OF HOPE & ORDEALS

'The Great Unknown' formatted intro, airy and technical, on fresh Dream Theater that doesn't take itself too seriously; synths in front and Markus with a sensual, unique voice, a good FM rock riff in the distance. The guitar and keyboard solos including a vintage one that follow one another, perfect with this aggressive, heady riff and this progressive variation. 'Ghost Veil' fusion of Dream Theater and a Metallica ballad, Erik's keyboards very Rudessian. The dark tone rises, the syncopated rhythm prints a very pleasant ersatzian sound, fresher and younger than Dream Theater, astonishing. Markus with a high vocal, the swirling keyboard recalling 'Pull me Under'; wet outro. 'V23' launches, big symphonic piano intro, the eclectic keyboard on a typical airy ballad; a radio edit for the easily accessible consensual title with violins smelling of purple marshmallow; outro laughing seagull plunging 'Underwater' into an aquatic arpeggio intro; the keyboards, drums, nervous riff, to recalibrate and give pep. Nervous vocals, on Symphony X then Opeth for the growl voice; calm break redefining their musical creative facilities with a divine guitar solo from Luca. The final crescendo recalls the great hours of the best of Dream Theater without outrageously copying them.

'Mind Flayer' title gets into it with the riff, the prog metal atmosphere making reference; a catchy high voice, choirs, the metal riff, Ayreon's vintage keyboards, the intermezzo with Maciej's percussions and this guitar taken from the famous 'Seven son' by Maiden. A single with the dark outro leading to 'Black Sky: Final Frontier' in 6 parts, epic sequel to the previous album. Instrumental prog metal for 4 minutes with Exodus, an oriental atmosphere with a solo reminiscent of John Petrucci's on Arrival, a play between energetic vocals and explosive instrumentation on Architects, a magnificent cello resting in Lament seconding Markus with an ethereal voice; a thunderous muscular break to listen to, indescribable in Zero with the return of the millimetered growl and a grandiloquent cinematic finale slightly conventional on Rayons de lumière. A stack of drawers, cascading harmonies, tempo changes, effective solos and an imposing rhythmic fluidity for the epic title.

Seventh Dimension signs a major album of progressive metal eyeing Dream Theater, Symphony X, Andromeda, Opeth, Circus Maximus, Forgotten Suns and Ayreon, that makes 7. Social texts, musical images on the hope of dreaming, of traveling thanks to this immortal current. An essential album for anyone who loves progressive metal, which I didn't know before this review, shame on me. Excellent. (4.5). Originally on Progcensor.

This Swedish progressive metal outfit is new to me, but they have been around for more than a decade, and this is their fifth album. The line-up has been incredibly stable with Rikard Wallström (bass), Marcus Thorén (drums), Luca Delle Fave (guitars, vocals) and Erik Bauer (keyboards) playing on all releases, while this the first with new singer Markus Tälth, who replaced Nico Lauritsen. What we have here is polished metal which straddles the line between prog metal and melodic metal so that it is really blurred, sometimes feeling more one than the other. Mind you, anyone who is going to put their neck on the line and cover Dream Theater, as they did in 2020 when they released "A Change of Seasons", all 23 minutes of it, has a lot of confidence in their own abilities and rightly so.

This is one of those releases when one does not have to think too hard about it, just sit back and enjoy it. This is designed to be fun and all one has to do is ensure there are no distractions and just keep turning it up a little more. This may not be world breaking, and I still believe that any band who fades a song out (even if it is into a cinematic effect) should be taken out and dealt with severely, yet their mix of symphonic, metallic and commercial music makes for a very interesting listen indeed. They fully understand the need for dynamics and can more from gentle and lulling to violent, loud and complex at the drop of a hat. Everyone know what they are doing, and no matter what they are bringing to the party (think Savatage and Angra) they have a singer who can more than stand up to the challenge. Possibly not fully essential, this is certainly interesting all the same.