A.C.T – Eternal Winter (CD)

 

A.C.T is and has in my opinion always been one of Sweden’s top rate progressive bands. It’s rare that a band doesn’t have at least one low in their career, but these guys have been on a high since day one. So, is it about to change? The short answer is – No! The band’s new, seventh, full length album kicks off with the track “The Family” in the classic A.C.T mode. Melodic, quirky and slightly proggy, not over the top. This is classic A.C.T material, ranging from soft keyboard parts to happy, up-tempo melodic quirkiness. “A New Beginning” starts off as a cool melodic poppy ballad, going into some heavier chord changes, still keeping the melodies of course. Really nice arrangement with lots of cool little surprises and some Saga-esque guitar/keyboard melodic soloing. A great track, indeed! “When Snow Was Magic” also starts off very soft and tender and then turns into a waltz type almost musical kind of number with a Christmas theme shining through. A beautiful song with Herman almost roaring in the third verse. Fantastic choirs, too! The start of “Waiting For The Sun” takes us back into classic A.C.T proginess with some cool funky guitars found in the verse, too. Another quite poppy number, it turns out, but with some heavy proggy riffing thrown in, and a cool up-tempo solo parts with keyboards and guitar. A nice blend, indeed! ”This Special Day” kicks off with some really cool heavy guitars and Styx-style keyboards, moving into a very poppy verse, a crushing heavy bridge. This one has turned into one of my absolute favorites on the album. Love the vibe and the quirkiness (yes, I use that word a lot when it comes to this band). Lots of stuff happen in this one! Moving on to “Signs” which also starts out pretty mellow with keyboards and vocals, but it still has a feeling of heaviness lurking in the shadows, and yes, there it is! The next verse moves into a cool up-tempo vibe, then into half-tempo heaviness. As usual we don’t know what to expect next, and the songs moves through a lot of different vibes and motions. Another killer song, indeed! “Home” kicks off in high gear, moves into half-tempo and then into slow mode. And that’s just the first 20 seconds! Soft, melodic and cool verse, but of course it doesn’t end there. The song floats in and out of different textures and vibes, but with that traditional A.CT ease and without feeling forced. Another cool guitar/keyboard interplay solo and a cool heavy section breaking it off, going into the guitar solo, back into another keyboard/guitar interplay that just gives you goosebumps. I change my mind, THIS is actually my favorite song. The album finishes with “The Big Parade” which could have been an old, resurrected show number, or something Freddy Mercury might have come up with. A cool way to end the album, totally unexpected! 

Janne Stark

Label: Actworld

Year: 2025

Country: Sweden

Highproject – Highproject (CDr)

Highproject is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring former Zello keyboard player Anders Altzarfeldt. Opening track “1000 People” reminds me a bit of vintage Asia, but with a slightly heavier edge. This was a really nice surprise! The album was one of the many Corona albums where the members recorded each at their own home/studio. You honestly can’t hear it. It all sounds very “together”. Besides Anders, the band features Stefan Andersson (Sonic State Capital) on bass, Bjarne Forsbom on guitar, Mikael Grönroos (ARA) on drums and Robert Johansson Lind (ARA, Heathen’s Eye, Ability) on vocals, acoustic guitar and percussions, plus guest singer Lovisa “Loa” Pigani. “Trust In Me” continues in the same vein, but also draws close to vintage classic prog bands like Nektar and Yes, and even a bit of early Saga here and there. Robert is an excellent singer with a broad range and a strong voice. Great melodic feel, too! The arrangements are quite intricate and there are a lot of different themes and passages in the songs which makes this a really interesting listen. “Prime Time” initially offers some pretty heavy and intense guitar riffing, but it soon switches gears into a heavy, yet dynamic vein with really cool keyboard patterns coloring the musical landscape. This is really brilliant, I must say! “Rhayader Goes To Town” is the only cover out of the six numbers, originally written by Camel. Even though I’m a big fan of progressive rock and bands like Kayak, Nektar, Yes etc., but I’ve never really listened to Camel. Listening to this song, I realize I probably should. I don’t know how close to the original these guys do it, but this is a really intricate and interesting song, indeed. Quite playful and with some really cool twists. This album REALLY deserves a proper release!! I know lots of prog fans who would drool over this! 

Label: private release

Country: Sweden

Year: 2023

Link: https://www.highprojectband.com/

A.C.T – Falling (MCD)

My favorite Swedish melodic progsters are back again! After two EPs, they now deliver what could be considered a classic 70s vinyl length album, clocking in a 30 minutes and 8 seconds, but would today be considered a mini-alnum. The album starts with the short “Fall In” intro which is just a short runway into the excellent heavy and melodic “Digging A Hole” with some really cool technical mid-sections. This is A.C.T in their prime. An outstanding song, indeed! Next up is “The Girl Without A Past” where we get to revisit Emilie who first had a song of her own on “Today’s Report”, and who still has problems with her memory. It’s a quirky song that starts out quite soft, but picks up into a pompy and theatrical chorus. There’s a lot of classic early Saga in the keyboard/synth arrangements, I feel. Lots of different vibes and parts, which really makes this listen experience a thrill. Next up we have the kinda stroll along, pretty straight forward and slightly poppy “Breathe”, a song you can’t help bobbing your head to. Despite being “straight forward”, it of course has some really cool and quirky passages, especially in the solo section. With A.C.T “straight forward” isn’t really the same as AC/DC “straight forward”. There are different levels , you know. “A Race Against Time” gets us into a heavy, energetic proggy intro with a pretty naked verse that moves into a power bridge. Another hard hitting number that shows A.C.T has so many more tricks to show us. This is brutal!! “One Last Goodbye” is really classic sounding A.C.T in their strutty, prog-pop vein. As usual the vocal layers and harmonies are exquisite, the musical technicalities and arrangements are out of this world. “The Earth Will Be Gone” gets us back into the theatrical and pompy world, of course with some reggae-infused parts thrown in for good measure. A very interesting vocal mid-section which really enhances the theatrics, and almost moves us into a Broadway musical. These guys never cease to surprise and amaze. Listening to this CD is definitely the best spent 30 minutes today! 

Janne Stark

Label: ACT World

Country: Sweden

Year: 2023

A.C.T – Rebirth (MCD)

My favorite Swedish melodic progsters are back!!! YES!! The band’s new EP (hopefully just a taste of what’s to come) is a 5-track release in a nice digipack. Opener “Ruler Of The World” throws us straight back to A.C.T in their prime. Poppy, proggy, melodic, rocking, the perfect mix! “Running Out Of Luck” continues in the same vein. This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for! Rebirth? Hell yeah!! “Digital Affair” starts off in a humanoid, futuristic vein, with a touch of early Saga (can’t remember the track right now), continues in the classic half-tempo, heavy yet melodic A.C.T manner. A different, but really cool track! Love it! “Meet The Past” is a poppy, up-tempo number, with the true happy-rock A.C.T vibe to it. Ooops, there was a bit of reggae, then comes an ABBA-esque part, going into City Boy territory. That’s what I love about this band, how they seamlessly go from style to style without missing a beat or making it feel strange. Closing track “A Broken Trust” brings out the heavy artillery! Powerful guitars, heavy rhythms and chugging guitars, but still so melodic. This is melodic prog in its finest form. Ola’s guitar solo is just genius! One of my favorite tracks! Quite honestly, A.C.T have always sounded great, but now they sound better than ever!! Now my appetite for a full album has really been awoken (so… what was that little teaser at the end of the last track?)!! Damn, this band is great!!

Janne Stark

Label: Self-released

Year: 2019

Country: Sweden

Link: www.actworl.se