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ASOKA
"36 Years Later"
(July Morning)

Do you think that Metallica or Def Leppard take too long between new studio albums? Think again. The 36 years in the title of Sweden's Asoka refers to how long it took them to release a second album. With their roots in the 70s it's no wonder that this new album has that aura to it. It would be so lazy of me to just write that this is an album that could have been released in the 70s but there?s some truth to it. Musically it has more in common with the prog rock of the 70s than today's prog rock scene. But that doesn?t make this an irrelevant album by today's standard. The fact that most lyrics are written in Swedish and that the band has its roots in Southern Sweden may prompt some to compare them to another Swedish prog band from that same region but the truth couldn't be further from the line. Asoka is more rock oriented, even on the brink of attracting the attention of folks into Uriah Heep or Deep Purple. www.julymorning.nu

-Anders Ekdahl