Paralydium: Worlds Beyond (Frontiers, 2020)

At last the debut ful-length album from Swedish progressive metal band Paralydium has arrived. Their self-released 2015 EP (under the moniker The Paralydium Project) showed enormous potential, so it was no surprise to see the band get picked up by the Frontiers label since they’ve more or less cornered the market on melodic prog metal. The band features former Dynazty guitarist John Berg alongside the Dynazty rhythm section of Jonathan Olsson and Georg Egg, as well as keyboardist Mikael Blanc and vocalist Mikael Sehlin.

The debut Paralydium album is titled Worlds Beyond, and it hearkens back to the glory days of the early 2000s prog metal sound, following in the footsteps of the more melodic progressive metal bands like Symphony X, Vanden Plas, Pagan’s Mind and Circus Maximus. It’s probably considered tame by today’s progressive standards, but that mix of technicality and melody will never go out of style when it’s done this well. I love that the rhythms are complex but not “break out the calculator” complex, and that the guitar solos are intricate without overshadowing the melodies. And with that power and range, Mikael Sehlin is not going to be a “mostly unknown” vocalist much longer.

Everything comes together perfectly on Worlds Beyond. The songs are dynamic and engaging, and with just two tracks clearing the 7-minute mark they never wear out their welcome. “Within The Sphere” and “Finding The Paragon” are both great introductions if you’re looking to get a feel for the band, but you owe it to yourself to give the full album your attention. Aside from a couple of brief, atmosphere-setting instrumentals, these are all very strong melodic progressive metal songs.

I had very high hopes for Paralydium’s debut, and Worlds Beyond does not disappoint. Fans of early Dream Theater, Symphony X, Cloudscape, Pagan’s Mind and Circus Maximus should absolutely love this one.