Mercy Falls reviews

[fire_angel]

So who wants to update the first post with all the scores so far?

[demonhunter]

http://www.glorydazemusic.com/articl...rticle_id=3279

[metalicharlie]

Hello to everyone.

Here's our review of this awesome album. Sorry, but it's written only in Spanish:

http://nuke.laestadea.com/laestadeac...1/Default.aspx

We also have an interview with Andreas, which hopefully will be published both in spanish and english, should I post the link here or is there any other topic for interviews?

----------------

Metalicharly
www.nuke.laestadea.com

[tommidt]

http://logical-minded.blog.friendste...-falls-review/

[tommidt]

www.rockunited.com (9/10):

SEVENTH WONDER: "Mercy Falls" 9
LionMusic 2008
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
7 October 2008

Not one, but two, instrumental pieces as the first pair of opening numbers on this 15-track CD seems like a rather strange and daring concept. Ok, the first one is a soundtrack-score, a fanfare-keyboard intro, possible inspired by Kiss and their famous car-crash accident of "Detroit Rock City". It's also the beginning of this concept album based on the fate of a small town, a tragedy, aka the crash, and the loss of a family member (who'll end up as a coma patient).

"Mercy Falls" is the third album release by Seventh Wonder and it's definitely their magnum opus. This isn't just another average Prog-Rock effort, nah, it's frankly put a small masterpiece of music, and you'll find large parts of 'Pomp' and Melodic Metal on this platter too. Imagine the close to perfect mix of Yngwie Malmsteen during 'Eclipse', Dream Theater (Images And Words) and some of the grand pomp of Robby Valentine and Queen, and you're definitely a bit closer to the core of "Mercy Falls".

Still they have their very own original Prog-Metal sound and it's a utterly melodic, complex, album, that just keeps getting better for each spin (up to a certain point of course). Vocalist Tommy Karevik is like a updated and more diverse version of Goran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, Madison, Glory), and there are just marvelous guitar/keyboard interludes to be found throughout the record. I really can't single out any tracks or even mention any 'highlights' as they're all part of this superb concept album.

Best of all, even though it smells like prog-metal, it's basically a cross-over release, and you don't really need to be a die-hard fan of any 'special' genre of hardrock to appreciate the music. Final Verdict: you'll end up in awe over the lads ability to combine melody, harmony, and complexity. The 74 minutes of music will all be gone way too soon and you'll be spinning the disc over and over again. Highly Recommended!

[Lord_an]

I just have to say, that since i heard it for the first time, i haven't been able to stop listening it, It's just awsome!!!
The best 2008 album!
I would like to get the lyrics, I can't find them anywhere. and i'm an ass at listening lyrics, so i'd appreciate if you could give them to me

[johnny_sandin]

Originally Posted by Lord_an

I just have to say, that since i heard it for the first time, i haven't been able to stop listening it, It's just awsome!!!
The best 2008 album!
I would like to get the lyrics, I can't find them anywhere. and i'm an ass at listening lyrics, so i'd appreciate if you could give them to me

You do know that you can order the cd from lionmusic.com !!??

[Lord_an]

jajaja yeah well, I found it on amazon, but the shipping to here(colombia), is just, 17USD...'¬¬ so, it's quite expensive, actually, if you take on count that the cd itself costs almost 25USD, so, I'm thinking that if I can Get it on the DVD+CD, I'd buy it right away, because just a cd Doesn't justify that expensive shipping, BTW, how much is the lionmusic.com shipping?, or, where can I see those prices?

Just Downloaded the become album, on my way to listen to it!

[Lord_an]

BTW, here's my review for this excelent album: (it's originally in spanish, I translated it the best I could)

A wonderfull progressive metal band, from sweden, with an awsome drummer, a very technical and diverse bassist, a great guitarrist with an exceptional tone, one of the best keyboard players I've ever heard, and, well everithing combined makes this great band that have 3 albums this far, and the best release of this year(for me) is the third album, called Mercy Falls
mercy falls.
It's a Concept album that as far as i can understand, tells the history of a man who falls into a comma state(after his wife's great idea of telling him that their son is not his son actually, while he is driving and it's raining) and he arrives to a town in his mind called mercy falls.
Very touching songs like tears for a father, tears for a son and one last goddbye are one of the strong parts of this album, is just a rest of all that power it transmitts the other songs, nothing to envy great prog-metal bands such as Dream Theater or Symphony X.
Anyways, this group, and particulalry THis Album, left me like when I first listened to it. then it was more like this way
now I'm more this way

You can see this one in spanish in here
Long Life Seventh Wonder!!

[Kazar]

Yeah, long live SW..........














...and now order the album!

[Lord_an]

I can't.....my mother's credit card run out of money.....
and still, T want the SE with the DVD:P

[Kazar]

It's a pity that she ran out of money but

and still, T want the SE with the DVD:P

.......

[Lord_an]

Damn, that's not a T, is an I! sorry
I'm not that good in english.... what I was trying to say, as i said before, is that:
I want The special edition with the DVD+CD

[Kazar]

I knew that........just fooling around, mate .


I hope you are able to get the SE as soon as possible.
I'm sure you will experience the album on a whole new level when reading the booklet/lyrics!!

If the SE is not an option, just get the regular edition......the SE-disc is a nice bonus but it is not a "must have".

[Lord_an]

I never catch those ones..XD

I found the album on lion music, and I'me thinking seriously about bying it, since it is much cheaper than on amazon, I think by next weekend I'll be buying it, for now, I think I'll be very focused on DT's chaos in motion DVD

[Gryll]

Sea of Tranquility (5/5 Stars):

http://www.seaoftranquility.org/revi...ontent&id=6902

[Romanowar]

This is the translation of the review made by Metal Maniac magazine (Italy) in the October issue. It's a 9

A crash in the night, the wail of the approaching ambulances, a woman holding the hand of her coma stricken husband, lying in a hospital bed.
And these are just some of the images that emerge from the fog surrounding the small town of Mercy Falls, an imaginary place in which the third studio effort concept of the Swedish progsters Seventh Wonder develops.
A noteworthy potentiality could already be seen in the previous productions even though it was difficult to hide the rather evident references to other monstres sacrè on the scene.
‘Mercy Falls’ represents the definitive testing ground for the Stockholm group that, after having defined the band formation, confirming the talented Tommy Karevik at the microphone, manages to express all its potentiality, freeing itself of one too many compositive restrictions and unleashing the immeasurable individual talent of each one, ultimately reaching a substantial hardening in the song writing, over and over again.
Needless to say that the sound is wonderful, thanks also to the work of genius Tommy Hansen.
It is not easy to familiarize with the multi-coloured facets that make up the “Mercy Falls” mosaic and - as with all concept albums - it is certainly advisable to follow the intricate melodies by associating them with the contents of the lyrics.
From a musical point of view, the step ahead in comparison to the also valid “Waiting In The Wings” is sensational!
Even remaining faithful to the limited standards of prog metal, Seventh Wonder manage to express themselves in a personal and courageous manner, thanks to the greatly inspired melodies and the continuous changes of rhythm, that may seem to sidetrack the listener at the beginning and that require various passages in order to be correctly metabolized.
The technique is never an end itself, never derailing into self-celebration but always resulting functional for the realization of emotional excerpts and convincing melodies.
It is no wonder then that Seventh Wonder gather with open hands the melodic taste of compatriots Europe, especially in the construction of the repeated double voiced chorus, which tend to create a sort of melodic reverberation of great effect.
The album is a continuous succession of emotions constructed with great personality, starting from the instrumental opener ‘There and Back’, whose riff is riproposed many times, as if to draw a sort of red line within the intricate compositive labyrinth.
The oneiric journey of the protagonist, between the reality of the hospital bed and the escape in the city of dreams, is perfectly portrayed thanks to the inspired and courageous song writing.
The compositive climax is surely the suite ‘Unbreakable’ with its unexpected accelerations and instrumental break, which bring into full view the technical capacities of the bass player Andreas Blomgvist.
There is no lack of more intimate and touching moments like the ballad ‘Tears for a Father’ and the rather moving ‘One Last Goodbye’. Once the terrible fate of the protagonist has been clarified, we are offered ‘The Black Parade’, a sort of positive spiritual testament that tends to reassume in its seven minutes, the entire musical vision (and not only) of Seventh Wonder.
An album that is certainly not easy to metabolize but that has all the requisites to be considered as one of this years main releases in its genre.

[tommidt]

I find it very odd that one very big progressive music website (http://www.dprp.net) haven´t reviewed MF yet. They gave praising reviews to WitW( http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200649.php#seventh)... Hopefully they will get their copy to review.

[StigRR]

SEVENTH WONDER
”Mercy Falls”
(lion/BONNIER AMIGO)
4.5

Svenske Seventh Wonder leverer sitt tredje album og det høres i utgangspunktet veldig oppskriftsmessig ut. Flinke musikere, god vokalist og bra arrangementer. Det eneste som mangler er selvfølgelig låtene. Unødvendigheter som bass-soloer kan jeg også styre min begeistring for. ”Mercy Falls” er et konseptalbum om en by med ondskap og familietragedier. Liker historien om fyren i koma med et siste håp å få beinmarg fra sin sønn. Dette blir problematisk, da det viser seg at det ikke er hans sønn likevel… Albumet krever noen gjennomlyttinger, men høydepunktene er mange. Skremmende nok går en av de beste låtene, ”Hide And Seek” i dur! Den har et veldig fengende refreng og vokalisten høres ut som en kloning av Joey Tempest, Glenn Hughes og Daniel Gildenlöw. ”Paradise” gir assosiasjoner også til Pain Of Salvation, med en fin overgang til et fengende 6/8-takt refreng. Avslutningslåten, ”The Black Parade” har noen enorme koringspartier som er perfekt arrangert og er et verdig punktum for platen. Jeg er også svak for den akustiske ”One Last Goodbye”. Dialogsekvensen i broen er derimot mer irriterende enn voiceover-stemmen på Frontiers-promoene. Platen når sitt klimaks mot slutten av "Destiny Calls" og jeg skulle gjerne ønske at de gjorde enda mer ut av dette partiet..
(Stig Rune Robertsen)

Noen ganger er førsteinntrykk ikke nok. Sjelden har et album vokst så mye på meg som dette og til tross for min faglige vurdering er dette et av mine favorittalbum for 2008.
Gleder meg til Sweden Rock! Blir helt sikkert også blant årets høydepunkter der!

[AndreasBlomqvist]

Hi!

New fabulous review from MetalCD Ratings (5/5).

See link below:
http://www.angelfire.com/music5/meta...DERREVIEW.html

[Kazar]

^^ "Not only is this one of the best progressive metal CDs I've heard, it's also one of the best CDs of the decade - regarding all of the styles combined..."

Still a big 'AMEN' to that...


P.S. Hey Andreas, any chance of giving away some 'secrets' regarding the storyline (.....it's been a few months now so maybe the time has come to tell us a little bit more)?

[demonhunter]

Don't know if it's already here or not, if it is I apologize. If not, here's another 10/10:
http://www.metal-observer.com/articl...sid=1&id=15381