7FOR4 is a four piece instrumental Jazz/Fusion/Rock band led by Wolfgang Zenk, former guitarist of German Progressive Metallers SIEGES EVEN, and he’s got a keyboardist, bassist and drummer along for the ride. I looked at their website, and each musician’s resume was very impressive, so there is enough talent on hand to sink a battleship.

Before I begin talking about ANYTHING else, let me say that the bassist and drummer on this album are absolutely phenomenal. They follow each other so diligently and gracefully, in the way only two incredibly talented musicians that have been playing together for YEARS can. The rhythm section sounds like they are breathing together, it’s THAT tight.

The rhythm section also grounds the song, while the keyboardist and guitar player go off on diverging paths, and it is often the one thing keeping the song together. On more than one occasion (“Hidden Depths”, “Diffusion”), the two lead players play different and sometimes conflicting melodies, yet the bass and drums links everything together.

It has a very prominent Jazz sensibility, which I thoroughly enjoy. The focus is on how the song is built and how the lead/soloing takes the song through the various melodies. The instrumentation is also highly influenced by jazz, especially the soloing on the slower tracks (“Emoctify”).

Special mention has to go to the closing track “Modest Mouse”, with its alternating 4/4 7/8 beat. It’s just so beautifully played, with the polyphonic guitar/piano melody that is the focal point of the song which the song always returns to between all of the directions it spins off to. It’s absolutely mind-blowing…Words cannot do it justice.

It’s a group of incredible musicians playing great music with their immense skill. What’s not to enjoy?

(Online April 12, 2008)