Seventh, the
Cursed Earth Wasteland ()
Wydane przez Shiver RecordsRok wydania Kraj BelgiumNapisał Wouter5
Belgian melodic death metallers The Seventh debuted in 2005 with their thoroughly horrible “Only Blackness Radiates” promo. That was an underproduced, generally underwritten effort that was released too early in the band’s career. Now, two years later the band debut through Shiver Records with “Cursed Earth Wasteland”. This record is played solidly and is mildly exciting with its take on melodic Swedish death metal as popularized by (early) Dark Tranquillity and (early) In Flames while incorporating modern metalcore from bands such as Neaera. “Cursed Earth Wasteland” contains sufficient amounts of structural melody, solid – if not textbook, unadventurous – riffing, fairly one-dimensional and occasionally sloppy drumming while the expected breakdowns are present to spice things up. As a contemporary melodic death metal product the standards aren’t met as this record is too safe, too predictable and frankly too unexciting to warrant attention from anyone who has heard the revolutionary progenitors of this particular death metal subgenre. Just like their American peers in The Absence the band is no more than a sum of its parts and there’s no magic or spark present. The production courtesy of Sound Lodge in Germany (God Dethroned, etc) is top notch in its earthiness, clarity and general meatiness in the string and drum department. Artwork and lay-out aren’t really top of the line – artwork by Niklas Sundin or Travis Smith is standard here and The Seventh here offers nothing particularly eye-catching or visually stimulating either. If you are new to and/or completely unfamiliar with this genre, pick this one up – or rather go for any classic early album by At the Gates, Carnage, Dark Tranquillity, Grotesque, In Flames or Unanimated. Otherwise, avoid this one!
www.theseventh.be
