What do you do when a band like Mostly Autumn is too soft for your liking and bands like Nightwish and Within Temptation are just a little bit too heavy? You get your hands on 7th Circles demo Unsummon. Why? Simply because this Belgian band combines both, the fine atmospheres and soundscapes of prog and the solid sound of todays (gothic) rock. The demo starts off with the title track “Unsummon”. At first you get the feeling that the band is just a little bit ill at ease but it doesn’t take long before the track develops and the band loosens up. The track is well structured and builds up to a fine climax. There is not much time to recover from this delightful introduction; the band takes you directly into the next fine composition “Jade”. Again it is guitarist Oerlemans that takes the music to a higher level. He proves to be able to escape from the usual patterns and clichés.

The female vocals of Winnie Versmissen sound vulnerable and are well worth listening to. A small point of criticism concerning her contribution is that the melodies are at some points a little bit predictable. The third and final track “Transience” is the longest on the demo. It is here you can hear that 7th Circle has some rough edges that do have to be developed. The band is not yet up to produce an epic song that is strong from minute one to minute ten. Nevertheless the track sounds very promising. Taken in consideration the fact that Unsummon is ‘just’ a demo, recorded in a home studio, one might only dream of what the first album will sound like. 7th circle show that they have got what it takes. With the right record company and the right production this band will put Belgium back on the prog-map.