Forgotten Jewels: Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side – Pathfinder

9/10

During my almost daily excursions on the fertile fields of progressive rock and metal, I have once and again come to the same conclusion. There MUST be something in the water, air or soil in Scandinavia that facilitates creating world class music. No matter of genre within genre, be it from progressive extreme metal (Meshuggah, old school Opeth, Theory in Practice), moody melancholic (Evergrey, Leprous, Soen, Katatonia), melodic progressive metal (Seventh Wonder, Circus Maximus, Paralydium), symphonic rock (Moon Safari, Windom End), classic prog rock (The Flower Kings, Magic Pie, Karmakanic) to classic progressive metal (Seventh Dimension, Andromeda, Pagan’s Mind), Scandinavian bands deliver. And brilliantly so. Almost always.

So whether there’s something in our scandinavian DNA-profiles or just a matter of happy coincidences, progressive rock/metal has a special standing in the nordic countries and I couldn’t be happier about that fact.

The forgotten gem I am going to be examining this time around comes from one of the more obscure artists/bands I have shone a spotlight on since this columns inception but one that I believe will find a much larger audience in the future. Multiinstrumentalist (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards etc) Jonas Lindberg and his band has taken leaps and bounds since their debut, 2008’s EP In Secret Pace.

2016 saw the release of the bands debut album, Pathfinder and what a fantastic record it is! The wide array of influences, ranging from Kansas, Saga, Yes (Talk-era) and Genesis, with dashes of AOR and hints of progressive hardrock flows effortlessly throughout the incredibly well crafted songs. The main man himself shares vocal duties with a terrific duo consisting of Jonas Sundqvist and Jenny Storm and as they are all really strong singers, the vocal aspect is absolute top tier, as is just about everything else on display here. The musicianship is wonderful as it is tighter than a really tight thing but still groovy as hell with a truckload of catchy hooks.

I could without a problem randomly pick any of the songs on the record and fill page after page waxing lyrical about it. Jonas and company succeeds the almost impossible task of being very accessible while still being quite demanding music wise, delivering every note with precision, vibrant emotion and poignancy.

So do yourself a solid and support the band by checking out the links below as I’m almost certain that a large percentage of Stargazed Magazine’s readers would really take a liking to Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side given the opportunity.

Artist: Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side
Title: Pathfinder
Label: Lindberg Music
Playing Time: 54 minutes
Rating: 9/10
Place of origin: Sweden
Standout tracks: Square One, Closer To The Sun, Lost

https://www.lindbergmusic.com/

Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side (bandcamhttps://jonaslindbergtheotherside.bandcamp.com/?from=search&search_item_id=2775711999&search_item_type=b&search_match_part=%3F&search_page_id=2027720675&search_page_no=1&search_rank=1&search_sig=06998d03e3a6b692f9d6e4078813b775p.com)

https://open.spotify.com/album/2kuinrTxAcSpaEwSD44iAC?si=9PGlonKjQAGU2wZVsLPUHw

Band members:

Jonas Lindberg – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Lead- and backing vocals

Jonas Sundqvist – Lead Vocals

Jenny Storm – Lead Vocals

Jonathan Lundberg – Drums

Nicklas Thelin – Guitars

Calle Stålenbring – Guitars

Maria Olsson – Percussion

Michael Olsson – Keyboards (RIP)