Neverland - no, this has nothing to do with Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch nor does it have anything to do with Peter Pan's adventures on the small island of the same name. Here we are dealing with a new band from the land of army knives and cheese: Switzerland.

Neverland was founded by drummer Boris Stoll and guitarist Daniel Huber back in 1999 in Zurich, they quickly became a 6-piece with Andres Mislin (Guitars), Roland Jost (Bass), Mike Zotter (Vocals) and Manuel Wagner (Keyboards) completing the line-up. Under the guidance of highly acclaimed Swiss producer Tommy Vetterli (Kreator, Coroner) they recorded 4 songs, which saw the light of day in the end of 2003 as a Maxi-CD. Tension within the band led to the departure of Mike and Manuel, who were replaced by vocalist Jean Marc Viller, whom some of you might recognize from various Swiss underground bands (none of them rings a bell with me) and keyboard player Oliver Benz.

'Schizophrenia' is their first full-length album, and once more they've turned to the guidance of Mr. Vetterli, and he has provided them with a good and solid production, which fits their style and music good.

They do mention bands like Royal Hunt, Symphony X and Dream Theater as influences, and to some extend I can follow their statement, but I have to throw in Vanden Plas as well to give you a clearer picture of the kind of progressive power metal we are dealing with here.

Skilful musicians, strong songs and a good vocalist are essential for any band to have a chance in this genre today, and Neverland has it all. The duels between guitars and keyboards, the vocal acrobatics and a very tight rhythm section is just some the key ingredients on this great album, which makes this album enjoyable.

2 of the songs: "Mysteria" and "Neverland" from their Maxi-CD have made it onto this album, and they fit in nicely with the seven remaining songs. 55 minutes of very entertaining progressive power metal is on offer here, and I am sure fans of the above mentioned bands will get a kick out of this album as well... and I am sure this album will give this up-coming band much deserved attention.