Seven Thorns – Return to the Past (2010)

Seven Thorns, a relatively unknown Power Metal band from Denmark delivers a very solid sophomore release with “Return to the Past”. While people will be too busy bashing them for their similitude to hundreds of bands in the genre, we have to say that their music is kick ass and their sound is very professional, enough to overcome the lack of creativity.

The band quickly establishes a hectic pace with “Liberty”, a crushing track that showcases the band’s talents. The first thing you will notice is the excellent Power Metal vocals of Erik Blomkvist, probably one of the overall highlight of the album. Next up, we have the blazing fast guitars and catchy riffing that allows each of the 9 songs presented here to be completely memorable.

The typical guitar wizardry is used throughout this release and on songs like “Through the Mirror” and “Forest Majesty” reminded us of older Stratovarius and similar bands. The band never goes into over the top, Dream Theater-esque antics, and we fully appreciate them for this. The keyboards are always present and provide a nice backdrop for the band’s sound, and set up in the right moments.

In terms of the vocals, Mr. Blomkvist does a solid job is carrying this release with a very emotive performance. The bass guitar is always there, but mixed a bit low most of the time, and the drumming is very standard for these kinds of releases. The overall composition of the songs is very well crafted and catchiness is the number one factor for this band (i.e. the choir-like section of “Fires and Storms” a Power Metal must).

Other songs like “Return to the Past” and “Countdown” have all the makings of Power Metal anthems and should be recognized as such. For a band that has only two releases in their discography, Seven Thorns is one hell of a band. If you are looking for a brilliant Power Metal release, “Return to the Past” is the album you should definitely listen.

Release: November 23rd, 2010

Country: Denmark