Band:	Seventh Wonder
Album:	Waiting In The Wings
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	August 2006

01. Star Of David
02. Taint The Sky
03. Waiting In The Wings
04. Banish The Wicked
05. Not An Angel
06. Devil's Inc.
07. Walking Tall
08. The Edge Of My Blade
09. Pieces

I'll admit it: I initially got into Seventh Wonder - as, I suspect, many people have done - just to check how the new Kamelot singer, Tommy Karevik, sounded. I first listened to Mercy Falls and, fell in love with this Scandinavian combo, decided to try out the previous releases, Become and Waiting In The Wings. These two, especially the second one, absolutely didn't disappoint the high expectations I had.

But these are two very different albums and display, between the debut and the second one, a noticeable improvement in the music quality. First of all, the singer: Tommy Karevik demonstrates to be way more varied, technical and able to transmit feelings than Andi Kravljaca who, however, did not make a bad impression in Become. The second difference between these releases is the style: Seventh Wonder has been able to detach from the influences from other important prog bands (Symphony X in particular) to develop a more unique style, innovative but not for the sake of it. Last, but not least, the production. If in Become the drum and bass sound was unsatisfactory, this release with Tommy Hansen (ex-Helloween and Lande) at the mixer gives the right space to every instrument.

Music-wise, Waiting In The Wings is simply great. It offers a large range of tracks, from the drum-characterised opener "Star Of David", to the power metal-ish "Not An Angel", from the mini-suite "Devil's Inc." to the piano ballad "Pieces", which allows Karevik to show every inch of his talent. Everything is enhanced by great instrumental parts, with also the constant use of great old-style keyboards, which can bring every nostalgic person back in time to Dream Theater's early years.

Lyrics-wise, the band demonstrates a great poetic potential, with touching and emotional words and apt metrics. This is a feature which will undergo a further improvement in Mercy Falls.

Overall, a really great release for both veterans and newbies (me!) in the prog world. Not too complicated, it takes a really short time to get into. Really recommended to everyone, together with the two subsequent releases.

P.S.: Tommy has done truly great work even with Kamelot. Idol!