Hard 20 |
Seven Witches"Year Of The Witch" Seven Witches return again with a brand new dose of metal magic! This latest opus continues in the same vein as the other Witches' albums. Their roots lie firmly planted in the classic old school of heavy metal, and this band have never been ones to stray too far from those roots. Their brand of traditional/power metal is influenced by all the masters, from Sabbath to Maiden and Priest to classic thrash metal, and beyond. The opening track to this album, "Metal Asylum", is, in fact, a tribute to the Gods Of Metal, who cast the spells that conjured up Seven Witches! It's a fast, furious, fist pumping tune that mentions just about every classic metal band in its lyrics! Many of the songs on "Year..." continue in this vein, such as "Fire Below" (faster and more furious!), the title track, and "Cries Of The Living". We also have a couple of Queensryche influenced songs on here, "If You Were God" and "Can't Find My Way". The former is the heavier of the two, but they are both somewhat slower and more melodic, with some thoughtful lyrics. For the second half of the album, we are treated to a little epic called "Jacob", the story of a man dealing with some serious issues in his mind, perhaps involving the supernatural or the Dark Side, made up of several songs and short spoken word/sound effects interludes. Three of the songs, "Voice Of Jacob", "Haunting Dreams", and "The Prophet Is You", are thrashers, while one, "Circles", is another Queensryche type ballad, and short. Seven Witches are a very talented band. Singer James Rivera (also of Helstar and Destiny's End) has a voice that can shatter glass! He hits those high notes in a Halford-like banshee wail, and at other times, sings akin to Geoff Tate. Jack Frost, guitarist and head of the coven, is one hell of a guitar player! He is very skilled, and plays with fury! Their songs are brilliantly written with some intelligent lyrics, and they play no frills, classic style heavy metal, with an aggressive edge to it. Now that Seven Witches have pulled a killer new album out of their cauldron, the coming year could very well be The Year Of The Witch! Beware, these Witches cast a deadly spell! |
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