Artist: Ritual Album: The Hemulic Voluntary Band (2007) Label: InsideOut Music Website: http://www.ritual.se Reviewer: Bill Knispel

Track List: 01. The Hemulic Voluntary Band 02. In The Wild 03. Late In November 04. The Groke 05. Waiting By The Bridge 06. A Dangerous Journey Ritual’s been around since 1995. Unfairly overshadowed, I think, by a few of the better known Swedish prog bands of their era (I’m thinking Flower Kings, perhaps the reunited Kaipa...even though vocalist Patrik Lundström contributes to that band...possibly Landberk, et cetera), Ritual has released three diverse albums of music that demand rapt listener attention. Far from simple background music, a song can comfortably shift from elegant pastorals to raucous rock and roll at a moment’s notice, only to revert back without breaking a sweat. The Hemulic Voluntary Band, Ritual’s fourth full-length album, is really an album of split personalities, in more ways than one. The first 5 songs all clock in between 5 and six minutes, with an emphasis on heavier sounds, some crunch, and rock attitude...wrapped around melodic tunes and tricky, quirky arrangements. The sixth song, on the other hand...the sixth song almost sounds like a totally different band. But more about that song in a bit. “The Hemulic Voluntary Band” opens the album in good fashion, with counterpoint rhythms and vocal melodies that would make the Shulman brothers (of Gentle Giant) green with envy. It’s a deceptively quirky composition with hooks galore, hooks that will remain stuck in your cranium for days and which will arise, unbidden, to be hummed at any possible moment. As if that’s not enough, Ritual shifts into a slightly heavier mode on “In the Wild,” the album’s second track. But that’s not good enough...as we move toward the lead out, piano starts being played, and as the band is faded out, a gorgeous piano melody takes the main theme and plays it out, interpolating some slight variations and improvisatory elements. Quite the change up, from an arrangement standpoint, yet one that works perfectly. A few seconds of silence follow, and then the band bursts forth with a re-interpreted look at the melodic themes. “Late in November” has quite a chilly sound to it, appropriate to the title. Patrik Lundström’s vocals take on a more plaintive, fragile timbre, especially when compared to the rougher rock stance he showed on the previous two tracks. Appropriately, the song is fairly acoustic, with harmonium and flute adding a melodious sorrow. The song is gorgeous, showing an attention to detail and sublimation to the melody and song that many bands pass by in favour of instrumental fireworks...even if the song is a ballad and doesn’t require it. This is followed by “The Groke,” an almost dirge-y mid-tempo piece that often has me reaching for Revolver and Rubber Soul by the Beatles...thankfully it’s more of a “Hey, this sounds kinda like...” rather than “Oh, they lifted this section wholesale from...”. The vibe in general is mid-period Beatles, and it’s one of the nicer homages (intentional or otherwise) that I have heard. Even so, Ritual’s sound shines through, and there’s a stridency in the beat and instrumentation that is theirs and theirs alone. The final short track, “Waiting by the Bridge,” features some of Ritual’s quirkiest playing on the album. Without vocals, I’d have believed you if you played this for me and told me it was either a lost Gentle Giant track, or the first effort of a reunited band that had decided to record an album in the mode of Octopus or In a Glass House. Vocally the song is more layered and choral than the baroque/madrigal influences that informed Gentle Giant’s vocal arrangements, but the comparison stands. Again, Ritual takes the distinctive elements and makes them their own...while no one could deny the Gentle Giant influence on this song, it is unabashedly and unapologetically a Ritual song, and all the better for it. And that leaves...‘that song.’ The second half of The Hemulic Voluntary Band comes close to matching the length of the first five songs combined. “A Dangerous Journey” clocks in at comfortably over twenty-six minutes (26:33 to be precise), and takes the acoustic elements explored in brief on “Late in November” to the extreme. At times I hear elements of Genesis circa Foxtrot/Nursery Cryme, and again, these are more touchpoints than blatant ripoffs. Nowhere has Genesis used elements that are decidedly Swedish in terms of folk influence, yet I can hear them clearly in the music. The song is also decidedly darker in tone than the rest of the album...the few points of light within the song act as brief respites before the band moves back into the shadows. It takes Ritual nearly 11 minutes to break back into electric band mode, and when they do...wow. I don’t know that I can compare it to any other band...this is Ritual at their best on this album. The strongest point about this monstrous epic is that it doesn’t feel like a 26-minute long song. It holds the listener, enraptured, captured in a spell for the duration. I’ve already caught myself a few times hitting the track back button before the CD stops playing in order to take it all in again. For a modern prog band to do that with a song this length, well...it says something about how well they pulled it off. I really can’t say enough about Ritual here. Lundström’s vocals are emotive and rich, showing variety in delivery and sound to match the needs of the song. Jon Gamble’s contributions on a variety of keyboards add richness and colour to these varied compositions, while Fredrik Lindqvist’s use of diverse and interesting instrumentation (bouzouki, mandolin, et cetera) simply multiply that richness. Finally, Johan Nordgren’s drumming is precise and tight; his additional percussion contributions again adding to songs. Combined, the quartet that makes up Ritual bring some serious instrumental capabilities to bear in the six songs that make up The Hemulic Voluntary Band, but this shouldn’t overshadow the almost more impressive songwriting skills required to craft a tight 50 minute prog album that maintains interest from opening note to close. My last word? The Hemulic Voluntary Band easily earns a place on this writer’s year-end Top Ten list. Band Members: Patrik Lundström: vocals, guitars Jon Gamble: keyboards, harmonium, harmonica & vocals Fredrik Lindqvist: bass, bouzouki, mandolin, flutes, etc. Johan Nordgren: drums, percussion