Oh boy, am I excited for this one.
Now I’m not exactly sure how The Chronicles of Father Robin pinged my radar. Suffice to say, they certainly belong there. This Norwegian prog-rock “supergroup” features members of Wobbler, Tusmørke, The Samuel Jackson Five, and Jordsjø. Norwegian prog has been exploding as of late, and fans are willingly jumping before the shrapnel.
Admittedly, I’m only familiar with Wobbler, as they remain one my favorite new bands of the last 15 years. Nonetheless, once I heard about the project and their 30-years-in-the-making upcoming three-volume release The Songs & Tales of Airoea, my interest couldn’t have been more stoked. The website promised an epic 18-track sojourn rooted in fantasy novels, mythology, folk tales, and of course classic prog, folk, and rock music.
The story and music germinated out of decades of friendship, music, love of genre, personal growth, and endless conversation. And to kick the project off the ground, the band crowdfunded the album’s creation and successfully met their fundraising goal. With a limited edition box set of 500 copies funded and produced (with triple colored vinyl, maps, hi-res downloads, an illustrated booklet, and other goodies), The Songs & Tales of Airoea is set for release in June 2023.
If you’re interested, the box set is still available for purchase. While at €150 ($164 USD at time of writing) it’s certainly not cheap, but you’ve got to admit it’s one beautiful looking package:
If you’d rather wait for another purchase option, there will be individual vinyl, CD, and digital album releases on or around September 15th, 2023 for Book I of the project.
OK enough marketing, let’s get to the upcoming track review. This is Eleision Forest, the third track from the first album. Strap yourself in, this one’s about 12-minutes long. So let’s give it a listen, shall we?
Zowie!
This one hits immediately out of the gate with a hard driving riff, bringing the rock with commanding Hammonds, a thunderous bassline, and a powerful kinetic pulse. It then softens with flute and mellotron passages, bringing down the energy to an almost pastoral level. There’s a mystical feel to the track, with hints of vintage symphonic prog throughout; Yes and ELP comes immediately to the mind, among others.
What is undeniable is that the compositional richness, production values, and intricate musicianship are all top notch. What an exciting, hypnotic track. That keyboard solo mid-song is a particular standout, but there is so much to love here. And yet the totality of the track outsizes the impressiveness of its individual elements.
So yeah, if Eleision Forest is any indication, the entire The Songs & Tales of Airoea project will be the release to beat this year. I for one can’t wait to see what The Chronicles of Father Robin have in store for us.
If you’re still interested in the box set, head over to the band website to pre-order. Otherwise, you can pre-order from Bandcamp as well. As usual, we don’t do affiliate links or any such chicanery. Support the artist with no yutz muckery.
Mills
A South Florida native and part-time iguana, Mills has slaved in the mine-pits of Information Technology since 1995, finding solace in writing about the things he loves like music, fitness, movies, theme parks, gaming, and Norwegian Hammer Prancing. He has written and published hundreds (thousands?) of reviews since 2000, because Geeking Out over your obsessions is the Cosmic Order Of Things. He is, at heart, a 6'3 freewheeling Aquarius forever constrained by delusions of adequacy.