I enjoyed Wonders' debut, The Fragment of Wonder, from 2021, so I was happy to have their second album, Beyond the Mirage, show up less than two years later. It contains the same kind of upbeat, speedy music as the debut, but leans harder into power metal with very few of the progressive elements remaining. It's almost a throwback to the turn of the century when power metal hit its stride with the huge riffs, hook-filled choruses, and neoclassical flourishes, but with an even cleaner sound that also manages to come across warm and inviting. This is not a style where innovation is rampant, so it will be unsurprising that bands of a generation ago can be heard in Wonders' music. "Once Upon a Time" is a pure speed-fest and the chorus is reminiscent of Sonata Arctica's "San Sebastian," while the slightly darkened keyboard on "Coming Home" had me thinking of Axenstar. There are no bad songs on Beyond the Mirage and even the ballad, "All My Dreams", avoids being overly saccharine. Wonders is a classic Limb Music band, pure power metal goodness, written and performed so well that the fact you've heard stuff like this many times before will matter very little in the end.
