Short Reviews [Trettioariga Kriget - 2021 - "Till Horisonten"]

Trettioariga Kriget (Thirty Years War) were formed in Sweden in 1970, and were active through that decade before breaking up in 1981. There were a few reunion concerts in the Nineties, before they reformed, and they have been active ever since. Their Seventies albums were reissued in the early 2000’s, when I reviewed them, plus I reviewed their 2004 album ‘Elden Av Ar’ but must confess to having lost contact with them since then and have missed out on the three studio albums between that and this their newest, released in 2021. One thing which is incredibly unusual, is that while not every person involved in this album was there in 1970, or even played on every album they have released, the “new boy” is keyboard player Mats Lindberg who has only been with the band since 1977! One of the real joys of this is that it is very much a progressive album which could have been released by the band in their first decade, with traditional sounds and approach. But they are not a band trying to look back in time and create something based on modern influences and retro, these guys really were doing it more than 40 years ago, with a few of them having now been involved with the band for 50 years and more. There are times when they use acoustic guitars, others when the keyboards are much more to the fore, while for me the vocals are another instrument as they sing in Swedish. There is an incredible depth to the music, as well as a great use of space. They have a relaxed approach and sit back inside the music, allowing it to flow and move around them as opposed to always driving it forward. This patience and control are key aspects of the music which is deep, broad, and classic. It sounds like classic prog, but with modern production and approach, and this combination makes for a very enjoyable release indeed. Progheads certainly need to check this out.