another nine years, Änglagård have been revived once again and spent most of the fall and winter of 2011 recording their highly anticipated third release, "Viljans Öga" (translation: "Eye of the Will") which was released in June 2012 to the NEARfest crowd, directly off the press, and before the shrink wrap had been applied. As a NEARfest attendee, I witnessed the band actually putting the booklets and CD's into the paper tri-fold covers and signing them for fans! The new album is simply stunning. It has all of the roller coaster twists and turns of classic Änglagård and has the sound of the most epic modern Classical music you can imagine.
This morning, I contacted Anna Holmgren and Mattias Olsson and they have graciously agreed to answer your questions! I don't know if we'll hear from the entire band or not, but I will send the questions to Mattias and Anna and see what happens. Please refrain from asking questions if you are unfamiliar with the band's stunning material. This is understandable, since the band's first album was released in the year of my birth and I just discovered them in December 2011 ... yes, I know I'm behind the curve!
Here are some samples of the bands' work:
You can buy the band's albums here:
www.alvarsdotter.com/Welcome.html
An excellent fan-site (since the official one is not working for some reason):
www.anglagard.net/introduction.htm
So there you go, folks, start your questions ... Mattias has challenged us to surprise him, so let's see what we can do!
