First things first: the cover artwork by Dušan Marković is out of this world and one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The otherworldly atmosphere, the warm colours and the imaginative settings make for a unique artwork. I could look at it for hours and hours.

If only the music were as beautiful! A little bit more than four years after the very good predecessor The Fire Is Mine, the band celebrates its tenth year of existence with the aptly titled Decennium. Stylistically, the quintet from Florida still plays power metal with a lot if melodic drive and a versatile female lead singer. However, the songwriting isn't as memorable as four years earlier. A lot of tracks are rushing by and fail to leave a bigger impression.A first contact with this release was disappointing as none of the tracks had the inspiration, passion and vibe of the strong middle section of the predecessor. Decennium grew after multiple spins but can still only be considered an above average release at best.

''In the Walls'' which was already included on an extended play released the year before Decennium saw the light of day is one of the few highlights on the album. The guitar solos sound emotional as always, the band added more uplifting choirs here than usual and lead singer Sabrina Valentine has improved, showcasing a wide vocal range and nailing every part of it. Especially the high-pitched sections are delivered with energy and feeling. It's not surprising that this song was chosen as title track of last year's extended play and has been placed in third position on this studio record.

The better songs of the album can indeed be found in its first half. ''The Tale of Deathface Ginny'' is another highlight with its mysterious vibes thanks to cleverly employed sound and vocal effects. The track has a dreamy atmosphere that would blend in perfectly on a soundtrack for a fantasy or horror movie. This song invites to let your imagination go just like the gorgeous cover artwork.

However, the second half of the record is losing steam and offering numerous songs that just aren't memorable in any way. They are neither bad nor good but just forgettable. Conciliatory album closer ''Awakened from Nothing'' finally provides a healthy dose of energy in form of speedy melodic guitar solos and vivid choirs that aren't a far call from Epica and Xandria in their best moments but it's too little too late.

Decennium sees Seven Kingdoms slightly shifting away from power metal and flirting with symphonic metal. This transition works well on two excellent tracks in the first half and a very good album closer but the majority of this record consists of forgettable filler material. There is no stinker to be found on Decennium but the release is somewhat unspectacular, tame and disappointing after such a long waiting time. If the band managed to get its generic songwriting together and found its niche on the thin line between power and symphonic metal, there could still be great things to come in the future.

Final rating: 65%

Fahrenheit 451 was an imaginative dystopian science-fiction novel written by visionary Ray Bradbury. Despite its age, the content of the novel in times of omnipresent social media and overtly influential politicians has become more important than ever. The idea to merge the core idea of the novel with our contemporary society sounds like an exciting idea on paper. However, the movie is only good at best and doesn't capitalize on its enormous potential.

On the positive side, the movie evokes a realistic near future with social media and modern technology that look rather close to what we already have nowadays. The film evokes a constantly gloomy atmosphere that suits the sinisters topics that are dealt with. This movie has enough similarities to the novel yet adds a few fresh ideas here and there to make it stand on its own. While this has been criticized by fans and critics alike, I prefer a cleverer and more free-spirited adaptation of a novel than a film that blindly follows a story written half a century ago. Being creative and pushing the boundaries are key messages of the source material and it would have been ironic if the movie hadn't respected these by just projecting the actions and dialogues written such a long time ago onto the big screen. Those who criticize director and writer Ramin Bahrani that he hasn't understood the novel are actually quite wrong and have probably not understood the novel themselves.

Still, the movie has enough other flaws to discuss. First of all, the story is lacking depth and details. The explanations about the background story leading to the events portrayed in the movie remain vague. The personal story of the protagonist could have been a little bit more fleshed out to make him more sympathetic. The love story between him and the female lead character remains shallow and just ins't credible. The acting performances are at times lacking depth. The protagonist could be a little bit more profound and emotional. The female lead character is less developed than certain side characters. One could have expected more stunning special and visual effects from a movie that takes place in the future but the modest budget might be to blame here. The soundtrack could have also been more impressive and memorable. One shouldn't ignore the fact that the market has been flooded with dystopian science-fiction films since the beginning of the millennium and a movie of this kind needs to be particularly well-executed to leave a mark. This one here doesn't leave a mark.

In the end, Fahrenheit 451 is an entertaining movie but will soon be forgotten because it fails to add anything fresh to a genre which I adore but that has been overtly popular over the past two decades. If you look for a movie with similar motives that has more depth, you should watch Equilibrium instead.

Seven Kingdoms is one of the better female-fronted power metal bands thanks to a powerful instrumental execution and a versatile lead singer who manages to sound enchanting without drifting off into pompous symphonic innuendo. On the other side, the band's songwriting is at times a little bit too predictable and tame to leave a deeper impression among the elevated number of similarly sounding bands.

The Fire Is Mine is probably the band's greatest accomplishment so far. Especially the record's middle section is quite strong. ''Symphony of Stars'' has speed, power and melody that keep the up-tempo track engaging from start to finish. 

Title track ''The Fire Is Mine'' is particularly dynamic with extended instrumental sections offering interesting shifts in atmosphere and pace. Aside numerous great guitar solos, the bass guitar is quite audible and dominant and even the drum play is versatile enough to leave a mark. One can hear that the band members enjoyed themselves while recording this song and quite appropriately chose this song to represent the record. 

''Kardia'' is probably my favourite song on this output. It's a ballad that starts with enchanting acoustic guitar sounds and soothing female lead vocals supported by passionate male backing vocals by Theocracy's Matt Smith. The song starts like a folk ballad before guitars, drums and bass guitar kick in efficiently for the final one minute and a half. This structure is quite simple but works very well because it's executed with true passion. It might remind of Evanescence's My Immortal at times but that certainly isn't a shame since it's a great song as well.

''Fragile Minds Collapse'' is probably the greatest song from an instrumental point of view. It incorporates a contemporary production with a few minimal sound effects into a classic heavy metal structure flirting with power metal tropes and even a few progressive metal hints. The track convinces not only with perfectly executed guitar solos but also a tight bass solo. The diversified and relentless drum play is the backbone of the song structure. Those who like their power metal a little bit more adventurous, creative and sophisticated will enjoy this song for sure.

If you like imaginative power metal with a charismatic female lead vocalist, you should give Seven Kingdom's The Fire Is Mine a chance. The record doesn't reinvent the genre but it performs with enough passion, diversity and atmosphere to be entertaining from start to finish. If you like bands in the key of Evanescence, Epica and Elis, you are going to enjoy this release.

Final rating: 80%