WOUNDED

''A blueprint of the world'' was good enough to offer Enchant their first European tour, shortly after the album was released.The Americans were considered one of the biggest hopes in the emerging world of Progressive Rock and Magna Carta acted accordingly, working on a re-edition of the band's debut in 1995.Next followed the sophomore effort of Enchant, ''Wounded'', which was originally released in 1996 on InsideOut for the European market and in 1997 on Magna Carta for the US one.

Sounds and sights of Enchant's instrumental motiffs become even more clear with the second album.Their main influence appear to be RUSH and their Power Rock approach, which passes through the intense, expressive lyricism of QUEENSRYCHE, when the vocals or smoother guitar parts come in the forefront, but also flirts with the atmospheric sound of MARILLION during the melodic guitar solos or the sporadic, more pronounced deep keyboard lines.They did perform in a pretty personal style, which was led by the hard-hitting guitars, the bombastic rhythms, the tendency towards some slightly orchestral still quirky keyboard flashes and the high-pitch voice of Ted Leonard.''Wounded'' somehow is missing some of the debut's freshness, a few tracks sound pretty similar or this work lacks a pair of killer pieces, like ''The thirst'' or ''Oasis'' from the previous album.Yet, it's unlikely the listener not to enjoy this work.Enchant play music with sheer passion, energy and dynamics, keeping one foot in the RUSH principles, while the other walks on the contemporary ground of 90's music.Moreover, with each release the band is pretty hard not to be recognized from the very first notes, Douglas Ott's lovely moves between melodic and harder guitars and the grandiose, background synthesizers are trademarks of Enchant's upcoming empire.

The journey of Enchant into the prog realms continues with ''Wounded''.Not as good as the band's impressive debut, but this one is a nice example of powerful Prog Rock with a fine balance between melody and energy.Recommended.