CIRCLE OF LIFE

An impressive debut, but not without growing pains.

The band on their web page describe their influences as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Kamelot, Seventh Wonder and a few others (I would add Stratovarius to that). And this is pretty much what you get - an accessable mix of prog, melodic, symphonic and gothic metal. Without it coalescing into something original. But I attribute that to their early stage of development as a band. I have much hope because the mastermind - guitarist Luca dele Fave - is obviously a classically trained and talented composer. This is especially evident in the 45 minute epic. Even though it consists of 8 distinct parts, it feels cohesive (unlike many other similar epic attempts). Conceptually, it describes a persons life as he moves thru joy of birth, anger of youth (exacerbated by certain tragic events), self discovery and reflection. However, I do feel the concept is better realized thru music rather than singing (good, but not great) and lyrics, that are very amateurish - a problem, I guess, of many none-native English language bands.

Overall, a very worthy listen. Some snobs may scoff at its relative cliche -edness, and casual metal fans may find it boring, but if you just enjoy good anthemic prog music, I recommend.

I first encountered Seventh Dimension when I saw them live back in 2011. This was the time when I went to see pretty much every concert that had the word prog attached to it and seeing the double bill of Forgotten Suns/Seventh Dimension at one of my all time favorite venues, Debaser Medis in Stockholm, felt like a perfect combination for me. Little did I know, this would turn into a long-term relationship that I hold dear today!

There was a lot of tension in the air when Seventh Dimension entered the stage and it was clear to me that the band was performing one of their, if not, first shows ever. I remember that the lead vocalist Nico was especially nervous when he was interacting with the audience. But I honestly didn't mind, in fact I found it to be very charming experience. Most of the tension was pretty much gone once the band started playing their second song of the evening titled Beyond Time. Hearing this very technical composition, that fused together influences of Symphony X and Dream Theater, made me realize that I was truly experiencing something incredible. The interplay between all the instrumentalists in the band was top notch and it was truly enjoyable to hear how they all added their own personal touch to the overall composition. I left that evening knowing that I needed more Seventh Dimension in my life. So it was really a no-brainer for me to order their debut album Circle Of Life once it was released a year and a half later.

The album is divided into 12 individual tracks where the first four are stand-alone compositions and the remaining eight comprise the 45 minute 8-part suite titled Circle Of Life. Listening to the album for the first time, I obviously recognized Beyond Time from my concert experience and the other three tracks before the suite were all very enjoyable as well. I especially like the instrumental Fall Of Stars and the 10 minute mini suite The Dreamer, which moves smoothly from one section to the next making those minutes feel much shorter than they actually are.

We've now come to the centerpiece of this release which also gives the album it's title. This is really an ambitious piece of music for such a young band, considering that most technical bands prefer to show their instrumental prowess in every given moment and thus don't have time to create such an intricate piece of music until much later in their career. Just the fact that the first part of the suite is called Prelude Of Life and that it serves as a prolonged intro to the piece of musical journey that we're about to embark on is enough to show that this is definitely not a sprint but a marathon! I definitely recommend experiencing Circle Of Life suite with the lyrics booklet because the composition is story-wise just as ambitious as it's instrumental arrangements.

I'm not gonna go into intricate details of the Circle Of Life suite. Let me just say that this is one of those rare epics that a band can probably only write once in their career. Examples of these once in a lifetime compositions would be Dream Theater's A Change of Seasons or The Odyssey by Symphony X, just to name two examples. This is why it's so amazing for me to experience a composition of such magnitude on Seventh Dimension's debut album. This only enhanced my feeling that this is a very special band that I should continue to keep an eye on for all their future endeavors.

I highly recommend Circle Of Life to all fans of progressive metal but also everyone who enjoys epic storytelling in album format. Listening to these compositions today, more than 5 years after the initial release, only makes the excellence of the music shine through even clearly to me.

***** star songs: Beyond Time (7:13) II. Alive At Sunrise (4:05) V. Under the Moonlight (5:51) VII. Realization (6:19) VIII. The End: A New Beginning (3:41)

**** star songs: Enter Mirror (8:41) Fall Of Stars (5:18) The Dreamer (9:39) I. Prelude Of Life (6:33) III. The Fatal Beginning (7:02) IV. The Shadow Man (4:34) VI. Circle Of Reflection (7:01)