CONTACT

Nice modern heavy/fusion band led by guitarist Wolfgang Zenk,former member of the prog metal band ''Sieges Even'',with whom he recorded the great albums ''Uneven'' and ''Sophisticated''.7 FOR 4 are a four-piece act,coming from Munich ,and released their debut in 2001,entitled ''Contact''.This is an all instrumental effort very close to the likes of DEREK SHERINIAN solo albums and LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT,that means highly-energetic and powerful jazzy/fusion prog with lots of different moods,breaks and time changes.The music is trully inspired with good melodies and a heavy dose of complexity,presenting the tremendous skillful playing by bassist Markus Grutzner and the chaotic drumming of Klaus Engl.Keyboardist Markus Froshmeier prefers a rather backing supporting role with groovy piano lines and distinctive keyboards around...and Zenk is an absolute virtuoso of guitar,delivering memorable themes,including funky rhythms,jazzy parts,an almost metal soloing style,even some Latin-inspired themes.For anyone who doesn't mind his jazz/fusion experience with a harder edge,''Contact'' is absolutely essential.A very tight band with an extremely rich sound!...3,5 stars for me...

I can't believe any prog reviewer or collaborator has not written an appropiate review for this record. Here four German virtuosos show us what they are capable of. 7 for 4 play a mixture of instrumental metal combined with jazz and latin music. This in my opinion is the closest metal will ever get to prog , much more quiet and varied than Liquid Tension Experiment albums.

The band is leaded by former Sieges Even axeman Wolfgang Zenk and his guitar shines on the 51 minutes this album last. A fair example of this could be the brillant opener X- Dreams which also features a fretless bass intro by Markus Grutzner. Another song which shows truly progressive nature is the latin-influenced E- Gyptian , it has a Dyango Reinhardt like acustic intro!

Probably I won't consifer this album a masterpiece of progressive music because it wears thin on the only song with vocals: Catking , and let me tell you it's not a bad tune. The question is that the standard this album has set is so high , that an average tune could look awful on it.

Suming up , if you come from the bright side of prog ( the symph , jazz fusiony, canterburish one) and you can't stand metal in any form , this album.... it won't make you a metalhead but it will show you that there are some truly talented musicians out there who don't get much recognition. Contact deserves a listen from every progressve music fan.

4.5 stars for me

This is German band 7 FOR 4's debut released in 2001. The leader and guitarist is Wolfgang Zenk who played on two albums ("Sophistication" & "Uneven") for SIEGES EVEN in the nineties. I'm sure it's coincidence but I couldn't get into those two SIEGES EVEN albums either but love the one's before and after them. The guy is a virtuoso no doubt but i'm not digging his style for some reason. He's playing more of a Fusion style here but he does mix it up quite a bit. This is all instrumental except for one track. It is a technical album no doubt and I must admit those are hit and miss for me. I love the LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT band that many compare this group to, but I find this to be very different than what they've put out.

"X-Dreams" starts out with gentle guitar but it gets fuller and fuller until he's lighting it up.The tempo continue to change. "Tokamak" opens with someone laughing followed by a full sound with the guitar out in front as bass and drums support. "La Provence" is more laid back with outbreaks. Nice chunky bass after 5 minutes. "E-Gyptian" is uptempo with intricate guitar then it gets fuller.

"Highlands" sounds better. It's more relaxed and we get some piano. I like the bass. It picks up as contrasts continue. "Rushian" kicks in before a minute with guitar leading the way. It settles again. Marching style drums 3 1/2 minutes in as it builds. "Rockalaxy" is crunchy then it lightens up, but it's back and forth. "Catking" has vocals on it. It's heavier 2 1/2 minutes in then it settles back with vocals. Contrasts continue. It's an okay tune. "Subspace Destination" hits the ground running. This sounds so good but then it it settles the rest of the way.

I've had this one for a while but it's just never clicked with me. 3.5 stars for the playing alone.