Duality
Cemafor, 2025
8/10
The Swedish prog-rock wizard Johan Steensland fleshes out a rock opera about a couple’s chaotic break up, where Aleena Gibson and Per Nilsson, plus others are in attendance.
“Fragments” starts the listen with a calm beauty, where gentle melody and some fuller bursts enter, and it isn’t long until Ingemar Brandt’s intimate piano and Ture Trygger’s dreamy flute surround the expressive singing of “Only Good Men”.
Further along, Per Nilsson lends meticulous guitar to the thumping and soaring prog climate, while “Let Me In!” is a harmonic duet that balances softness with louder bouts of emotive songwriting.
Deeper still, “Black Sea” enlists Owe Eriksson’s skilled bass via the heartfelt delivery, and “Here And Now” exits with Steensland’s poetic pipes and Gibson’s colorful voice in a dreamy, soothing finish that weaves and out of many ideas in its 10 minutes.
A striking body of work that’s moody, sometimes firm, other times gentle, Steensland and company draw us into the story with intricate song craft and a very passionate execution.
Travels well with: Myth Of Logic- The Memory Of After; Spriggan Mist- The Glare