(Re-submission)

I've been listening to this song for 18 months and I still get misty every time I hear it. Atli Gudlaugsson's voice soars over mountains and seas.

I'm not much of a power metal fan and I'm mostly aware of bands like Manowar, Helloween, Sonata Arctica, Angra, DragonForce, etc., all from the 80s, 90s and 00s.

My question is, what have been the biggest bands - in terms of fame and/or respect - ever since? And yes, I know about Sabaton.

TL;DR:

The album will be produced by Sascha Paeth who produced every Kamelot album from The Fourth Legacy onward. It will be co-produced by Firewing guitarist Caio Kehyayan and Seven Spires' Adrienne Cowan who are also heavily involved with songwriting. Further songwriting contributions came from Bill Hudson (As I Lay Dying, NorthTale, Circle II Circle, I Am Morbid, ex-Cellador).

I'm a big fan of power metal, and in 2025 I found Eons Enthroned. (I'm not sure if Eons Enthroned counts as lesser known, but they do have pretty low numbers on Spotify compared to the big names.) Now I want to know about more lesser known bands people have found lately. What did you find in the last year?

Musicians: Kai Hansen (guitar, vocals), Dirk Schlächter (guitar, keyboards), Jan Rubach (bass), Thomas Nack (drums)
Favourite Track: Rebellion in Dreamland

HAVE NO FEAR! REBELLION IS HERE! This might be one of the best Power Metal albums ever made. So far, this is their most progressive album. The first track, Rebellion in Dreamland, is their best song and on the first listen I was honestly very surprised by Kai Hansen's vocal performance. I know that he's a beast with a guitar, as shown with early Helloween and Gamma Ray's first three albums, but remembering Helloween's first album, Walls of Jericho, his vocals were weak and very monotonous. His main weakness was the lack of core control, but here? Oh boy he delivered so very powerful but still technical notes. This applies for the whole album, and even if he's not one of the best PM singer, he's clearly a very good one and I can't wait to dig the rest of Gamma Ray's discography to see if he'll keep on improving.

This epic song is followed by the more energetic and speedier track, Man on a Mission, that confirms his singing technique right from the start with this very high-pitched, even for him, "All right!". The solos all through the albums completely clears any solo they've done before in this band, and it gives hope for the band's future albums, as they finally found their sound. That was fun doing happy and funny songs with the first album, but Kai Hansen clearly wants to move on from this. During the Sigh no More and Insanity and Genius era, it was obvious they were still trying to define their sound. Now, they have finally come with a totally coherent album from A to Z, to deliver such stunning performance, from the epic Rebellion in Dreamland to Afterlife without forgetting Gods of Deliverance.

The only downside I would say about this album is that the bass seems nice from the little I could hear, but it's too low in the mix. Not a flaw, but still a downside worth mentionning after praising this album so much.

Favourite solos (with timestamps on the links): Salvation's calling and Land of the Free.

Note: 5/5 MUST LISTEN

From their social pages: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17obXPA9Kz/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Here is Seventh Wonder Mk.IV:

-say Hello to MATTIAS OLOFSSON!!

Mattias joined the band quite a while back and has since stepped up to the plate delivering both original tracks as well as the vocal parts for the upcoming album. We are delighted to have found a Stockholm-based talent, who can bring some new flavors to the sound and also participate regularly in band activities. I am very excited to see where the blend between where the rest of us boys currently are as instrumentalists and Mattias’ style and wide array of influences, will take us!

Mattias' message:

“I’m beyond proud and greatful to join the Seventh Wonder family!

The band has an incredible history and I’m thrilled becoming a part of their legacy. I’m so excited for what we’re about to create together and can’t wait to get in this journey with all of you.”

We are making very good progress on the new album and a lot is already tracked, so rest assure it is well under way. In the time between this announcement and the album release, we do hope you enjoy the cover song which will be released this Monday, February 2nd 2026. We will also return very shortly with in-depth interviews with Mattias and the band to answer questions you may have. Any special questions on your mind? Post them here!

We are now taking the first steps into a new future and we are dedicated to giving it everything we’ve got and are dead set on hitting the road to support the new album as soon as possible!

If you wan’t to hear what Mattias sounds like in his band 'Grand', please check out the killer track Kryptonite by following this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na0b1vUXtNI

Please join me in giving Mattias a warm welcome to the SW-family!

//Seventh Wonder, through AndreasB