Seven Kingdoms - In the Walls
Self released
Power Speed Melodic
4 songs (20'04")
Release year: 2016
Reviewed by Alex

I saw somewhere that Seven Kingdoms friends A Sound of Thunder, the band I respect, were suggesting people help with Seven Kingdoms Kickstarter campaign and thought that these Floridians are very new to the field. Looking at the logo and the band picture of Seven Kingdoms, however, I can’t help feeling the sense of déjà vu. It seems to me that I actually saw the band live once, opening either for Kamelot or Blind Guardian at the Royal Oak theater in Michigan, but I might be wrong of course, yet the band’s vocalist Sabrina Valentine is easy to remember with her high boyish voice and energetic delivery. Checking the band’s discography, Seven Kingdoms have been in existence for a decade, so it is quite plausible it was them who I saw. And then, after this review has been entered I realized that I actually even reviewed The Fire is Mine, the previous effort by the band.

Either way, after three full-lengths in the bag, Seven Kingdoms are refreshing their fans with In the Walls EP after four years of silence. The two new songs, the title track opener and Undying, are boisterous sunny day power metal, with blistering double bass and ringing melodies. Undying proceeds along the lines of Dragonforce speed, unleashing breakneck leads. It was Sabrina’s voice (and the band’s familiar logo look), which made me think I knew of Seven Kingdoms, and she delivers, with pure joy, in the title track and soars above the music, adding expanse in Undying, especially in the chorus. At some level Seven Kingdoms remind me of Spanish Darkmoor, its older era when Elisa Martin used to sing for them, although Elisa’s timbre is lower than that of Sabrina’s.

The two re-recorded tracks may as well have been new tracks for me, as they come from Seven Kingdoms debut album which, I dare to guess, not many except superdedicated fans know about. The Bloody Meadow is slower, choppy, with a headbanging riff, but also with some balladic qualities to it, not however drifting away into the softer territory. While slower, somehow The Bloody Meadow feels heavier than the brighter shining new tracks. Bluesy mid-section is also pretty cool. Stormborn then must be Seven Kingdoms version of beauty and the beast, reminding me of old gothic Theatre of Tragedy on some tracks in Velvet Darkness They Fear, and something Sirenia could go for today. I honestly prefer Seven Kingdoms stay on the power melodic speedy thrashy path.

Some, more sophisticated or more extreme, metal fans would call this stuff cheesy and dismiss it on arrival. I liked this short EP for an easy uncomplicated pleasure it provided me with. In the Walls has to catch you in the right moment, when your heart is light and sun is shining brightly.

Killing Songs :
Alex quoted 78 / 100
Other albums by Seven Kingdoms that we have reviewed:
Seven Kingdoms - The Fire Is Mine reviewed by Alex and quoted 74 / 100
0 readers voted
Average:
 0
You did not vote yet.
Vote now

There are 0 replies to this review. Last one on Tue Oct 04, 2016 8:15 am
View and Post comments