Flax - One (1976) : Norwegian progressive

     Flax were an eccentric hard prog band from Oslo, who began in 1971. A gem of an album, One was recorded in 1975, but wasn't released until '76, by which time the band had temporarily split.

Commercially it was a strange year for an album of this nature to be released (hence poor sales), as it doesn't really sit with what else was happening, although vocalist extraordinaire, Hermod Falch, had a sometimes sinister snarl, which was often very punk rock in execution. Having said that, it was largely contrasted with almost Queen-like operatic harmonies.

Opener Demon In Your Heart, is a freakish, theatrical heavy prog masterpiece. It alone makes One worthy of investigation. Full of heavy riffs, psychotic time changes, spacey synthesizers and evil vocals, it's a track you won't forget in a hurry. Obvious comparisons/influences could be Uriah Heep, early Scorpions, Machine Head-era Deep Purple etc, although the complex Flax sound is unique. The album has a fantastic, multi-layered production with dynamic range, which the band were not apparently pleased with at the time.

Other highlights include the Purple-esque Pain In The Arse, the infectiously schizophrenic Clever Man and Crusaders, a glorious acid-prog tale documenting the plight of medieval foot soldiers. Musicianship is exceptional throughout, most notably in the wizardry of guitarist John Hesla and his keyboard-playing brother Lars.