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Section A: The Seventh Sign (Reissue)
Section A - The Seventh Sign 2012 Reissue Review

Section A: The Seventh Sign (Reissue)

Progressive Metal
4.0/5.0

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Lion Music
by Craig Hartranft,  08.05.2012

At the turn of the millennium, Danish guitar wizard Torben Enevoldsen was looking to do something different. Having done several solo albums of instrumental guitar, Enevoldsen wanted to do an album of all vocal material. The result was the first Section A album in 2003, The Seventh Sign, which features former Lion's Share vocalist Andy Engberg. Lion Music reissues the album with an additional song.

Section A Torben Enevoldsen Photo

Section A's Torben Enevoldsen: playing live.

The larger canvas here is melodic progressive metal driven by Enevoldsen's neo-classical guitar playing. Yet the songs are also crafted around Engberg's lyrical contributions. However, the question remains, what's the greater compelling or controlling interest here: the song arrangements or Enevoldsen's guitar work. The answer is bit complicated; it's more like both.

For instance, listening to title track, Pray for Rain, or The Man in the Mirror you find very strong, well-rounded, compositions with all musical elements working in balance. Conversely, you can't help but notice that the songs seem to stop for Enevoldsen to rip up the fret board. This is painfully apparent on Riot, which only declares that, while a vocal album, Section A still exists as a platform for Enevoldsen's fret pyrotechnics. You may retort, 'Well, he's the principal behind the band; it just makes sense that he takes the lead.' And you're likely right. But to argue the point some more, it's interesting that the bonus track, FYI, is a purely instrumental song. What's up with that?

Perhaps the most notable thing about The Seventh Sign is that, against their more recent album, this is more a 'progressive' metal album. Regardless of what may be said of Enevoldsen's guitar presence, this album shows a greater degree of technical prowess, which makes it a stand out in their catalog. The final question is, with the additional song, is the purchase worth it? If you're a fan of Enevoldsen or any of this other projects like Fatal Force, the answer is affirmative, especially if you don't have the album.


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In Short

Lion Music reissues Torben Enevoldsen's first Section A project, 2003's The Seventh Sign, an all vocal album, with an additional instrumental track. What?

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