MERCURY X is a Progressive Metal band hailing from Sweden. Their music and sound takes inspiration from the early '80s Progressive Metal bands as well as Modern Metal. The new album, "Imprisoned," is based on their lives during the making of the album, taking the listener through different emotional stages with simple and beautiful melodies accompanied by rough riffs. Formed in 2013 in Norrtälje, outside of Stockholm. The band met for the first time when they were studying music together in high school. They soon formed a band together, but eventually everyone followed their course of studies in different cities. More recently, they started writing an epic twenty-minute-long song called "Imprisoned," which was originally supposed to be a stand-alone EP release. After it was written, they decided to record an additional four songs and make a proper full length album.

"Until the Break of Day" leads off the album. It begins with a slow and steady pulse of keys and guitars and some background choirs. The vocals are dreamy and ethereal, and the piano notes are a bonus. Some light Progressive elements pepper the landscape, mostly in the form of heavy accents, but the entire song has a melancholy feeling to it. "The Light in your Eyes" open with some guitar harmonies and a thicker background. There are also some harmonies in the vocals. Some meaty bass notes and keyboards carry the melody through the mid-section of the song, followed by a guitar solo. The twin guitar harmonies that follow are charming.

"Lonely" features more dreamy vocals over a bed of heavy, attacking guitar riffs. "Searching for an answer...searching for a reason" he croons. Let this song take you away with its longing, despondent tones, as the title suggests. The instrumental passage that follows the second chorus is very well done. It makes you feel lost in this world. "Imprisoned" is the 20-minute song they talked about in the bio. This song is a very ambitious outing with moments of pure prowess as well as a variety of different sounds shifting and the band darting in and out of these passages with surgical accuracy. Like DREAM THEATER, they never lose you along the way. The softer passages are handled with kid gloves as they should be.

"The Sound of Nothing" closes the album. It features some piano notes and catchy vocal harmonies, along with heavy accented guitar riffs. This was a very good album, although I could do without the thread of despondence that runs though the entire album. Mix it up-put an energetic burner in between some of the sadder songs to keep things moving and fresh. They know how to layer their music so that each passage doesn't stand on its own, but rather blends with the next. The band is quite talented, as well as intelligent songwriters, but are capable of more than they presented here. Still, it was a very pleasing album to listen to.