Stephen
Second release of Swedish melodic beast, Elevener, marks the debut appearance of singer Pierre Wensberg, giving a stylistic and different touch to the band's whole musical venture. Being a five-man band, Elevener evolved to a full band from the two-person project that's sighted in their 2008 release. If not for the determination of guitarist Magnus Lindqvist, Elevener's second album might not see the daylight, but with a package full of highly infectious melodic rock and AOR tunes, I'll be damned if I don't thank Magnus and Johan for this.
The balance of mix of the slower parts and the uptempo parts is brilliant. The audience was served with bombastic fast-paced songs such as 'Just As I Thought', 'Hypnotized', and 'Never Would I' with the chorus that stick to the mind like an Alteco super glue, and comforted with silky midtempo ballads, 'Written In Your Eyes', 'Dare To Love', and 'Cage of Broken Dreams'.
Some songs may not be as strong as the rest. 'Heal Me' is actually could be a wonderful westcoast effort effort but despite the nice guitar solo, the song is quite average. 'Tearing Me Down', another example of the heaviest track on the album but just can't compete with the first two tracks. 'Modern Times' is another okay tune, but all in all, 'Symmetry In Motion' is as solid as their debut, probably more varied, but I like what I hear so far. You can hear Journey, The Storm, and many Scandinavian AOR influences all over, so if you like those bands, this is a sure keeper.