Solemn Tones

It’s been eight long years since Sweden’s Progressive Metal veterans Seventh Wonder released an album. That’s a long time to be out of the game, but fortunately, fans have rabidly been awaiting this release and it doesn’t seem to have affected the band’s fan base. Indeed, quite the opposite. People have been lining up and waiting for this release for some time now. “Arrival” is a short keyboard opening piece, setting an ominous tone for what it to come. It segues into “The Everones,” which opens with a somber and intense guitar riff, leading to vocal harmonies and some Proggy time meters. A big chorus ensues, with plenty of emotions, where vocalist Tommy really stretches out, followed by a keyboard solo that will really get your juices flowing…

The delicacy of many ECM recordings can be measured via degrees, but in the case of the music conceived by pianist Stefano Bollani, those increments of hushed tones are micro dynamic, rendered as quintessentially subdued. Within a typically formatted piano-bass-drums trio, Bollani alongside bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund can be described favorably as a cut below most groups of this type in terms of a sonic footprint. While Tord Gustavsen, Esbjorn Svensson, or Bobo Stenson may approach the similarly softer side of contemporary Continental jazz, Bollani has them covered in his utterly subtle approach, while still grasping an elusive, haunting quality to melody-making.