SEVENTH WONDER are among the most amazing melodic progressive metal acts from the last two decades. Frontiers Music will reissue the long out of print first four studio albums from the Swedish Progressive Metal masters: “Become”, “Waiting In The Wings”, “Mercy Falls”, and “The Great Escape”.
Seventh Wonder was formed in 2000 by bassist Andreas Blomqvist, guitarist Johan Liefvendahl, and drummer Johnny Sandin after their previous band fell apart. The music they were writing and playing quickly turned towards progressive metal. Two demos were recorded and the latter caught the attention of Lion Music, who signed the band. That collaboration spawned the first Seventh Wonder album, ‘Become’, which was released in 2005.
Mixed & Mastered by Eclipse’s Erik Mårtensson, Seventh Wonder’s fourth album ”The Great Escape”, is, in short, a masterpiece.
From a technical standpoint, this is the best Seventh Wonder have ever sounded. One driving force behind this is the album’s mixing, which is by all counts and measures excellent.
Here, you get the impression they wanted to refine their sound, avoid making one member consistently steal the spotlight, and focus on delivering a host of material to illustrate their changes. Indeed, one word that repeatedly comes to mind while listening is actually “casual,” with the ballad-like “Long Way Home” being a defining example.
Even when tapping into its most progressive elements, ”The Great Escape” never feels demanding, especially when it houses Tommy Karevik’s irresistible voice on each track (all six of them). This combination of factors grants the album an extremely accessible identity, not just for the band, but for metal and progressive music in general.
This is primarily where the similarity between it and Waiting in the Wings comes into play, since ”The Great Escape” is almost completely upbeat, from the strong opener (“Wiseman”), to the aformentioned “Alley Cat” and the rousing, penultimate “Move On Through.”
The album is oh-so cleanly produced that is an endless pleasure to listen to, melodic. Yet this is still a progressive piece, and if any doubts settle during one’s initial run through, the final track will see those doubts swiftly crushed.
Clocking in at over 30 minutes, “The Great Escape” is the ultimate testament to Seventh Wonder’s ambition. Yet just like the preceding tracks, “The Great Escape” isn’t set on knocking the socks off your feet with epic, cinematic aspects you’d otherwise find in a group like Dream Theater.
Instead, it’s all about the five band members playing in a way that suits them. The results are natural and mostly unpretentious, with ‘that’ bone-chilling which makes you want to return and experience the whole thing all over again.
Seventh Wonder had all the right tools in place on ”The Great Escape”, and for the most part, they realized much of their potential. Like any good progressive album, there’s enough variety in and between the small selection of tracks to leave any listener fulfilled.
The music sounds nice and crisp, forgiving and completely inviting; yet it also has the structure and depth one would expect from an even more established group.
A must have album.
1. Wiseman
2. Alley Cat
3. The Angelmaker
4. King Of Whitewater
5. Long Way Home
6. Move On Through
7. The Great Escape
Tommy Karevik – vocals
Johan Liefvendahl – guitars
Andreas Blomqvist – bass
Andreas Söderin – keyboards
Johnny Sandin – drums
Mixed and Mastered by Erik Mårtensson
SEVENTH WONDER – The Great Escape [Frontiers Records Reissue] (2023), MP3+FLAC
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