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Seven Kingdoms: The Fire Is Mine
Seven Kingdoms: The Fire Is Mine
Melodic Heavy/Power Metal
4.5/5.0
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Nightmare Records
by Craig Hartranft, 09.27.2012
Seven Kingdoms commitment to melodic power metal continues on their third release, The Fire Is Mine. Led by the clear and passionate vocals of Sabrina Valentine's vocals, Seven Kingdom effortlessly combines speed and heaviness with melody to invigorate the American power metal genre.
Seven Kingdoms: in three pews.
There's little more to be said about Valentine's vocal prowess that wasn't said in my review of 2010's Seven Kingdoms. She remains the classic female metal vocalist, singing clean and strong, but also avoiding the extremes of outrageously operatic or gruesome growling. (It appears, overall, that the band has abandoned the growling found briefly in their last release.)
Concerning the songs, most everything here is founded upon speedy power metal, with variations in tempo explored in segues. After the Fall, Forever Brave, and Fragile Minds Collapse, Conversely, the title track does not necessarily follow this pattern, but offers a more moderate pace, and Kardia is an acoustic metal anthem.
Two things make the songs stand out. First, is the meticulous, quite catchy, melody developed in the the arrangements, notable on Flame of Olympus or Symphony of Stars. Second is the subtle prog playfulness found in a song like Fragile Minds Collapse. Generally, however, The Fire Is Mine is a pure melodic heavy/power metal, which In the Twisted Twilight and the closer The King of the North demonstrate. Yet, this is exactly what Seven Kingdoms is pursuing, and that's good thing for fans of classic metal. The Fire Is Mine is both masterfully developed and executed, and highly entertaining. Quite recommended.
In Short
For classic American melodic heavy/power metal, Seven Kingdoms' The Fire Is Mine is both masterfully developed and executed, and highly entertaining.
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Formed 23 years ago, Finland's Excalion has had a turbulent musical career. Before releasing a trio of albums between 2005 and 2010, they had personnel changes. Currently, only the drummer and keyboard ... [ Read More ]