"Above Below Within" is the second full length album by Swedish psychedelic rock quintet NOCTURNALIA (formerly known as NOCTURNAL). After a change of their name, they also rounded their line up with new guitar player Linus Lundgren who also recorded and mixed the album in his home studio. As opposed to their debut album, "Above Below Within" was self-produced. The band defines the album as artistic attempt to "collaborate with different kinds of artists and thus putting further emphasis on the artistic expression." Among the list of artists NOCTURNALIA collaborated with are creative director Mattias Ekeblad, painter Zlatan Dukic and classical pianist Elena Zorina, all enlisted to contribute in developing a more refined visual and musical concept.  Actually, "Above Below Within" can be viewed more as a first step in a new direction than a second album.

Sound wise, the music is a very authentic reproduction of 70' Progressive and Hard Rock bands. If you are a fan of the  LED ZEPPELIN/PINK FLOYDera, you will feel at home right away. Linus' vocals sometimes bare to much resemblance to Bruce Dickinson;s, but a- has an individual sound most of the time  b- well, it's not such a bad thing to sound a little like MAIDEN's front man, is it?

Although the albums' concept seems interesting in the beginning, there are moments in which it's lost. The album suffers from long instrumental parts that rarely change dynamics, making the players sound as if they lack the fire of the original bands of the genre. Another element that doesn't serve the general purpose is the albums' tempo. All songs pretty much pace, what makes it hard to notice the development you would expect from a concept album. Hopefully the bands artistic courage will help them deliver a more accurate album next time.