The screaming that The Seventh Cross does on their “Scorched By The Flames of Vengeance” seems to show that the band is much more influenced by emo ands and music than they’d like to admit. Of course, at some point the style of music that The Seventh Cross plays is metal. There are hints of eighties metal present throughout “Scorched”, but much of what the band places down is without anything that acts as a beacon. “Through This Cleansing” is the stand-out track on the first part of this disc due to the incredible guitar work that opens up the track.
The vocals are pretty much what to expect during a Seventh Cross track, but the guitars keep the track interesting and fresh. The one good thing about the vocals here is tha they fit in well with the guitar and drum arrangements; the vocals themselves may not be amazing but at least they make sense in the composition. All of the songs on “Scorched” maintain a fairly normal runtime; the shortness of these songs allows for the disc to pass by fairly quickly. The one thing that has to be said about The Seventh Cross’ approach to this album is that it is very solid.
However, being solid and closely-grouped together, there is little in the way of differentiation between the songs on “Scorched”. If the band wants to succeed, chances are that they should experiment a little more with the tracks on their next album. Each of the tracks taken separately would make Seventh Cross into an act that could conceivably have its tracked played on shows like Headbanger’s Ball. Trying to listen to the entirety of “Scorched” in one listen is made harder by the fact that the band comes up with an overall album sound instead of just trying to craft each different track. There are some tracks that break from tradition a slight bit; this includes “Deathbed”. The slightly different use of time signatures during this track moves the band out of their comfort zone ever so slightly, and even considering the fact that the band comes through with nearly the same sound, this is momentous for Seventh Cross. The band, for their next album, need to come forth with an album that allows each member of the band to explore and experiment more. If the band is able to do that, then chances are good that they could surface at a level that is close to being above-average.
Top Tracks: Let Misery Flow, Deathbed
Rating: 5.2/10
Seventh Cross – Scorched By The Flames of Vengeance / 2006 Candlelight / 11 Tracks / http://www.theseventhcross.co.uk / http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com / Reviewed 22 July 2006
[JMcQ]