Warthur Seventh Wonder do the prog metal thing with plenty of Dream Theatre in the foundations and the cheese dial turned up to 11, and The Great Escape is no exception. They pretty much tick all the boxes on the checklist when it comes to pandering to prog fans, right down to including a half-hour track in the form of The Great Escape itself. It's all sunshine and smiles with these upbeat compositions, but it feels hollow and emotionally unengaging to me. Possibly it comes down to them matching the prog metal playbook a little too perfectly, to the point where it feels a little to much like they are pandering to the community's expectations rather than throwing any curveballs our way.

dtguitarfan From start to finish, this album is extraordinary. Seventh Wonder has a way of writing a melody that could be the melody for a very ordinary pop song, and underlaying it with an incredible, exciting, ever-changing and astoundingly complex instrumental background like no other. The stars of the band are Tommy Karevik ? the singer with the voice so smooth he should be called Velvet, Andreas Blomqvist ? the bassist who laughs in the face of guitar shredders, and Johan Liefvendahl ? the guitarist who says "what does Mozart have on me anyways?" Every note on this album sounds more crisp and amazing than every note on 99% of every other album the world over. These guys are technically astounding while being stunningly beautiful at the same time.

A definite highlight of this album is the 30 minute title track, The Great Escape, a concept song based on the poems 'Aniara' by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson. It deals with the tragedy of a space ship which, originally bound for Mars with a cargo of surviving colonists from a ravaged and destroyed Earth, is ejected from the solar system and becomes entangled in an existential struggle. The first track 'Wiseman' doubles loosely as a prequel to the events of 'The Great Escape'.

These guys are a jewel in the crown of Progressive Metal and it is truly a shame that they are also one of Prog Rock's and Metal's best kept secrets.