SEVENTH DIMENSION - Black Sky

SEVENTH DIMENSION

Album: Black Sky

Genre: Progmetal

Release Date: June 18th, 2021

Country: Sweden

Label: Self-Released

Band Links: WEBSITE / BANDCAMP / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK

2021 has been an incredible year for prog so far, and here we go with another gem that shouldn’t be missed: “Black Sky” by Swedish quintet SEVENTH DIMENSION, which is their fourth album and was released on June 18th, 2021. The band formed in 2009, with the name found thanks to a BBC radio slot that dealt with science fiction and fantasy. The futuristic, spacy sounding name fits perfectly to the band's vision, and so do their beautiful cover artworks. Lyric-wise, “Black Sky” tells different stories about betrayal, despair, encouragement and wisdom, also offering more personal topics like the evolution of one-self in our modern world.

Music-wise, SEVENTH DIMENSION deliver all ingredients for a prog-lovers heart. The short intro “Premonition” sets the right mood for the rest of the album with a mystic soundscape and leads straight into “Bad Blood”, drawing the listener in by building up tension with a slow, dark theme. The song evolves with several changes in mood and tempo, varied rhythmic and great melody lines, that alternate with amazing guitar and keyboard parts. The following “Kill the Fire” is one of my highlights because of the strong lyrics and its great energy, always pushing me forward. With “Resurgence”, the music gets heavier and more complex, but nevertheless remains melodic, just to slow down afterwards with the thoughtful “Falling”.

In the second half, starting with the instrumental piece “Black Sky: Assembly”, they manage to lift up the high level once more. Even though the album in its entirety is a real listening pleasure, my favorite song is “Black Sky: Into the Void”, as they bring in so many twists and turns here without losing their amazing sense for melodies. “As the Voices Fade” comes along rather short, but not less mesmerizing, before they close the album with "Incubus”, proving once more their great song-writing and playing skills.

Compared to some other progmetal acts, who maybe come up with more obviously sophisticated stuff, the music on “Black Sky” sounded rather unexcited at the first listen, but nevertheless exciting enough to catch me from the beginning, and revealed more of its magic with every spin. While all band members play perfectly together, each musician gets his special moments to shine with different solo parts as well. Lyrics, song-writing, mixing and production… everything is done in the right way. Since the release in June, I spent a lot of time with “Black Sky”, and still discover new amazing details. SEVENTH DIMENSION offer progmetal at its finest, and if you are into bands like PYRAMID THEOREM, ODD DIMENSION or STAR ONE, you better take a seat and enjoy the ride...

Written by Katha