Sweden's PARALYDIUM was founded by John Berg, with a vision to create an innovative mixture of hard hitting riffs, melodic landscapes and hypnotizing grooves. John gathered some of Sweden's most accomplished musicians and recorded a three song EP, released in October of 2015, simply called "The Paralydium Project." PARALYDIUM'S long awaited debut album "Worlds Beyond" was released on Frontiers Records on June 12th, 2020. It is a concept album where the music and lyrics are coherent during the entire experience. Through different landscapes, or worlds if you will, the listener follows a man on his quest to find higher powers. What he comes across during journey is not what he expected, and he is forced to rethink the purpose of his life.
"Enter Paralydium" is an opening, mood-setting instrumental. Grandiose sounds come from the instruments...this is going to be one hell of a ride...I can feel it. Ominous tones set the stage for what is to come, with symphonic techniques. "Within the Sphere" opens with a weighted edge and a riff that chugs along. Mikael's vocals are in the low register at first, but he can negotiate the upper ranges with precision. They remind me of DGM. A skillful key solo is followed by an equally skilled guitar solo. These guys are on their A game for sure. "Synergy" is over seven-minutes in length. It opens with a nice melodic passage filled with thick bass guitar notes. Keys and guitars join in, and we have the beginnings of a great song. Progressive elements come into play in terms of the meter shifting. Not a single note is missed. Mikael's vocals are even-keeled and pleasing to the ears. The instrumental passage after the half-way mark torches the ground beneath you.

"Finding the Paragon" opens with heavy guitars throwing down accents, and keys filling the background. This song has a bit of darkness in it...like someone on a quest when all odds are stacked against him. Once again, Jonathan owns those bass notes, and the lead guitar solo is fantastic. "Crystal of Infinity" opens with pretty piano notes, followed by heavy guitars and bass. The chorus is rich and full, with a variety of instrumentation filling the background. The backing vocals are a nice touch, and John lays down another perfect guitar solo. "Awakening" is a short, two-minute instrumental, providing some relief from the whirlwind sound heard earlier. The atmosphere and clean guitars provide a canvas for an awakening of the mind.

"The Source" is another winner. The instruments play together so tightly; it's like the group have been together for decades. Mikael's vocals are the perfect complement here. He toys playfully at times, but when needed, he musters all of his inner power to lead the band to new heights. "Into Divinity" opens with charming clean guitar notes, and then the full power of the band joins in. The female vocals are a nice surprise here...providing another vocal perspective. "Divinity" is the study of God, per se, and that is what you feel here...as close to the heavens as you could be. "Seeker of the Light" closes the album; a seven-and-a-half-minute opus. Piano and poignant vocals lead the charge here. The bass guitar thwacks away here in unison with the six-string and keys. The vocals are placed perfectly here, supporting the pure energy of this song. It closes with a pretty piano passage and a long fade-out.

Overall, "Worlds Beyond" from PARADYLIUM is a near-perfect album, filled with dexterous instrumental passages, a perfect balance between each instruments, and the truly exceptional vocals of Mikael Sehlin. With under 3,000 FB likes, it's a band that not a lot of people are aware of, apparently. But this is the album that will break them out to the world and show what a force they truly are. With the cast firmly in place, this is the kind of album that will fill you with energy, and makes you want to out and conquer the world. It's time to talk about PARADYLIUM with the giants of Progressive Metal.