A 2017 album, From Silence to Somewhere by Wobbler, an essential masterpiece of Progressive Rock, but this band has two essential albums for this genre, and their subsequent 2020 album Dwellers of the Deep is also an absolute masterpiece.
From Silence to Somewhere is their fourth studio album and their absolute masterpiece. This is the result of a significant effort that lasted about five years since the release of their previous album, Rites at Dawn, in 2011.
During the period between the release of Rites at Dawn (2011) and From Silence to Somewhere (2017), the band members were extremely active in various parallel projects.
Lars Fredrik Frøislie co-founded the psychedelic folk-prog band Tusmørke in 2011, releasing albums such as Underjordisk Tusmørke (2012), Riset bak speilet (2014), and Hinsides (2017). He continued his collaboration with the great White Willow, playing on their album Terminal Twilight (2011), as well as collaborations with metal and rock bands such as Trollfest (En Kvest for den Hellige Gral, 2011), Shining (VII/Född Förlorare, 2011), and Koldbrann (Vertigo, 2013).
Andreas Wettergreen Strømman Prestmo became the band's manager, organizing tours in Italy and England, and dedicated himself to The Chronicles of Father Robin, an ambitious prog supergroup (which also included Hultgren). Recording and songwriting sessions for the project began in those years, although the albums were only released later.
Kristian Karl Hultgren played with the band Spirits of the Dead, a stoner/psychedelic rock project, and toured and performed with various local artists, ranging from jazz to pop and rock.
Martin Nordrum Kneppen played in the new project Tusmørke with Frøislie.
The album saw the addition of Geir Marius Bergom Halleland on guitar in 2011, replacing original guitarist Morten Andreas Eriksen. Like many members of the Norwegian prog scene, the Wobbler members maintain regular jobs outside of music. Eriksen's departure was amicable, allowing him to focus on other aspects of his life and diverse musical interests. An eclectic musician, he long played bass in the heavy metal band Thunderbolt and collaborated with the group The Guardian's Office, which took stylistic directions other than the symphonic rock of Wobbler. Finding a replacement compatible with the group's intricate style took nearly three years, ultimately leading to the arrival of Marius Halleland, a childhood friend of keyboardist Lars Fredrik Frøislie.
Between 2011 and 2017, the group focused on extensive live performances to "break in" the new lineup before entering the studio to record From Silence to Somewhere, a major undertaking that allowed the band to develop the sound that would later lead to the worldwide success of this splendid album in 2017.
The production focused on the use of pre-1975 analog instruments, such as the Mellotron, Hammond C3 organ, and Minimoog, recorded without the aid of MIDI technology. Although the album is not a concept album, the four splendid tracks are linked by recurring themes, addressing the theme of change, the constant transition from life to death, and rebirth.
Compared to their previous album, Rites at Dawn, the tone is dark and the atmosphere introspective, typically Nordic.
The album runs for approximately 47 minutes and features four epic tracks:
- From Silence to Somewhere, a suite lasting approximately 21 minutes, is a monumental piece that begins with a pastoral atmosphere featuring a splendid flute, guitar, and keyboard part and evolves into dark, edgy sections with the magnificent Rickenbacker bass.
The piece is composed of three parts: "Humus," "Corpus," and "Epilogue." A masterpiece.
- Rendered in Shades of Green is a short, instrumental piece lasting approximately 2 minutes. After the complexity of the first track, it gives way to meditative atmospheres, with a beautiful piano accompanied by Mellotron and percussion. It's brief but intense.
- "Fermented Hours," at about 10 minutes, is a compelling and chaotic piece with some great Hammond organ work and a massive crescendo at the end, a great song with some amazing guitar riffs.
- "Foxlight" is another masterpiece, over 13 minutes long, with an acoustic opening featuring flutes, glockenspiel, and bass clarinet, which builds into a heavy jam with fantastic harpsichord and medieval-style vocal harmonies, and an explosive finale, a wall of sound. Fantastic.
The artwork reflects the band's vintage aesthetic.
The front cover illustration is from the "Cabala Mineralis," a 17th-century alchemical manuscript attributed to Siméon ben Cantara. The image, courtesy of the Warburg Institute, evokes the theme of the transformation of matter and spirit.
The overall design was by Thomas Kaldhol, under the artistic direction of the band's lead singer, Andreas Wettergreen Strømman Prestmo.
The interior illustration is Edward Robert Hughes's "Oh, What's That in the Hollow?" (1893), a haunting Pre-Raphaelite watercolor inspired by Christina Rossetti's poem "Amor Mundi."
The work depicts two lovers walking a path of worldly pleasures, only to find themselves faced with a "slender corpse" lying among withered brambles and blooming roses, courtesy of the Royal Watercolor Society, an image that perfectly evokes the album's melancholy and pastoral atmosphere.
From Silence to Somewhere is the turning point that brought symphonic progressive rock back to the center of the global prog scene and redefined the concept of "analog high fidelity." Unlike many modern bands who imitate the sound of the '70s using software and digital technology, Wobbler demonstrated that the use of Mellotron, Hammond, and Rickenbacker, recorded without excessive digital compression, produces unparalleled sonic dynamics.
One of the finest prog albums of all time, it has reached the pinnacle of modern audiences despite the extreme length of the tracks.
The Norwegian scene continues to bring audiences of the genre I love new bands and masterpieces, like this one, which received a well-deserved triumph upon its release. An essential album, a must-have in your collection, along with Dwellers of the Deep, their most recent album.
Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page.
Tracklist
1. From Silence to Somewhere (20:59) :
- Part 1: Humus - All That Becomes and Perishes
- Part 2: Corpus - That No One of Existing Things Doth Perish, but Men in Error Speak of Their Changes as Destructions and as Deaths
- Epilogue
2. Rendered in Shades of Green (2:05)
3. Fermented Hours (10:10)
4. Foxlight (13:19)
Duration 46:33
LineUp
- Andreas Wettergreen Strømman Prestmo - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, percussion, brass bell, children's toy (?)
- Marius Halleland - 6- and 12-string acoustic and electric guitar, backing vocals
- Lars Fredrik Frøislie - Hammond C3, Mellotron, Minimoog Model D, Chamberlin, Hohner clavinet, Rhodes MKII, spinet, ARP Axxe/Pro Soloist, Solina String Ensemble, Optigan, Wurlitzer 200, Marxophone, grand piano, backing vocals
- Kristian Karl Hultgren - bass, pedalboard, wind instruments
- Martin Nordrum Kneppen - drums, wind instruments
With:
- Ketil Vestrum Einarsen - flute (1, 4)
- Renato Manzi - elderly voice (3)
- Øystein Bech Gadmar - horn (4)
.jpeg "Rites At Dawn by Wobbler")