Style: progressive metal, power metal, hard rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Avantasia, Cain’s Offering, Michael Romeo
Country: Sweden
Release date: 21 February 2025
Derek Sherinian shreds the keys as a guest on a track from every other mediocre prog metal album we get a promo for; it’s become a bit of a joke around here how busy the ex-Dream Theater keyboardist is. On the other hand, Enbound stick out from the droves of other C-tier prog metal bands with their guest feature: Kevin Moore. Dream Theater’s OG keyboard maestro is elusive in the prog world, his last studio album over a decade ago with OSI and the last feature in general on Avandra’s 2019 opus. He’s a busy doctor in real life, and despite his prodigious talent—I mean listen to those atmospheres on Images and Words—music is no longer his passion. Yet Swedish power/prog outfit Enbound hooked the man enough for a guest feature on Set It Free’s closer “Leave Them to Night.” I am so intrigued by how they possibly lured the man out of his musical retirement, I have no choice but to review Enbound’s third LP.
I won’t leave you hanging: “Leave Them to the Night” is a decent track, but I am devastated to announce that ol’ Kevin Moore doesn’t add anything. The piano softly arpeggiates underneath the ballad-y intro and adds some backing atmospherics throughout the main melody and chorus, but that’s about all he contributes. The highlight of the track is a damn guitar solo. What a letdown. Thankfully, Set It Free isn’t a disappointing listen on the whole; in fact, Enbound’s brand of AOR-tinged power/prog is infectious and fun at its best, redolent of Avantasia as well as Enbound’s Scandinavian peers like Stratovarius and Cain’s Offering.
Enbound find their groove at their power metal-iest, when the synths are over-the-top, the choruses bold and cheesy, and the guitar solos shreddy. For instance, the pre-chorus in “Maximize,” with its multi-part vocal lines, is exaggerated and fun, but the chorus it explodes into is as uplifting and sing-along as one could want from a power/prog act. The other standout track, “Black,” reminds me of Michael Romeo’s War of the Worlds, Marvin Flowberg’s guitar line much more technical on the track than the rest of Set It Free. Flowberg’s playing has some swagger throughout Set It Free, and his solos are reliably the best moments on several tracks—“Assaulted Taste,” “Set It Free,” and “Leave Them to the Night” among them.
Enbound’s energy is often infectious, but without much variation in tempo and track structure, Set It Free is boring; the band really needs to Let it Loose. All of the members are killer musicians—even the drums, which normally are far too repetitive in power metal, are incredibly dynamic with plenty of creative fills—but for the most part it’s too hard rock and not enough prog. As it turns out, energetic and engaging are not synonymous, and the middle third of the album is, unfortunately, quite forgettable— tracks like “Invincible” and “You Never Walk Alone” are simply too cliched to stick.
I have no idea what type of voodoo magic Enbound possess that got Kevin Moore interested enough in this project to feature because Set It Free is not deserving of his magical touch. It is, however, fun, and that’s what counts at the end of the day. When I want complex power metal, Enbound won’t grab my attention over Symphony X or Angra, but for catchy and upbeat music—something for a light workout or to throw on after a depressing day at the office—one could do a lot worse than Set It Free.
Recommended tracks: Black, Maximize, Invincible
You may also like: Pagan’s Mind, Pyramaze
Final verdict: 6/10
Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Embrace the Fear – Official Website
Enbound is:
– Swede (bass)
– Mike Force (drums)
– Andy (guitars)
– Toby (vocals)
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