SEVENTH ANGEL - The Dust Of Years (Retroarchives Edition) 2LP
Dust Off The Dust
Here is the third installment in the Seventh Angel vinyl reissue series. The review (below) is from the original CD review from 2009 as published in Heaven's Metal Fanzine.
The Dust Of Years (2009)
If you are expecting to read about how this new material sounds like the provocative thrash of “Expletive Deleted” and “Dr. Hatchet” or the crunchy concept metal of Lament For The Weary then stop reading right now! However, if you are a fan of Ian Arkley’s (My Silent Wake) and Simon Bibby’s current endeavors, then consuming this nine course metal feast – the first new material for these guys together since 1992 – will be a satiating, yet possibly (for older fans) hard-to-digest experience. The vocals are so abruptly different from Seventh Angel’s “classic” style: Ian’s fantastic and discernable death growl has been nearly perfected (he sounds like Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt) and fits perfectly with the huge doomy riffs; but the melodic vocals here just seem slightly anemic when compared to the distorted guitars and heavy rhythms that dominate these songs. It’s fair to state that much of this sounds more like My Silent Wake than old-school Seventh Angel, but that’s neither a bad thing nor is it to say that this isn’t heavy. Without a doubt, the sound quality is the best ever for this band. It’s cool to have these guys back.
Vinyl (2018)
These doomy songs naturally translate pretty well on to vinyl. Although, of the trio, I prefer the Lament For The Weary mix the best, this 2009 “reunion” for Bibby and Arkley was a success. I hear a lot more surface noise on this pressing compared to The Torment and LFTW, but it still sounds great. Similar to Lament…, this one comes with the two discs housed in a single (wider) jacket and an insert lyric sheet. Songs like “Exordium” and “Weep Not For Us” – along with the epic “The Raven Sky” – exemplify the greatness of Seventh Angel. Recommended primarily for fans of Seventh Angel and MSW as the band really didn’t pave new ground with these songs, and the absence of the more abundantly clear Christian content (compared to the first two releases) may persuade some to abstain.
