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[ More Music Reviews ]

Seven Kingdoms: Empty Eyes EP

Melodic Heavy Metal

3.5/5.0

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Unsigned/Self-released
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 02.10.2019 | Released: 04.10.2019

All but three years ago, Florida's Seven Kingdoms dropped Decennium, an interesting album of power metal, self-funded through crowd sourcing. Using Kickstarter, once more the band reaches out to fans for financial support of their interim EP, Empty Eyes. The album features the new addition of Monotheist's Tyler McDaniel on bass.

Seven Kingdoms

With Empty Eyes, Seven Kingdoms offers you an EP of four new songs and one cover, over a short 21 minutes. For a breakdown of the tunes, I'll make some brief commentary. The title track, Empty Eyes, turns on melodic heavy metal with steady pacing. I found the tune rather, well, dull. Monster offers a sharp guitar start, mixed pacing, and later some fine guitar solos. The Water Dance, in the pacing, is similar, but ultimately faster. Yet both songs have enough shifts and twists to have you thinking of progressive power metal. With the varied complexity of their arrangements, I found Monster and The Water Dance much more provocative of all the original songs. Valonquar easily features vocalist Sabrina Valentine as she leads and rises above a largely mellow metal anthem. The cover is Heart's Barracuda, which follows the original arrangement perhaps with sharper riffs. Honestly, this cover sells the EP, and who doesn't like Heart's Barracuda.

All in all, while overall interesting, I found Seven Kingdom's Empty Eyes EP a mixed bag of musical interest. Perhaps with the third or fourth spin it will grow on me. Otherwise, if you're a fan of the band, you'll want to get this short album.

Weapon UK: Ghosts Of War

Melodic Hard Rock/Metal

4.5/5.0

With their revival in 2009, England's Weapon returned to he heavy metal underground. But it would take five years and a legally forced name change to Weapon UK ... [ Read More ]

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

All in all, while overall interesting, I found Seven Kingdom's Empty Eyes EP a mixed bag of musical interest. Perhaps with the third or fourth spin it will grow on me. Otherwise, if you're a fan of the band, you'll want to get this short album.

Alphabetical Index

By far, Sweden's Eclipse is one of my favorite bands. Always consistent and always entertaining, Eclipse has been delivering their 21st century version of melodic metal rock since songwriter, producer ... [ Read More ]