Ritual - 1995 - Ritual

(60:00; Karisma Records [2026 Edition])

More than 30 years on from when it was first released, Ritual’s debut album is finally available on vinyl, care of Karisma Records. For those reading about the underground scene in 2026 it must be incredibly difficult to understand just how hard it was to discover albums and bands back in the Nineties in the days before internet as there were no glossy magazines dedicated to the genre, and the only people writing about the scene were the nutters (like me) who were running fanzines. Actually, I didn’t come across this album at the time (which is weird as back then I was covering everything Musea was releasing) but instead came across it in 2004 when it was reissued and remastered by SPV. I took the CD from the shelf just now and smiled when I read the sticker on the cover which says it features Patrik Lundström from Kaipa, which is true as he was part of the “new” Kaipa line-up in 2000, and is still there today, but he is also still in Ritual who released their latest album, ‘The Story of Mr. Bogd Pt.1’ in 2024. Strangely enough the sticker does not mention he also fronted the pop trio Blond at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin in 1997 where Sweden finished 16th (this was the year the UK had Katrina and the Waves, who finished 24th).

It has been incredibly enjoyable going back to an album I first reviewed so long ago, as I had forgotten just how wonderfully good this is. Even back in 1995 it was very different to the rest of the scene, which is probably due to the line-up and instruments as while Patrik (vocals, electric, acoustic guitars) was using a fairly standard setup, Fredrik Lindqvist was combining bass, bouzouki, mandola, mandolin, hammered dulcimer, recorders, tin whistles and vocals, Johan Nodrgen  was on drums, percussion, mallets, Jew’s Harp and vocals with Jon Gamble providing keyboards, harmonica, vocals. For a debut album this is hugely expansive as one can never be sure what is going to happen from one song to the next as this is a band that really does want to be taken as being ‘progressive’, not ‘regressive’. Some of the songs are much closer to folk than anything else containing some elements of Gryphon, while Gentle Giant are obviously a huge influence (listen to “A Little More Like Me” to see what I mean)  while others just belt along and of course some do both. Patrik’s vocals are very clear, and he is as much at home singing gently in “The Way Of Things” or stretching out when the need is required. That song is a million miles away from “Typhoons Decide” which is far more complex and dynamic, with lots of movement between different styles: an album that progheads would do well to seek out. 

They never really come across as Swedish, and are far removed from what was happening with The Flower Kings and Anekdoten, and were also very different to the rest of the ‘neo-prog’ crowd, and the result is an album which is as fresh today in 2026 as it was in 1995, and I can only hope this vinyl reissue will gain them new fans as this is still a great release. 

Kev Rowland, March 2026

Links:
https://www.ritual.se/
https://www.karismarecords.no/