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Unitopia — Seven Chambers
(ProgRock Essentials PRE-0002, 2023, 2CD)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2024-11-11

Seven Chambers Cover art

After an eleven-year hiatus Australian sextet Unitopia has released their new studio album, Seven Chambers, on the independent label Progrock.com's Essentials. Originally founded by vocalist / songwriter Mark “Truey” Trueack (United Progressive Fraternity) and multi-instrumentalist Sean Timms (Southern Empire, Damanek, United Progressive Fraternity) in 1996, the band now includes fellow UPF bandmate Steve Unruh, guitarist Dr. John Greenwood, drummer Chester Thompson (Frank Zappa, Weather Report, Genesis), and bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report, Santana, David Gilmour). The music across the seven tracks is a mixture of symphonic prog and contemporary prog with a bit of 70s pre- and post- Peter Gabriel Genesis stylings, along with some Porcupine Tree / Steve Wilson influences. They have stuck to their roots going back to 1996, but with Seven Chambers they have definitely created their own sound, integrating violin, viola, and cello on a couple of tracks. They also reveal a sense of humor, especially on “Bittersweet” with their eccentric prog rock rap about food at the end of the song. The two extended tracks, “Helen” (19:14) and the album closer “The Uncertain” (18:34), go through many emotional shifts and musical directions. There are moments over the album’s 82 minutes when the music sounds too forced or middle-of-the-road and then they pivot into something quite engaging, constantly surprising the listener. If you are a fan of contemporary symphonic progressive rock, then you may find Seven Chambers worthy of investigation.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Unitopia, Alphonso Johnson, Steve Unruh, Chester Thompson

More info
http://unitopia.bandcamp.com/album/seven-chambers-16-bit

 

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