Once upon a time, there were four musicians from Sweden who decided to form a prog rock band. They called themselves Ritual. Over the next 15 years, they recorded and released four studio albums and one live. Their fifth studio album, The Story of Mr. Bogd, part 1, was released earlier this month, after a gap of some 17 years. They have been out of the limelight for so long that even their fans had begun to wonder if the band still exists. But it does. And, what’s more, the new album is only the first fruit of a project that will deliver more than an hour and a half of music.

The story begins in the middle of Chichikov Bogd’s life, when he is a well-known figure in the city. After a chamber orchestra performance, in the dead of the night, he makes a hasty departure. “Drive like the wind!”, he calls from inside his horse-drawn carriage. Why is the young magnate and celebrated man of means, leaving so precipitously? Perhaps there’s a clue in the narrator’s description of him as a “robber baron in the making”. But even Bogd himself is not sure what he is running from.

After driving all night, the travellers come to an inn, where they sup and rest. There, the landlord shows off his singing owl. Caged and enslaved, the bird is forced to perform to entertain the innkeeper’s guests. Bogd, though, sees the look of haunted despair in the owl’s eyes and takes pity on it. Before dawn breaks, the travelling companions smash the lock on its cage and release the miserable creature back into the wild. In gratitude, the owl plucks a feather from within its plumage, saying:

Take this golden feather.
If ever you are in trouble,
Just rub it three times,
And I will come to your aid.

Sleeping in the brougham, peaceful dreams revitalise Bogd’s body and mind.

In flashback, we hear about Chichikov’s early life. Tragedy struck while he was still a baby. His caring mother was taken by the wicked queen of the fairies, and there was always something odd about the boy after that. But he had a smile that had all around him utterly beguiled.

As they continue, the journeying pair meet Mr. Tilly’s band of loud and jolly troubadours. Then, moving on again, they find themselves passing through a peaceful rural landscape.

After a time, they come across a ragged woman, walking wearily, and stop to see if she needs any help. She used to live in the city, but her landlord had raised the rent. Unable to afford the bills, she was evicted and now carries all her belongings in a sack on her back. The dark grey cat with her is both her friend and saviour. The cat can always find the way in unfamiliar lands, and it is the cat that fishes and hunts, providing a meal when food is short at hand. But the woman is old and weak; her future now looks all too bleak.

Abruptly, Bogd realises that he may have been the maker of this poor woman’s fate. Wracked with guilt and determined to make amends, he takes a bag of gold coins from his carriage. Giving it to the woman, he says, “this will buy you a house to keep hardships remote”. In tearful gratitude, the woman gives him a copper cat bell. “If you get lost, or the roads seem too bleak”, she says, “ring it three times. The cat will hear its call and come to your aid”.

Meanwhile, news of Mr. Bogd’s disappearance is breaking. “Read all about it!”, shout the headlines. “Has he fled or is he dead?”, ask the TV presenters. Whispered rumours spread like wildfire. Posts on social media go viral.

As they travel on through the open countryside, Bogd and his companion are reminded of the forgotten healing power of Nature. Finding a leafy glade, they quench their thirst from its well, lay down to rest and soon fall asleep. When they wake, it is dark. The water in the well looks like ghostly ink, reflecting the stars in the sky above.

Something is stirring in the well water. Three pairs of eyes and three pallid faces. One by one, three female heads break through the surface. Bogd is both terrified and transfixed. “You need to go back home”, say the heads. Bogd does not understand. But, when he takes heart to ask them what they meant, they close their eyes and sink back down into the well.

And there ends part 1 of the story.

In telling this tale, Ritual have taken us through many marvellous music lands. We have brushed shoulders with Jethro Tull, Genesis, Gentle Giant and Queen. Sometimes the songs have a sharp metal edge. We have even heard the sounds of the Middle East. It has been a fascinating trip. And it has left us very much looking forward to the second and final instalment of The Story of Mr. Bogd.