Album Review: 7 Horns 7 Eyes – Throes Of Absolution

Following on from a taster single last year, Washington state’s Seven Horns, Seven Eyes release their full-length debut, ‘Throes of Absolution,’ a refreshingly soulful record in largely robotic and inanimate field. Despite a lofty, almost haughty, press pack from Century Media that stresses the Seattleites’ aversion to trends and genre pigeonholing, the obvious references to Meshuggah, Cynic and Periphery place them firmly in the technical wing of contemporary death metal. Nevertheless, this is an impressive record that is mature beyond 7H7E’s years, and surpasses the legions of metal bands currently jumping aboard the ‘djent’ ship and pushing it gradually beneath the waterline.

7H7E’s Christian beliefs instill a Devin Townsend Band-style feeling of euphoria, contrasting skilfully with the brute force of much of the rest of the record, rather than the quiescent lurch of some lesser lights in the djent scene. Indeed, there is top-quality musicianship and songwriting in spades here, and Throes of Absolution’s strength lies in the ability of 7H7E to develop a distinct identity within a rapidly crowding field, as opposed to scoring big off the back of one or two hits that provide cover for an album of filler. The production is flawless, and the combination of various influences seamless, and while 7H7E are not about to re-define their genre, they write consistently and impressively enough to act as a warning to those looking for an easy route to fame that technical, atmospheric music cannot be written just by buying a seven-string guitar and using the Fibonacci sequence to generate a time signature.