SEVENTH STORM “Maledictus”

Reigning Phoenix Music, August 2022

Website:

SEVENTH STORM Facebook

Duration: 1:12:59 (12 tracks)

Country: Portugal

When you think about metal in Portugal, it is obvious that the first band that comes to mind is MOONSPELL. Mike Gaspar was its member since the early days and after he departed in 2020, SEVENTH STORM was set up. He may not like it now, but usually the association with the former band sticks to the ex bandmates at least for some time. Of course, it also has a good side to that – we, the fans, follow the future career of the musicians who took up another musical trip and that is how I found out about SEVENTH STORM. Otherwise, I could have missed that interesting band.

“Maledictus” starts with “Pirate’s Curse” which is a good introduction of what we can expect on the whole album. We get energetic riffs and drumming, catchy and melodic fragments in the slower parts as well as versatile singing done by Rez. His vocals sound rough, but when the time comes, he is also able to present a great depth in his voice. His milder version can be found on outstanding power ballad called “Saudade”, which is recorded in two language versions on the album. The band definitely does not stick to one specific style, but they are melting a few of them in one basket and the result is quite explosive in my opinion. The songs burst with energy and have interesting constructions.

One of the tracks that definitely stands out is “Gods Of The Babylon”. It starts with oriental intro called “Sarpanit” which sets up the scene for what is to come. Immediately after that, we get some death metal riffs and blast beats followed by heavy-marching verse part of the song and again outstanding vocal performance. That is not the end of the highlights as we also get a great guitar solo which ends with another storm of blasts on the drums. The track is well constructed on contrasts and the band seems to feel very confident in making such mixtures. “Inferno Rising” and “Haunted Sea” are similarly complex songs that also present intriguing twists and turns.

SEVENTH STORM created a solid debut album, but unfortunately, they are going through some tough times now. Mike decided to have a break from playing and it seems that he is the only member of the band at the moment. Probably with new line-up, but I do hope that he will come back with the second album someday and present us with some new, exciting music.

Tracklist:
Pirate’s Curse
Saudade
Sarpanit
Gods Of Babylon
The Reckoning
Inferno Rising
Seventh
My Redemption
Haunted Sea
Saudade (Acoustic English Version)
Saudade (Acoustic Portuguese Version)
Saudade (Portuguese Version)

Line-up:
Rez – vocals
Ben Stockwell – guitars
Josh Riot – guitars
Utch Cid – bass
Mike Gaspar – drums

Rate: 9/10