SEVENTH WONDER – Waiting In The Wings

After releasing a very impressive debut album last year in Become, this Progressive Metal quintet is back with a new singer and stronger production in the form of Waiting In The Wings. Seventh Wonder was formed in 2000 by the “musical core” of bassist Blomqvist, guitarist Liefvendahl, and drummer Sandin. Shortly thereafter, keyboardist Söderin joined and that “musical core” was finalized. The band then went on a never-ending quest for a vocalist to front the band. Previously to Waiting In The Wings, their longest standing vocalist was Andi Kravljaca, who did an impressive job on their debut release. The band recruited vocalist Tommy Karevik (ex-Vindictiv) along with a heavy-duty production specialist in Tommy Hansen (famous for Helloween, T.N.T.) and acting in an engineer role, Daniel Flores (drummer) of Mind’s Eye. Remarkably, this second outing improves upon Become musically, technically, and production-wise … the question is can Karevik effectively replace Kravljaca?

Beginning with the music on this release, the technical prowess of the core quartet is remarkable and is so wonderfully represented by the production. The rhythm section of Blomqvist and Sandin sounds tight and superb. Musically, the band effortlessly combines Neo-Classical phrases with Progressive Metal to produce exciting arrangements, as most tracks on this release exceed five minutes in length, while each remains entertaining and never becomes drawn out. The music and songs are so strong they could very easily stand on their own without vocal accompaniment. Especially impressive are the instrumental interludes like the lead-in on the title track. Blomqvist sporting a cool bass line, which provides a slight Funk groove and feel, makes for a memorable moment … it’s a shame that such things have to end. Liefvendahl is as impressive as ever, never over indulging in long, drawn out “Malmesque” solos. He can always be counted on to add a false harmonic here and there to add depth to the vocal breaks. Sandin also sounds impressive on drums as some of the tracks on this album are indeed kicked up a notch in speed, a la Helloween. Söderin’s keyboards are always present and varied in sound, adding color compared to diverting attention. Don’t overlook the masterminds behind the knobs in Hansen and Flores, whose twiddling has made this one sound superb with just the right separation between bass, drums, keyboards, etc.

New vocalist Tommy Karevik seems to be a nice find. Vocally, he’s a lot smoother then his predecessor, which in itself might be a slight issue. Don’t misunderstand … Karevik has an enjoyable voice to listen to that’s full of melody. He just sounds perhaps sometimes out of place, as he has more of a Melodic Rock style, and he brings the band down to that level at times, versus boosting up to Progressive/Metal like Kravljaca. The band, as a whole, have to challenge Tommy on the next release — get him to really “belt” it out; add a dash of aggression and integrate him better into the song structure.

Bottom line, this is a powerhouse of a Neo-Classical/Progressive Metal release, any music theory geek should take full note of this release, as it should provide them endless hours of enjoyment and countless smiles. The band has achieved a goal that many bands have faltered on … making their current release better then its predecessor. This is certainly one fitting for many of the industry’s Top Twenty lists of 2006!

Line-Up:

Tommy Karevik – Vocals
Johan Liefvendahl – Guitar
Andreas Blomqvist – Bass
Andreas Söderin – Keyboards
Johnny Sandin – Drums

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