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Seventh Wonder: Tiara
Seventh Wonder - Tiara Music Review

Seventh Wonder: Tiara

Melodic Progressive Metal
4.5/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Released: 12.10.2018
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 10.10.2018

While not exactly flying under our heavy metal radar, Sweden's Seventh Wonder hasn't dropped a new studio album since 2010's The Great Escape. But they have been modestly active. The band appeared at the 2104 ProgPower Festival in Atlanta to play their well-known album Mercy Falls in its entirety. The show was released on CD/DVD in 2016. Now, after an eight year absence, the band returns with their fifth studio album Tiara.

Seventh Wonder Band Photo Click For Larger Image

Seventh Wonder

Musically, for fans, Seventh Wonder needs know introduction. The band plays intricate melodic heavy power metal in the context of progressive metal and then wrapped in some symphonic nuances. Additionally, the album and songs are complete with the signature elements we've come to know and love from Seventh Wonder. One, of course, is the voice and vocals of Tommy Karevik, also of Kamelot. Needless to say, he's on top of his game. Also, there's the tandem playfulness between the guitar and synth lines. This is notable, but not limited to, The Everones, By The Light Of The Funeral Pyres, and the longer closing number Exhale. A final element is the two-fold combination of expert musicianship and creative songwriting for which Seventh Wonder excels. However, sometimes this sophistication can trump accessibility in some songs. Ergo, it's best to listen to Tiara once for entertainment, then a second or third time to discover the nuances of its musical arrangements.

With a concluding note, in the context of their musical history, fans might find Tiara less like The Great Escape and more like the Mercy Falls, yet without the latter's full conceptual story line. But that begs the question. In the press one-sheet, we're given no indication by the band or the label whether this is a concept album. Yet at the center of the album there appears to be a trilogy of sorts, called Farewell, with the songs Tiara's Song, Goodnight, and Beyond Today, a lovely, epic and soulful, metal ballad. All said, Tiara finds Sweden's Seventh Wonder once more in fine form, delivering sophisticated and intriguing melodic progressive metal. Recommended.


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The Bottom Line

All said, Tiara finds Sweden's Seventh Wonder once more in fine form, delivering sophisticated and intriguing melodic progressive metal. Recommended.

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