THE GREAT ESCAPE

Seventh Wonder do the prog metal thing with plenty of Dream Theatre in the foundations and the cheese dial turned up to 11, and The Great Escape is no exception. They pretty much tick all the boxes on the checklist when it comes to pandering to prog fans, right down to including a half-hour track in the form of The Great Escape itself. It's all sunshine and smiles with these upbeat compositions, but it feels hollow and emotionally unengaging to me. Possibly it comes down to them matching the prog metal playbook a little too perfectly, to the point where it feels a little to much like they are pandering to the community's expectations rather than throwing any curveballs our way.