BECOME

I saw a review for this album a couple of years back on another site, giving it a full 5 out of 5 stars and being effusive in its praise. I immediately sought it out, but this was before I started shying away from most prog-metal; I guess I am getting a little long in the tooth to be doing much head banging anymore. When I saw that the album had no reviews, I figured I would dig it out and proffer one up. So were the top marks justified? I don't think so.

What we have here is pretty unadventurous; straight ahead prog metal without many memorable hooks. This album is not overly heavy and has nice, clean vocals. The singer was given his walking papers after this album was done, but he fits well with this music. When they go to two-part harmonies, they add greater depth to the music and are well done. Some of the guitar licks have a bit of that 80's feel and when the keys come to the fore from their supporting role, they often have kind of a jangly type sound that gives the songs a certain distinction, but maybe a distinction that isn't all that great. The original review mentioned a modern take on DT, Symphony X and Seiges Even while being "extremely melodic." I don't really hear any of those bands in this offering, instead thinking they might have been a capable hair band back in the day. And no melodies really stick in my head.

On the plus side, the last two songs show a bit more backbone and will be of interest to some. The guitar player is capable and does his best to keep the shred factor up. None of the other players are top notch, but no dogs in the bunch. The production is middle of the road, no real complaints there. My copy has a bonus track not mentioned on the packaging. It sounds like it may be a rehash of an earlier song, but it is done with just piano and keys. The keys try to give off an orchestral feel and there may be an actual cello thrown in for good measure.

My score will be 2.5 stars, rounded down to two. This is not a bad album, it just doesn't stick out in the morass of prog-metal offerings out there and I can't really see many discerning readers of PA finding it an album that is necessary to their collection. I certainly will not be searching out their follow-up offering.

The biggest issue I have with this album is the sound quality, it's not that good at all. The band produced it themselves which was definitely a mistake considering this is their debut.Too bad because I really like their music, but lookiing around the Internet I noticed a few others also have my opinion about the production. On the other hand there are a lot of high marks out there for this one.The talent is here in spades that's for sure.

"Day By Day" has a good intro as it kicks in quickly with vocals close behind. An instrumental interlude 2 1/2 minutes in features some great guitar. Vocals are back a minute later. "Like Him" has some growly bass on it I just wish the sound was better.Tasteful guitar 2 1/2 minutes in then a brief calm. Chunky bass a minute later as the guitar grinds away. "The Damned" eventually overruns us with a stampede of drums.Vocals have some passion to them. Just a really good rhythm to this one. A synths solo 3 minutes in. "Temple In The Storm" opens with some great sounding riffs as the singer yells out. Excellent bass lines as usual as spoken words come in followed by some cool guitar. Vocals after a minute. Good song.

"Blinding My Eyes" opens with multi vocals then a heavy drum section takes over as guitar solos over top. Huge bass in this one. The guitar starts to rip it up after 2 minutes. "The Secret" is fairly heavy. Reserved vocals before a minute but they do get passionate. Not a fan of this one but I love the bass and the guitar later. "What I've Become" is my favourite. An eagle cries out as spoken words come in while the wind blows. A slowly grinding guitar comes in followed by heaviness 1 1/2 minutes in. Vocals a minute later. A calm after 5 1/2 minutes followed by some outstanding guitar and bass. Great tune. "In The Blink Of An Eye" is ridiculously good for the first minute, a metal storm really and then it calms down.

Parts of this record sound like it was recorded in a garage or something.Thankfully the next album by this band is a huge improvement in many ways.

Become - 3/5 stars 'A taint of what they're going to 'become' in the next albums'

I got to know this swedish band thanks to a fellow prog-metalhead (friend of mine) that recommended them to me in 2009. So after that, I picked up their first record.

According to what I was able to research, 'Seventh Wonder' have been around the swedish scene since 2000 aprox., but it wasn't until 2005 that they could self-produce their first full-lenght. The first album from prog-metallers 'Seventh Wonder', coming from the landscape that Sweden is, you'll probably know that these guys have something to offer.

'Become', it's a straightforward power metal release, full of catchy hymns, but with obvious progressive elements. While there is no surprise or 'nothing new' in the songs, one can still grasp the fact that these guys are top notch musicians, particularly, Andreas Blomqvist (bass/main composer) is the one with the most talent here, his playing is fantastic, and his bass lines/solos are mindblowing, just hear the fabulous 'In The Blink Of An Eye', full with bass prowess. The production is not the best in 'Become', but you can still hear that the guitar playing does a good job in bringing the virtuosism/shred to the songs, Johan Liefvendahl it's clearly an excellent guitar player, and he demonstrates that with his solos. The keyboards sound is a little off in the songs (the production and mastering wasn't the best in this aspect), nevertheless, Andreas Söderin it's a nice player, although I would love to hear more choirs and synths in certain songs, he leaves too much to be desired. The drums by Johnny Sandin are good in this album, although his best effort can be found in the upcoming albums, so his playing in this album pales in comparison to his other work (especially 'Mercy Falls' which is by far their best album). The weakest member in 'Become' it's Andi Kravljaca, his vocal range it's too limited for this kind of music, and his voice is too soft, especially in songs with catchy chorus, where the voice should play a major role. He is still a decent vocalist, and has a recognizable voice, but it doesn't fit at all with the instrumental work. I'm glad 'Seventh Wonder' found Tommy Karevik, which is one of my favourite prog metal vocalists, with his crystal clear voice.

The highlights in 'Become' are: 'In The Blink Of An Eye', 'What I've Become', 'Temple In The Storm'.

'Become' it's a solid album, but it doesn't contain any surprises, and the prog elements are predictable, but it's still clear that these guys have talent. The well-written melodic hooks and the compositional work shows us that 'Seventh Wonder' were a diamond in the rough, a diamond that now, fully shines with their next releases.

This album is just average for me. It's definitely a more power emphasized progressive album than its successors, which I have no problem with because I'm a power metal fan, it's just not quite as good.

The vocals are okay, they are less than stellar for me. Unfortunately a lot of the time it seems the vocals are there for the sake of being there. Guitar/keyboard work is fine, there's definitely a large improvement in later albums. Bass is audible most of the time which is great in progressive/power metal, that's one thing I really like about this album and SEVENTH WONDER in general.

The overall sound quality of the album seems subpar, especially when you compare it to "Waiting in the Wings". It's okay given it's their first album, though it does take away from the experience.

A few tracks I enjoy from this album are "Temple in the Storm" and "What I've Become". Everything else is just average power metal.