Seventh Wonder is a progressive power metal band hailing
from Sweden .
They have mostly flown under the radar until recently, when their lead singer
Tommy Karevik joined the more popular American power metal outfit Kamelot. When
Kamelot’s latest album Silverthorn
was released in October of this year it received great critical acclaim, a lot
of the praise focusing on the new singer. Some said that as good as Tommy
Karevik performs with Kamelot on Silverthorn,
Seventh Wonder is still a better band by comparison. That’s where my interest
got piqued and what led me to look into Seventh Wonder’s latest album called The Great Escape.
The first song on the album, Wizeman, blew me away. The guitarists provide a twisting and
constant barrage of chugging riffage while Karevik somehow manages to sing
catchy melodies over them, all the while showing off his impressive vocal
range. Karevik immediately stands out from the rest of the band and though some
of the instrumental breakdowns are impressive, the music just doesn’t carry
much weight without him.
For the most part, Karevik wisely avoids the lyrical cheese
that is so prominent in this genre. But there are a few exceptions. Exceptions
so devastating as to nearly destroy the entire package (but not quite).
The second song, Alley
Cat, comes in naturally and seems to keep the catchy progressiveness going.
There’s nothing better than getting a new CD and finding that each song that
plays is as good as or better than the last. And at first glance that is the
case with this track…until you hear the lyrics. I’m a fan of power metal, I can
handle some cheese, it just comes with the territory, but this goes beyond
acceptable.
This album suffers in a weird way. There are six stand alone
tracks and one thirty minute epic track at the end. It feels like Karevik excised
all the cheese from four of the tracks and then crammed it all into the other
three. Having to skip songs on a CD as you listen is an album killer for me. My
solution was to delete the three offenders (Alley Kat, Long Way Home, and Move
on Through) and take in the album once more in its new abridged format.
What a difference! The album went from fatally flawed to
sheer brilliance. And it still clocks in at fifty-two minutes with three songs
cut out. Unfortunately, not everyone picking this album up is going to be as
brutally proactive as I in carving it up into the masterpiece it should have
been, so that has to be weighed into the final verdict.
The Great Escape
is an exceptional album with a couple of glaring flaws that nearly destroy the
whole thing. If you’re not a power metal fan to begin with, this isn’t going to
win you over. However, if you are into this genre or can appreciate music for
what it is within its own genre, then I highly recommend you give this album a
listen. Just skip the audio abortions mentioned above and you’ll be left with
candy and roses.
