7th SERVANT - The Benediction
When bands directly send you their material to ask for a review, you just never know what you are going to get. In this day of do-it-yourself recording, the quality of tunes can vary quite a bit, and often times there are quite a few band releasing sub-par material — with no label or management involved, it easily happens. So, when I received a note asking me to review this unknown band Seventh Servant and their self-released 2-track single, I didn't know what to expect. I take that back, my first thought was to expect something sub-par, I guess I tend to lean towards pessimism most often there days (sad but true).
It was only after agreeing to check out the material that I found out the singer/guitarist is John Greely, former singer for Iced Earth (appeared on their 1991 Night of the Stormrider release). I can't say I am a huge follower of Iced Earth, but I am familiar and have a couple releases by them, and I know they are a top notch band playing a metal style along the lines of my love. Well, this adds a new dimension to the review request, but still, who knows what to expect.
Well, the CD single arrived today, so here goes nothing. I quickly popped it in and hit play. WHOA!! Not at all what my pessimism expected to hear, this sounded GREAT. A wonderful power metal type feel, but without the high speed constant double bass often found in that genre. Crunchy guitars, clear pounding thundering drums and bass, with melodic, harmony laden vocals with tasteful underlying keys. Production is great for a self-released product. I was saddened by only getting a 2-song taste. I WANT MORE!
The band will be releasing songs a couple at a time, covering much of the book of Revelation, this being just "The Benediction." The lyrics are pretty much just singing Scripture (kind of reminiscent of one of my other favorite bands, Apostle). And I LOVE the stage gear.
Call me old-school, but a concert is about the show, not just the music. The music has to hold up, but I want to see a show. So seeing a band sometimes wear something other than street clothes is a BIG plus in my book (and I don't care what you think of me, so there :)).
The band is made up of John Greely on vocals and guitars, Ginger Sizemore on bass, and Shawn Walker on drums, and I say Seventh Servant is a band to watch out for in the future. I hope a labels picks these guys up and releases them to a wider audience. This initial 2-song CD is limited to only 100 pieces, and most of those are already gone, so grab your copy today through their site.
Site: http://seventhservant.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seventhservant/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwM-BHoP964qcq9kBfgK6Qw
Here is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" from this first single:
