Tracks
1) Jordrök
2) Vandringar I Vilsenhet
3) Ifrån Klarhet Till Klarhet
4) Kung Bore
5) Ganglat Fran Knapptibble 2000 re-master (Bonus track).,

Musicians
Tord Lindman Guitars and vocals
Jonas Engdegård Guitars
Thomas Johnson Keyboards
Anna Holmgren Flute
Johan Högberg Bass
Mattias Olsson Drums and percussion

Homepage : http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/ronc/anglahome.html

Hybris (or hubris) - Origin : Greek
1.Arrogant pride or presumption
2.Presumptuous pride that invites disaster
3.Very great pride and belief in your own importance.
4. (In Greek tragedy) Excessive pride towards or defiance of the
gods, leading to nemesis.


Now I have found what this album title means, I can truly say that I have never come across a more aptly named work. Originally released in 1992, Hybris is one of, perhaps THE, lost classic of modern Prog, and that's Prog with a skyscraping, heavy-duty capital P.

I have a blank spot in my Prog history, which roughly ranges from 1987 to 1997. I got married etc, and as there also appeared to be nothing happening, just plain lost interest in the whole scene. It was BoA new boy Gareth that, on our first meeting, highly recommended me to listen to this album at my very first opportunity. Only one problem - it was deleted.

So, I thought, let's just ring my favourite supplier (GFT) and see if there was a dusty copy just forgotten in the warehouse. "Ah, I can do better than that," said Malcolm. "It's been re-mastered, has a bonus track, and I've got a few of its limited (500) run". Ker-ching! - SOLD!

What is it about Sweden? Once the land of boring cars, porn, ABBA and suicide, it now seems to have become the European if not worldwide centre of the Progressive movement. Must be the long nights . . . What happened in 1992 to start this mini-revolution I don't rightly know, but can only guess….

In a deep Scandinavian forest six young and extremely talented musicians were out to prove that there was one major 'Symphonic' Prog album left to be made. 1.Arrogant pride or presumption

To aid their task they each brought with them one classic album of the genre:-

Camel - The Snow Goose
The Enid - In The Region Of The Summer Stars
Focus - Moving Waves
Genesis - Trespass
Gryphon - Midnight Mushrumps
King Crimson - Red
Yes - Close To The Edge

They then proceeded to take these albums apart, analysed what made them instrumentally 'tick', learnt all their tricks and nuances and then set out to make something better - 3.Very great pride and belief in your own importance.

The amazing thing is they mostly succeeded.

It took me a while to fully appreciate this album - but Hybris is just PURE Prog heaven.

From the opening piano figure of Jordrök you are taken on a complicated, extremely satisfying musical ride into the annals of all that was once good and great with the original 'symphonic' movement. Within this one track the bleak pastoral awareness of 'The Snow Goose' meets the heavy Mellotron-driven chaos of 'Red'. The classical compositions of The Enid meet the delightful English folk of Gryphon. On the first few plays it's a bit overwhelming and easy to dismiss (as I almost did). But with repeated listens you are truly rewarded, as the album's overtly complex melodic structure unfolds and reveals itself.

The twin guitar work of Tord and Jonas echoes Hackett and Akkerman at their finest. Anna's flute - Thijs Van Leer (but better). Thomas' keyboards (purely analogue or acoustic) - The Enid's Robert John Godfrey (but with a MAJOR Mellotron fixation). However, Johan Högberg's bass work combined with Mattias Olsson's drums and percussion is just something 'better' than I have ever heard in the Classic Prog idiom. You would have to look at least to the fringes of the Jazz world to find a rhythm unit of this quality.

The thing that I really appreciate is that with all these virtuoso musicians no one person or section is allowed to dominate the proceedings. All skills are, of course, blatantly shown off but kept within the tight structure of the compositions.

The only letdown of the whole album is the occasional Swedish vocals (now I realize why Swedish bands sing in English). However they are very few and far between and if you treat them as just another instrument they don't distract your attention too much.

After some very well received concerts in Stockholm, in 1994 the band recorded the follow-up album, the totally instrumental EPILOG. 'Epilog', some say, is even finer than 'Hybris'. I don't know, because - you guessed it - it's deleted (if anyone out there reading this has a copy for sale - please email me). The same year the band made the flight across the Atlantic to storm 'Progfest'. And then . . .

What happened to them, I don't think anyone knows. Their official site has not been updated since 1995 when this was placed on it: -

Date: 18 Apr 1995 13:46:46 GMT Subject: Re: Swedish prog update
What we're doing musically follows here:
Johan (bass) - Studying at a music-school close to Uppsala.
Anna (flute and tennis) - Studying at a music-school in Katrineholm.
Tord (guitars and coffee-machine) - Studying at music-school in Stockholm.
Thomas (keyboards) and Jonas (guitars) - Totally isolated, writing music.
Mattias (drums and heavy coffee-drinker) - Playing with a commercial pop-band.

But maybe the best clue is this from the liner notes of the re-master: -

This music is built on a very human base. through conflict. It's created with the thought of each person's momentary feelings, with a lot of variations as a starting point.
Personal feelings and the impulsiveness has been the hardest adversary in our struggle to put the tunes together. We don't seek a well balanced of predictable entirety.
This pot is cooked by six fanatic cooks, each one a victim of HYBRIS.

2.Presumptuous pride that invites disaster.

Ian Oakley January 2001