Vocally, this is pretty bad. This is another case of a self- parodying, heavily-accented vocalist basically reading the lines off the lyric sheet. People seem to enjoy the "humor" of the lyrics and such, but I didn't shell out good money to be amused, and I really wasn't anyway. "Utopian Suntan" for instance is a particularly lame waltz in the style of Queen. The liner notes explain it as "a catchy tune about epithelial cancer." This might be funnier if someone else had bought the album and I got to read that. The 22- minute "epic" is patched together and drawn out, hampered by the silly narrative, but it has its moments. The lyrics are pretty stupid, so it's really the music that does the talking here. Again, it's decent, but nothing that hasn't been done better elsewhere. This is without a doubt lower-tier progressive. That said, Dice released another all-instrumental album recently from old master tapes entitled Four Riders of the Apocalypse. That album is considered a classic in some circles. Based on the instrumental prowess shown by the group on Dice, I can believe it. However, one should only seek Dice out if he really has a need for obscure 70s progressive, and would simply be pleased with competence.

Dice were an obscure Swedish band from the late 1970's who released one album and then disappeared until the rabid Japanese symphonic progressive fans caught wind of their existence in the late 1980's, and legend status was born. According to insider information, box loads of their private album were sent to Japan from Sweden and then auctioned off to an enthusiastic following. A CD press shortly followed and then, low and behold, a whole album of unreleased instrumental music from the year before their debut surfaced! And once again Belle Antique of Japan issued this as a CD and remastered it from the original two track recording.

And the music? Dice, the debut from 1978, is a like a direct mixing of Focus 3 and early Caravan. I swear the track "Annika" is an outtake from the Moving Waves sessions. And the vocalist has an uncanny resemblance to Richard Sinclair. Tracks like "The Utopian Suntan" are pure Canterbury fun. And the 22 minute "Follies" is "Nine Feet Underground" played by Focus with Richard Sinclair as vocalist (that is to say, no Canterbury rhythms or fuzz organ). While it sounds like the album may be Dutchlish, it really has that unique Swedish slant. The highlight of the album is the close to eight minute "The Venetian Bargain", an all-instrumental complex exercise focusing on the cool organ and double-neck guitar (remember those? Think Led Zeppelin). Best of all, as it turns out, this track is more representative of the posthumous 1977 recording The Four Riders of the Apocalypse. This album proves that Dice were more effective as an all instrumental group with great chops than one with singer-songwriter sensibilities. Four long tracks with joyful titles such as "War", "Disease", "Greed" and "Death". Though funny enough most of the music is of a joyful nature (ahh Sweden - it does stay dark there all winter). While neither album is a bona fide classic, both are must owns for the progressive rock fan.