Though Sweden had a healthy psychedelic progressive movement in the early 70s, Trettioariga Kriget (or the more proper spelling Trettioåriga Kriget) added a large dose of frenetic heaviness into the mix, and arguably laid down the ultimate Swedish progressive rock blueprint. Sounding like a weird mutant of Led Zeppelin and Yes, the music starts off in a ferocious manner and never truly lets up. A quartet of two guitars, bass, and drums, Trettioariga Kriget is one of the most exciting rides at the progressive rock theme park. There are no traditional keyboards, but plenty of mellotron to add an eerie feeling to the proceedings. And that gets us to vocalist Robert Zima. He has quite the pipes and can scream with the best of them. But it's the Swedish lyrics that are front and center. When I say Swedish, I mean with a capital S. The language plays a critical key role into the overall sound of Trettioariga Kriget, which is why they were the forbearers of the Swedish retro prog movement that ultimately led to Anglagard, Landberk, and the rest of them. Zima is an unlikely hero in this case, given that he himself was from Vienna, Austria! No matter, he went to high school with most of the band, and clearly mastered the language. It's really hard to pick a favorite, as every track is a 5 star winner, but I'd go with 'Röster Från Minus Till Plus' which encapsulates their overall sound best.
Ownership: LP: 1974 Epic Yet another one of my top LPs, I bought this at a time (1988) when I had precisely zero prog albums from Sweden. It was another album that shaped my tastes for the future. And yes, it was yet another great discovery at VVV. So my stone mint copy remains. I love the simple single sleeve sword cover, and there's something entirely cool about the back cover as well.
CD: 2004 Mellotronen. Tri-fold digi-pak. Superb edition that contains a full history written by lyricist Olle Thornvall, as well as containing three very relevant prog tracks totaling close to 20 minutes. Essential supplement.
1//88; 8/22/21 (new entry)
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