Band : Seventh Angel
Album Title : The Dust Of Years
Label : Bombwork Records
Distributor : PHD
Release Date : 17/08/2009
Review : CD  

Seventh Angel is a British Christian thrash metalband that formed in 1987. According to Cross Rhythms magazine, they were considered to be thrash metal pioneers and they released the albums The Torment (1990) and Lament for the Weary (1992). These records achieved mainstream distribution through Music for Nations label, making Seventh Angel label mates with such groups as Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. The band was known for its combination of doom metal and thrash metal. Although Seventh Angel disbanded in 1992, for a long time they were considered to be the best metal act in the UK, claims Cross Rhythms.  On May 23, 2008, the group announced their reforming. The current line-up consists of the original members Ian Arkley (lead vocals, lead guitars), Andrew "Tank" Thompson (drums), Simon Bibby (guitar), and Mark Broomhead (bass). On August 17, the band released their third album The Dust of Years. (wikipedia)

This is a powerful onslaught of emotionally charged material that delivers pure riveting doses of musical mayhem. Listening to numbers like “Exordium”, “Lamentations” and  "Weep not for us”  and starter “Chaos of dreams” at high volume, many will appreciate the effort that went into the making of this record. Crisp, clear production, and an assortment of heavy numbers provide the album with a flow that doesn't fade out until the acoustic dark melancholic “Oswiecim” comes to an end.  Loud, abrasive, and cruel at times, “Abelard and helloise” is atmospheric poetry, music for the thinker and the believer. “The raven sky” is purity that displays itself as an uncertain lump of emotions to be sorted out. It begins in a acoustic vein, and gradually evolves with crushing guitar riffs, and finally ends in a classical part. Vocals on this release tend toward the growled type a la Infernal Majesty, as well as some clean singing/spoken whispered Moonspell-like parts.

I definitely recommend that fans of My Dying Bride, ole Paradise Lost, ole Anathema, Agalloch, Novembers Doom,… at least listen to this album, because you just might find something you've long been looking for.

91/100

Cosmicmasseur.