Swedish hard rockers SEVENTH CRYSTAL have followed up to their highly praised full-length album “Wonderland” with the release of the five song EP “Infinity” on November 3, 2023, which came about “when we were recording “Wonderland” explains drummer Anton Roos “so instead of putting the songs on the album, we felt that these songs had a life of their own and deserved a place of their own. It's an EP where we take a bit of a turn but our fans are guaranteed to recognize the sound.” What started out as a one-man project in 2019 by singer/songwriter Kristian Fyhr that took an unanticipated turn after a series of random encounters and chance meetings with the now current band members, SEVENTH CRYSTAL was born and became a reality in 2021 when they signed with Frontiers Music Srl and released their debut album just in time for the Pandemic to toss a little roadblock in the way as the band members continued to press forward while recording from each other’s homes.

I really like the opening tempo on “Infinity”, as the guitar and keyboard tones passionately immerse setting a melodic and rhematic pace for the vocals that are light and velvety without being sappy that deliver a very pleasant and playful overtone that blends 80’s Hair and Glam metal together. “Memory Lane” is a little too ‘formulated” for my tastes with the precise, scripted harmonies and the feeling I’m listening to the theme song from a sappy feel good, happy family 80’s sitcom. “Ready Set Go!” gets us back to tad more harder rocking style with rich melodies and a great drum backbeat overseeing an anthemic type of riff with the keyboards providing some nice gritty fills. “Rivals” is plain and simple, a tender little “lighters in the air” ballad that I could have lived without. “Silence” ends the album with the strongest and best song as the guitars take over and the vocals get more aggressive and forceful and makes me wish the band would have showcased more of their harder side on the previous four songs.

I like SEVENTH CRYSTAL, I just don’t love SEVENTH CRYSTAL. Their sound is all too familiar, too catchy and a little too radio friendly, I need my rock bands to step on a few toes, rip the meat off the bone, and bang a few heads, “Infinity” is a nice, pleasant album, but an album that my parents would approve of, and we can’t have that, now can we.