SEVEN THORNS

RETURN TO THE PAST

NIGHTMARE RECORDS

RELEASED 2011

Unabashed retro metal that lifts you to that level that metal releases used to make you feel as a kid. There’s nothing big and clever about this release, nothing new, just great music.  Powerful, driving, guitar-led metal that feels like the last thirty years never happened!

Seven Thorns has a sound that captures a moment in time where metal was melodic, dramatic and simple and openers ‘Liberty’ and ‘End of the Road’ just hit the spot you never realised you were missing out on.

It’s very welcome to listen to an album like this that takes two steps back in time to move forward. In the grooves you hear so much that you’ll love. It evokes an age when bands like Helloween were at the forefront of what became known as Power Metal – where metal sounded clean and you could pick out every note, and when you could actually hear the words and sing along!

Vocalist Erik “EZ” Blomkvist is perfect for the sound and full of unrestrained energy and the guitars of both Gabriel Tuxen and Christian Stroger cement the deal. Elsewhere the keys of Nielsen and Mikkel Henderson compliment proceedings beautifully.

If you love a bit of retro Maiden or the aforementioned Helloween or even give newer bands like Black Tide and the like the time of day you will love this.

Standouts ‘Liberty’ (the video) and ‘Spread Your Wings’ win the prizes, though it’s a very consistent slab of metal indeed: and both ‘Through the Mirror’ and ‘End of the road’ are up there.

If you’re not genre-specific about your metal give this a try.

By Mark Diggins