Performers: The Shameless, Estriver, Seventh Wonder
Date: Friday, 4 November 2022
Location: Prosecco near Trieste / Kulturni dom Prosek Kontovel (Cassa Delle Culture Prosecco) / Italy
Seventh Wonder are today considered a highly regarded band among progressive metal fans, and their catalog of six excellent studio albums — from a band founded in Stockholm in 2000 — speaks for itself. In terms of evolution, they haven’t let their fans down with their last two releases either: the ambitious concept album Tiara (2018) and the then-current The Testament, released that June (RockLine review). In recent years, signing with Italian label Frontiers Music Srl. gave the band a significant boost, giving their excellent music the chance to reach a wider audience and, with it, greater international visibility. And not least, Tommy Karevik joining Florida’s power metal giants Kamelot back in 2012 played its part too. As part of their 2022 autumn tour dates, the band included three Italian stops. Over a decade after their first Trieste show on 11 April 2012 (at club Etnoblog), they were back in the Trieste area. At that earlier show they had presented the concept album The Great Escape (2010), inspired by Swedish writer Harry Martinson’s science-fiction work Aniara.
In our region, shows by bands like Seventh Wonder are a genuine exclusive — a true rarity. Thanks to the tireless enthusiasm of the Rock Out X Project association, and the indestructible Maxx and his dedicated crew, we’ve been damn lucky to enjoy nearly fifteen years of almost uninterrupted access to exclusives like these, all just a stone’s throw from the western Slovenian border. Hats off to our Italian counterparts for keeping it alive.
But to keep things from gliding too smoothly into paradise, the band arrived in Prosecco without their gear. Completely stripped bare, in fact. A snag with Lufthansa. The band itself landed at Venice airport without a hitch, while their luggage missed the connection and kept drifting toward its destination — with such a delay that waiting for it was no longer an option. And this wasn’t just all the instruments; it was every single piece of personal luggage too. So the band arrived in Prosecco, but rather than disappoint everyone who had come out to support them that evening, they came up with a move they will remember for the rest of their days — just like that landing in Venice. And so will the audience that made it to Prosecco that night. With logistical support from the concert organizer, Seventh Wonder decided to put together a short 20-minute acoustic set of four songs. There was no time to rehearse. Just as they arrived with nothing to their name, they took to the stage the same way — acoustically.
But let’s rewind to around half past seven in the evening. The venue was being warmed up by two local acts: The Shameless from Monfalcone and Estriver from Trieste. The first to hit the stage — The Shameless — are something of a phenomenon in their own right. All four of them still teenagers, the kind who could have shown up with their parents in tow. Two girls (vocals, guitar) and two guys (rhythm section). Thanks to the emergency situation that had nearly put the Seventh Wonder show in jeopardy, they were handed extra stage time. The Shameless started out as a covers band, but in Prosecco they also showcased some fresh original material. After a slightly hesitant opening section and a snare drum head blowing out on the drummer, there was a fairly lengthy pause. The band’s inexperience in handling that kind of situation peaked with a temporary retreat offstage — most bands would fill the gap with some instrumental jamming. And yet. Anyone who doubted the untapped talent hiding inside these two young guys and two young girls was about to be seriously proven wrong. Because the moment they came back onstage they made exactly the right call, and the crowd was instantly sold. They launched into the YYZ instrumental, originally the property of prog metal giants Rush. And they nailed it. An even bigger surprise came when the singer stepped back on, and the band used the closing note as the intro to another Rush cover — Tom Sawyer. Even without keyboards, it still came off convincingly enough.
The Shameless — literally. No holding back, no shame. And with flying colors. Strikingly bold and tight as a unit. The sonic space used cleverly. With only one guitar in the mix, the bassist frequently fills things out by holding full chords, and the band has already mastered the use of extra tech to shape their live sound. Even in the original material, you can tell this band has lived inside Rush’s back catalog, though Black Sabbath and Metallica have clearly left their mark too. Extended instrumental passages are a constant in their vocabulary, and the band radiates genuine commitment and passion. In the second half they fully let go, completely winning over the roughly hundred or so people who had gathered by that point. For their closing cover they dedicated it to Maxx and tore into the Dream Theater classic Pull Me Under — which fired the crowd up big time, because anyone who listens to Seventh Wonder obviously listens to Dream Theater too. The band certainly didn’t dodge a few performance slips, but you have to keep in mind they’re still incredibly young and need as many stage miles as possible right now to build the confidence and routine. But The Shameless more than convinced with their ambitious, wide-ranging vision of music, so the future of progressive rock with our western neighbors looks anything but worrying.
Unlike The Shameless, Trieste’s Estriver stepped onstage with a more fully formed show and entirely original material, keeping the crowd entertained for a solid half-hour-plus. The band, formed in 2019 from the remnants of the Bluerose project, had released their debut studio album Outcry the previous December, and they gave it a thorough airing at the Prosecco show. Estriver operate as melodic metal merchants with a taste for progressive elements. They’re a quintet who already have a refined songwriting voice, and the members bring considerably more stage experience to the table. Vocalist Piero Pattay delivered an impressive vocal range and kept the crowd engaged with a commanding stage presence. He’s known for his work with guitarist Arthur Falcone and his Stargazer project, having contributed to their 2009 album The Genesis of Prophecy. The band impressed with their tightness, precision, and focus on the hook-laden highlights represented by the full Outcry tracklist: Primordial, March Of The Black Flags, Brighter Than The Sun, Human Destiny, The Dreamer, and Visions of Eden. Estriver were so ‘industrious’ that they also worked in the album’s opening track, the scorching Nails (which had been listed on the setlist only as a possible bonus), rounding off what was a more-than-convincing set in Prosecco.
Then came the moment of the evening everyone had been eagerly waiting for. The arrival of Seventh Wonder. Poor unfortunates — through no fault of their own and entirely against their will, yet heroes in the eyes of the crowd. Both at once that night! The first to appear onstage, accompanied by two techs, was Seventh Wonder’s resident tall guy — drummer Stefan Norgren, who settled in behind a cajon. The other four followed shortly: keyboardist Andreas Kyrt Söderin and guitarist Johan Liefvendahl, with vocalist Tommy Karevik in the center; to Norgren’s left — stage far right as seen from the audience — bassist Andreas Blomqvist took his bar stool, holding nothing but a tambourine. While most of the band — three-fifths of them — were already ‘suspiciously swaying’ even after taking their spots, it was vocalist Tommy Karevik and keyboardist Andreas Kyrt Söderin who brought the most level-headed stage focus to the proceedings, and who ultimately carried this 20-minute acoustic performance (covering just four songs). Andreas Kyrt Söderin was practically single-handedly holding the skeleton of the acoustic arrangements together on keys.
Tommy warmed the crowd up effortlessly from his very first words, explained the whole situation, and thanked everyone present from the bottom of his heart for all the support shown. Around 150 people fused with the band the moment the opening Tiara’s Song kicked in, confirming that everyone who had made it out was a genuine devotee who knew the music inside out. The peak came when Tommy announced that the band was going to play a ballad they hadn’t performed live in a long time. It was the Mercy Falls (2009) classic One Last Goodbye. On The Testament tour, that song had been played live only here in Prosecco. The crowd erupted, and the front half completely lost it — they practically drowned Tommy out with their singalong, especially on the chorus. Insane atmosphere. Incredible chemistry. And we were barely halfway through the show. Next up was another Mercy Falls (2009) track, Tears For A Father, and the intensity of the connection between band and crowd didn’t let up for a second — if anything, it deepened. For the big finale — the fourth and final song of the night — the band made another surprising choice. They hadn’t played it at any other show on The Testament tour, despite it being a brand-new track. It was the closing track from The Testament — The Elegy — a song Tommy introduced by saying it means a great deal to him, marking a chapter of his life, its message a piece of his own personal story. The brilliant chorus ensured that the electric atmosphere — even in acoustic mode — never let up, and even Tommy himself couldn’t hold back the deep, overwhelming emotion: he shed a few tears during the performance. Stefan, to his left, patted him on the shoulder in comfort.
In short, it’s hard to believe you actually made the trip to Prosecco for those ‘modest’ 20 minutes — yet those minutes lifted you the way a two-hour show would. Packed so full of passion and emotion, too; not something that happens at club venues every day. Thanks to an extraordinary crowd that carried the quintet high on their wings that night, we witnessed something the band will remember for the rest of their lives. If anyone thought to record the performance, it could one day serve as the basis for a special acoustic EP. It stands as a singular, one-of-a-kind landmark in the band’s career — however brief. But behind it stands an exhilarating story of how Seventh Wonder saved their own skin with an improvised show, forced into unexpected adaptations for which they hadn’t rehearsed a single second.
The frustration was there too. The band had already ‘unplugged’ before the ‘unplugged’ show. Stefan and Andreas in particular made no secret of it — the latter keeping himself busy filming on his smartphone during the performance — and both were diligently topping up their beer glasses throughout. Guitarist Johan also looked a bit red-faced and well-marinated. All of it perfectly logical and completely understandable. In fact, it only added to the fun.
After the show the band dived into hanging out with fans, sharing stories — theirs and their fans’ — well into the early hours of the morning. The next day Seventh Wonder were already playing a normal electric show in Bologna, and things fell back into place.
I have no doubt that the memory of this unique day in their career — what happened in Prosecco — will bring Seventh Wonder back to the Trieste area of our western neighbor even sooner and with an even greater desire to play. Until then, we can enjoy their more-than-excellent new achievement: the album The Testament.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
