Seven Sisters – The Cauldron and the Cross (Review)

Seven Sisters are a heavy metal band from the UK and this is their second album.

They say you should never judge a record by its cover, (do they say that?), but it was the album cover of The Cauldron and the Cross that made me want to listen to it more than anything else.

What of the music? Good album artwork means nothing without the musical quality to back it up. Thankfully Seven Sisters haven’t disappointed me. If you’re a fan of old-school heavy metal played well and with good songs, then this is something you’ll want to check out.

There’s 53 minutes of material here and it takes the form of traditionally-delivered heavy fucking metal. This is the real, undiluted stuff. New-NWOBHM, if you will. The band know what they’re doing with the style, and I find this album easy to slip on and slip into.

Well-written and with plenty of hooks and decent structures, this is music for people that like their metal with a capital M. Speed and galloping riffs are used well, as are duelling guitars and choppy riffs. I also enjoy the solos on this – they sound honest and straightforward, getting the job done in an enjoyable and pleasing way.

The singer – usually the weakest link in anything like this – has a melodic voice that flows like water. His performance is full of strong choruses and has plenty of catchy delivery. Sure, there’s better heavy/power metal vocalists out there, but I still like what he brings to these songs.

Classic, solid heavy metal. I like this a lot.

FAVOURITE TRACK: Parting the Mists. Like a mix of Kamelot and Iron Maiden. A very satisfying song.