Seventh One - Sacrifice

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Massacre Records
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 49:42:00

The opening of this album, "Spiritual Awakening," reminds me of the Halford album Resurrection, but as soon as "Eternal Life In Lies" kicks in, it becomes quickly apparent that it's metal fists flung high and straight up in the air all the way to the leather-clothing store.

Featuring a brutally dark, hand-drawn cover with bloodied man and massive sword to boot, Seventh One, from Sweden, flail their true metal anthems most closely associated with LMP band Wizard and Aussie kings of metal Pegazus. Soaring anthems and soaring vocalists singing tales of good versus evil with vocalist Rhine Fredh offering a few comparisons to singers such as Henning Basse (Metalium), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), and Iced Earth's Matt Barlow all wrapped around some chomping, riff-intensive heavy guitars courtesy of Christoffer Hermansson and Johannes Losbäck. Seventh One convey a real energy about them for the majority of songs with only a couple of fillers to spoil the wickedly tasteful broth.

They do mix their sound up considerably, too; from the speed thrusts of "Eternally" and "Sacrifice" to the mid-paced title track and the utterly engaging "The Fall" to the bellowing, long-winded ballad of "Hallowed Ground" and "Remembrance" (the latter carrying more power). Tracks like "The Seventh Eye" are terrifically cheesy with corny lyrics but this song kicks some major arse with a really infectious chorus.

After my first listen I felt a sudden Metalium vibe, especially the way that band have Henning Basse rise to the occasion through his enigmatic vocals. The vocals are very similar here, too, and after further searching I found that this album was actually produced by Lars Ratz, bass player from Metalium. The best songs on this album though are "Eternal Life In Lies," "The Seventh Eye," "The Fall," and "Eternally."

This album has heaps to offer the true metal warriors and whilst I wouldn't consider it a throw-away album, I would still say that it has a lot to offer those who are extremely partial to this style of power metal. At it's best, this is an extremely fun album to listen to and that is probably the best recommendation I can give it.

Similar To: Hammerfall, Wizard

[This review originally appeared March 2003 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Spiritual Awakening / Eternal Life In Lies / Sacrifice / The Seventh Eye / Hallowed Ground / Eternally / The Fall / Remembrance / Crimson Sky / Shadow Of Your Soul

Musicians:
Rino Fredh - vocals
Christoffer Hermansson - guitars
Johannes Losbäck -guitars
Jörgen Olsson - bass
Tobias R Kellgren - drums

Discography:
The Celestial Prophecy (2001)
Sacrifice (2002)

Genre: Traditional Metal

Origin SE

Added: February 20th 2005
Reviewer: Gary Carson
Score:
Artist website: www.seventhone.net
Hits: 2430
Language: english