SEVENTH WONDER – Become

The debut album, Become, from newcomers Seventh Wonder is an impressive first step in what hopefully becomes a long career. Their music is best categorized as Melodic, Progressive Metal full of power-drumming without all the extreme guitar histrionics. The music is presented confidentially and forcefully with more of a focus on melody versus overpowering and overbearing displays of self-indulgence.

On opener, “Day By Day,” the band is propelled by Kravljaca’s soaring vocals, Sandin’s drumming (especially his impressive footwork) and Söderin’s ever-present keyboards, which get equal consideration throughout in the mix. When appropriate, Liefvendahl gets his chops in on lead guitar, with a “longer than short” solo, but still within reason. Throw in a couple of well-placed time changes, and you have the recipe for a very enjoyable track. No resting here, though, as “Like Him” follows with some nice tandem guitar and keyboard phrases, all on top of some nice fingering by bassist Blomqvist. This track also contains one of the catchier choruses, backed by some nicely-placed false harmonics on the guitar. Being part of the band’s demo release, “Temple In The Storm” was included for obvious reasons. Other than having a nice, soothing chorus, it seems out of place here, as it doesn’t have the same impact as some of the surrounding material. Luckily, they get back on track with the up-tempo “Blinding My Eyes,” with its catchy, multi-tracked chorus, and its nicely-done, classical-sounding, instrumental bridge. It would be a mistake not to mention the odd, nearly eight-minute track, “In The Blink Of An Eye,” which begins with a somewhat Progressive musical opening. If you ride out the slow start of this track (for about three minutes) you’ll be rewarded with another nice, melodic chorus.

Sadly, bassist Andreas Blomqvist told Metal Express that after recording this album, singer Andi Kravljaca was asked to leave the band and was subsequently replaced by Tommy Karevik. Previously, Karevik had recorded with the Metal band Vindictiv. Only time, and another Seventh Wonder release, will tell if Mr. Karevik is a worthy replacement. The pressure will be on the new line-up to deliver a second album with even greater “wonders,” without having one of this line-up’s greatest strengths.

Sometimes one is blessed to have the good fortune to witness something in its infancy that has a lot of future potential. With their debut album, Become, as an impressive debut release, Progressive Metal fans should all invest in this band’s future and buy this album … then sit back and watch all the great things to come from Seventh Wonder.

Line-Up:
Johan Liefvendahl: Guitar
Andi Kravljaca: Vocals
Andreas Blomqvist: Bass
Johnny Sandin: Drums
Andrea Söderin: Keyboards

Report Card:
Vocals: A-
Guitars: B-
Bass: B+
Drums: A
Keyboards: B
Recording Quality: B
Lyrics: B
Originality: B
Overall Rating: B+

To find out more about Seventh Wonder, visit the label’s site at www.LionMusic.com.