ELEVENER – Symmetry In Motion (2011)

Behind the Elevener moniker are hiding two Swedish musicians who have known each other since their childhood.
During the second half of the ’80s they have been playing in numerous bands together before both of them wanted to pursue other musical adventures. While Johan Bergquist developed his love for progrock throughout the ’90s, Andreas Brodén mainly made a name for himself as session guitarist in Stockholm.
Best known is Bergquist though. Not only has he been lead singer and keyboardist for Swedish progsters Scenario, he has also appeared – as keyboard player – on albums from HammerFall, Stefan Elmgren and M.ILL.ION.

At the dawn of the millennium Johan and Andreas got together again and soon returned to the music they grew up with.
New songs in a classic AOR/melodic rock vein were written and in 2005 Elevener was born.
The duo released ‘When Kaleidoscopes Collide’ generating rave reviews, being one of the most talked about debut albums on the AOR scene that year.

Brodén left the project in 2009 due to other commitments.
In January 2010, guitarist Magnus Lindqvist heard the Elevener debut through a mutual friend. He and Bergquist got together and soon realized they shared the same taste and ambitions in music.
The second incarnation of Elevener born.
As the hunt for the missing pieces began, Johan came to think of drummer Anton Roos (Saffire) whom he had seen playing on the Gothenburg club scene in early 2010.
Thanks to Magnus having played on the cover band circuit with singer Pierre Wensberg (Prisoner, Tommy Denander, Heartbreak Radio) and bass player Robert Garnold (Heartbreak Radio) were asked to join and to Johan’s delight Elevener had now evolved into a full band.

The new line-up started recording in late 2010 their brand new album “Symmetry In Motion” under the expertise hands of master producer Martin Kronlund.
The result is a marvelous collection of pure European Melodic Rock / AOR songs that blown away their debut in terms of songwriting, production and feeling. This is ultra smooth AOR of the highest order mixed with some catchy melodic rockers.

The opening track “Just As I Thought” should end up on many AOR fans playlists. Soaring vocals and enchanting harmonies are the rule here.
“Hypnotized” is a catchy Journey-esque stylized track with some beautiful Jonathan Cain like piano treatment.
“Written In Your Eyes” downs the tempo a bit, reminding you the band Heartbreak Radio (where Pierre Wensberg used to sing). Great harmony vocals and feel.
Time for a ballad. “Dare To Love” is a well arranged (interesting percussion) tune with a memorable orchestration.
“Never Would I” is a personal favorite. Marching uptempo track where the guitars take the scene. The chorus is contagious, helped by the wall of backing vocals.
“Heal Me” changes the style adding variation to the album. A song with a persistent melody not far from Prisoner or any Tommy Denander project.
The band sound like their fellow countrymen Deacon Street on “Cage Of Broken Dreams”. Some traces of the first Last Autumn’s Dream as well.
“Tearing Me Down” rocks again. This song adds some vintage keyboards (organ) to the strong guitar riff. This track is a bit more obscure compared to the rest of the album. I like it.
On the ballad “For The Times We Share” vocalist Pierre Wensberg finds space to shine. A calm, sweet track with a clean guitar tone.
“You Get What It Takes” is a bit generic, but the chorus enhances the song and the guitar work is nice and melodic.
Last track “Modern Times” is a melodic rocker with a more contemporary sound in the vein of Newman or Khymera. Cool and catchy.

On “Symmetry In Motion”, Bergquist has succeeded in keeping the entire CD varied and interesting, showing how talented and mature he is at the same time.
Bucketloads of keys without overdoing them, nice song arrangements and some really good choruses.
Add to this the excellent production & musicianship and the outcome cannot be something else then this: a fine release that will melt the heart of all AOR / Melodic Rock lovers out there.

01 – Just As I Thought
02 – Hypnotized
03 – Written In Your Eyes
04 – Dare To Love
05 – Never Would I
06 – Heal Me
07 – Cage Of Broken Dreams
08 – Tearing Me Down
09 – For The Times We Share
10 – You Get What It Takes
11 – Modern Times

Pierre Wensberg – Lead Vocals
Johan Bergquist – Keyboards
Magnus Lindqvist – Guitars
Robert Garnold – Bass
Anton Roos – Drums

www.myspace.com/elevenelevenagain
IF YOU LIKE IT, BUY IT!