So this morning I was checking the new progressive rock album released in September. What usually catches my attention is the country of origin of the artist. There were several bands from Italy, as well as The Netherlands, the UK, the US and one from Finland Lars Eric Mattson When I saw that Lion Music released the album, I thought, hey, I know that company! They released another album that I listened to recently, Marcus Jidell’s Pictures from a Time Traveller. When I went back to their website, there was Lars Eric, looking at me from right above Marcus…
When I read about Lars Eric, I discovered that he has performed since he was first discovered by Mike Varney (Guitar Player Magazine and Shrapnel Records ) in 1985! Since then he has released eight solo albums as well as group efforts with, Vision, Condition Red, Astral Groove to name a few. Epicentre is 23rd album of his career, The album has 18 new compositions and may be the most personal album he has recorded. Lars handles all the vocals on the album and the album has shorter more accessible songs and incorporates some new influences. From Lion Music:
Epicentre’ shows where Lars Eric Mattsson is in 2013. With a vast repertoire of music under his belt, whether under his own name, Mattsson, Book Of Reflections, Vision, Condition Red or Astral Groove, this new release sees Lars handle almost every aspect himself with the exception of drums by Christer Jansson.
On the new material Lars comments, “There are 18 tracks on this album, a few more than one might expect but I felt like it could not have been any shorter. Musically the album would not have been complete with fewer tracks as I wanted to paint a full picture of who I am and where I am today. I am also singing myself rather than working with someone else. During the writing process I think I came to find my own voice and felt that it was time for me to develop this to its fullest and here I am, a reborn veteran! It took about a year to finish this album and if this will be my last recording ever I would be happy with that. I have put all of my heart and soul into this album which I believe should be seen as an entity, just choosing one song is not going to be very representative as they are all different, yet all have what I guess is now considered a signature sound”. Continue Reading
I really didn’t have the time to give the album a good listen, but there were several tracks that as I listened, I also checked the title so that I would remember the name of the track (It often takes several times of doing this, until I remember the title) – One of the tracks was “I Don’t Know” and another “Freedom Fighters” On the Lion Music website, there is a listing of each track on the album. with a little blurb about the track. I think that before my second listen, I’ll check the tracks before I listen to them!!!
Here’s the track “Midnight Sun” which appears on his 2011 album, Aurora Borealis: Concerto For Orchestra & Electric Guitar (2011) As I listen to the track, this may be another album that I need to check out!! The guitar sounds great!!