Seven Thorns
We were recently put on to Danish power metal group, Seven Thorns and their latest album, Return To The Past, courtesy of Rock N Growl PR. Formed in 1998 initially, the band have gone from strength to strength, developing their style and working to craft their sound to perfection. I figured that since we had the album, and since their one sheet makes them sound pretty cool, I should get on and check out the music!
Opening the album with Liberty there’s a definite move towards the world of power metal, a soaring lead line opening the track before descending into a powerful melee of rolling drums, hammering guitar lines and melodic vocals. The mix which forms here is not only powerful but also full of melody, drawing you in and getting you to listen harder to make sure you don’t miss anything. As in all true power metal there are moments when you’re going to have a fist in the air, you’re going to grab for the air and throw some horns – but give it a couple of listens and you’re going to be singing along as well. End Of The Road continues this idea, once again throwing us straight into the mix of elements and letting us know that this is a band who mean business. Synth effects, hammering guitar lines and powerful drumming all combine with the bass heavy mix to once again, lead you through the track and leave you marvelling at the sheer amount of musical ability on display from the band. As an opening for an album, these two tracks certainly get things off to a good start, showing that this is going to be a band we need to get over here!
Through The Mirror follows on and throws us out some intricate guitar lines to get things moving, immediately continuing to set the bar higher and higher for the band to follow and keeping that sense of melodic power metal at the forefront of what the band are doing. To me, this track is a real highpoint on the album, showcasing the bands sound and demonstrating that this is a group who understand how to play their instruments, write songs and please their audience. My one question would be whether they can replicate this live, as if they can, then my god this is a band we all need to get out to see! Freedom Call, Countdown and Forest Majesty all continue the natural progression of the album, but it’s when Spread Your Wings comes around that another serious high is achieved, launching us into a more emotionally charged track which oozes with reflectiveness and power. The guitar work on this track is once again as close to perfect as can be achieved, coupling with the hammering drum lines, pounding bass rhythms and soaring vocal lines to achieve a song which is going to have crowds chanting, venues pumping and people clawing to see these guys live.
Fires And Storms returns us to the more upbeat and hammering tracks which got the album going from the start, once again demonstrating just how able a group we’re dealing with here when it comes to their playing. Throwing down intricate guitar lines and vocals which will leave you gasping, this is a track which raises this band to a new level, showing that music can indeed cross borders and achieve its full potential wherever it is heard! After such a great album it’s left to Return To The Past to close things once and for all, finishing on a high and leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is a serious force to be reckoned with. Seemingly summing up the album with this final track, the band have saved one final high for the close and leave as they begun, hammering out a track which is going to be begged for on the live scene and showing they understand 100% what they’re doing.
I didn’t really know what to expect from Seven Thorns when I first got the album as simply, their image doesn’t give a lot away about them. What you’ve got here though is an album which will happily sit alongside any other album from the power metal genre, showing that when it comes to bands, these guys are right there and ready to move forwards. My personal thoughts are that we need to get these guys over here as personally, I reckon people will love them!
To find out more about Seven Thorns, check out their Facebook page HERE and their Website HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening the album with Liberty there’s a definite move towards the world of power metal, a soaring lead line opening the track before descending into a powerful melee of rolling drums, hammering guitar lines and melodic vocals. The mix which forms here is not only powerful but also full of melody, drawing you in and getting you to listen harder to make sure you don’t miss anything. As in all true power metal there are moments when you’re going to have a fist in the air, you’re going to grab for the air and throw some horns – but give it a couple of listens and you’re going to be singing along as well. End Of The Road continues this idea, once again throwing us straight into the mix of elements and letting us know that this is a band who mean business. Synth effects, hammering guitar lines and powerful drumming all combine with the bass heavy mix to once again, lead you through the track and leave you marvelling at the sheer amount of musical ability on display from the band. As an opening for an album, these two tracks certainly get things off to a good start, showing that this is going to be a band we need to get over here!
Through The Mirror follows on and throws us out some intricate guitar lines to get things moving, immediately continuing to set the bar higher and higher for the band to follow and keeping that sense of melodic power metal at the forefront of what the band are doing. To me, this track is a real highpoint on the album, showcasing the bands sound and demonstrating that this is a group who understand how to play their instruments, write songs and please their audience. My one question would be whether they can replicate this live, as if they can, then my god this is a band we all need to get out to see! Freedom Call, Countdown and Forest Majesty all continue the natural progression of the album, but it’s when Spread Your Wings comes around that another serious high is achieved, launching us into a more emotionally charged track which oozes with reflectiveness and power. The guitar work on this track is once again as close to perfect as can be achieved, coupling with the hammering drum lines, pounding bass rhythms and soaring vocal lines to achieve a song which is going to have crowds chanting, venues pumping and people clawing to see these guys live.
Fires And Storms returns us to the more upbeat and hammering tracks which got the album going from the start, once again demonstrating just how able a group we’re dealing with here when it comes to their playing. Throwing down intricate guitar lines and vocals which will leave you gasping, this is a track which raises this band to a new level, showing that music can indeed cross borders and achieve its full potential wherever it is heard! After such a great album it’s left to Return To The Past to close things once and for all, finishing on a high and leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is a serious force to be reckoned with. Seemingly summing up the album with this final track, the band have saved one final high for the close and leave as they begun, hammering out a track which is going to be begged for on the live scene and showing they understand 100% what they’re doing.
I didn’t really know what to expect from Seven Thorns when I first got the album as simply, their image doesn’t give a lot away about them. What you’ve got here though is an album which will happily sit alongside any other album from the power metal genre, showing that when it comes to bands, these guys are right there and ready to move forwards. My personal thoughts are that we need to get these guys over here as personally, I reckon people will love them!
To find out more about Seven Thorns, check out their Facebook page HERE and their Website HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
