Seventh Crystal is a melodic rock band from Sweden, formed in 2019 by Perpetual Etude singer Kristian Fyhr – the band was completed by keyboardist Johan Alvsang, bassist Olof Gadd, drummer Anton Roos, and guitarists Emil Dornerus and Gustav Linde. The band have released two albums to date – ‘Delirium’ (2021) and ‘Wonderland’ (2023).
‘Delirium’ was a barnstormer of a debut album, ‘Wonderland’ lifting the band’s sound to a higher level – a sound that hovers around the genres of arena, AOR, melodic, and hard rock! The new album features ten songs in just forty minutes, ‘Wonderland’ kicking off with the bombastic title song ‘Wonderland’ – and an energetic oomph that belies the band’s melodic rock tag! Sitting more in the full-blown hard rock style of music, ‘Wonderland’ (the song) is an up-tempo barrage of heavy-hitting rock. And a glorious album opener to boot – totally addictive and a hundred percent head turnable!
Which can also be used to describe ‘Higher Ground’ – the band marching on with aplomb and a majestic swagger of self-confidence! And what a melodious pleasure ‘Higher Ground’ is! The chorus break is highly singable, with a feeling of the anthemic rising high in the air, Seventh Crystal delivering a song fit to be called arena rock. All the songs on offer chime in at either just over or just under the four-minute mark, paving the way for a punchy non-stop roller coaster of rock – ‘Hollow’ moving the album forward with the biggest punch heard so far! And for me, after just three songs, I reckon the band should elevate themselves from melodic rock to hard rock – or melodic hard rock!
Yea that’ll work! Anyway, ‘Hollow’, a cracking hard rock romp to grab the attention of a worldwide audience – the band slowing things down a little, ‘Wonderland’ (the album) introduces a touch of classic AOR, as ‘Million Times’ strides on with a head held high, very upright posture. Every song so far has been singable, with every listener able to sing along to their heart’s content, a smile a mile wide appearing on every face!
And with an upturn in tempo, Seventh Crystal delivers a driving anthem – ‘My Own Way’ a hard rocking song to be played loud on a car stereo while on a long drive in the country! Wind those windows down, readers, and enjoy the breeze in your face while ‘My Own Way’ is blaring out the car’s speakers! What a song – and certainly one I’ll be playing in my car when the weather gets much better! Roll on, summer! There’s nothing imperfect about ‘Wonderland’ (the album) – ‘Imperfection’ slow-burning to life, building a crescendo of serenity and mellowness, the classic strains of a ballad coming to the fore, inviting listeners to raise their lighters high in the air and sway from side to side. I don’t have a lighter, but I’d raise it high if I did and salute a wonderland.
Oops, sorry, wonderful ballad! And remaining steadfastly in ballad country, the band pour a huge amount of emotion into ‘In The Mirror’ – an incredible end-of-evening slow dance feels filling the air. You know the time – when all the disco dancers retire for a well-deserved drink after three or four fucking hours of energetic bee bopping, break dancing, twerking, funky chicken-ing and disco fingering (not as dirty as it sounds – check out the iconic 1977 film Saturday Night Fever and the signature dance move by actor John Travolta), the lights dipping and all the couples taking to the floor, holding each other tightly, swaying gently from side to side, and whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears! Romance is not dead, my friends, not by a long chalk!
And after two beautiful ballads, Seventh Crystal is back to a canter with the fastest song heard so far – ‘Next Generation’ a thundering slab of hard rock to get the neck muscles moving to rock heads back and forth. Not vigorously like thrash metal does, but just enough to encourage metallers to sit up and take notice – the band widening their musical horizons to encroach on the heavy metal territory. See – I said the band belied their melodic rock tag – ‘Next Generation’ the conclusive proof! Energy abounds as ‘Some Day’ takes flight with a punch and crunch not heard previously, hitting the ground hard and weaving a path through the genres of hard and heavy rock – all the while featuring the band’s incredible melodious intent. An intent that has been present since the album began and looks like remaining unbroken as ‘Wonderland’ (the album) reaches the final song ‘Rodeo’ – and a return to the serenity of earlier…oh, nope! Just as I finish typing that, the band launch a furious flurry of punches, stomping hard and hitting harder with a melodic crunch to further prove my inclination right that Seventh Crystal is so much heavier than their melodic rock tag would suggest.
Overall, a heavy-hitting and bombastic hard rock album full of melodic swagger and an incredibly high infectious level.
TRACKLIST
Wonderland
Higher Ground
Hollow
Million Times
My Own Way
Imperfection
In The Mirror
Next Generation
Someday
Rodeo
Seventh Crystal: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Frontiers Music s.r.l.
Category: Album
Country: Sweden
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
