Seventrain
Seventrain

March 2014
Released: 2014, Independent
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

It’s interesting how some bands come together. Often times its friends getting together, other times it’s a group of well-known musicians playing together for fun (i.e. a super group). California’s Seventrain formed for the first time as a cobbled together lineup to play a memorial show for a fellow musician. Led by guitarist Eric Horton, who some metalheads may remember as the guitarist on the first two Cage albums (UNVEILED and ASTROLOGY), Seventrain features in its ranks a eclectic group of musicians from bands as varied as 24-7 SPYZ, Tourniquet, and lesser knowns like 6ONE9 and Dive Bomber.



With a guy like Horton at the helm, you’d be excused for thinking that Seventrain would be plying their trade in U.S. power metal, but this is not the case. The band cites Badlands as an influence, and Jake E. Lee’s former band is a much closer comparative for Seventrain’s sound but with a modern production twist. The sound of the album is definitely within the realm of blues-based hard rock, led by Horton and Jef Poremba’s guitars and topped with Jon Campos’ smokey vocals. The since-departed Greg Rupp contributes some standout bass lines in tandem with rock-solid drummer Joel Maitoza, forming the impressive band’s sound.



As to the songs, much of the album is slow to mid-paced, lacking in the one or two up-tempo rockers that would really have taken the album over the top. That said, the songs here are all top-flight and obviously played by professionals. Favorites would include the impassioned “Never” with its harmonized chorus vocals, the heartfelt ballad “Broken”, and heaviest cut, “Bleeding”.



For a band that’s only been around for a couple of years, SEVENTRAIN is impressive work, but I suppose you would expect nothing less from a group of such seasoned players. Regardless, if you’re at all into blues-based hard rock, Seventrain is definitely worth checking out.