Friday the 15th: 7 Horns 7 Eyes - Divine Amnesty

     File this one under "Whatever happened to these guys?" Last time I checked in on 7 Horns 7 Eyes on Facebook, back in the summer, it seemed like writing for a new record might be underway. That was the last post from band, which one can only hope means they're too busy doing important stuff like writing and recording to bother with trivialities like social media.

     Let's listen to "Divine Amnesty", the opening track from 2012's solid Throes of Absolution, in that spirit, as an offering to whatever gods govern mixing, mastering, and release dates. Like the rest of Throes, "Divine Amnesty" is a groovy piece of doom-laden death metal with some melodic, shreddy lead work that remains tastefully done throughout. The fact that these guys are a *gasp* Christian metal band (!) that actually rips is a heaping helping of icing on this heavy-ass cake. Bring on the next album already!

7 Horns 7 Eyes - Cycle of Self

     Facepalm x 1000. It seems that my haste to stay on track yesterday night, combined with some looser scheduling at work and increased time off this week, had the net result of causing me to totally space on the day yesterday. A Wednesday post on a Wednesday is good, but a Throwback Thursday post on a Wednesday is a little premature.

     So anyways, no Throwback today, just Thursday, and a bit of a "Where Are They Now? Wednesday" post since I shot the Thursday wad early yesterday. It's been a few years since we've heard from Seattle's 7 Horns 7 Eyes, which is a shame, because 2012's Throes of Absolution is a masterwork of groovy, progressively-minded death metal that's a) big and epic, and b) old school- and new school-feeling at the same time.

     Checking out 7H7E's Facebook page tells me that the guys may in fact (finally!) be working on some new material, but for the time being we're all going to have to be content with the band's current catalogue a while longer. If you already know 7 Horns 7 Eyes and Throes of Absolution, this will be easy for you: just put said record on and rock out. If, however, you're currently unfamiliar with these guys, please allow me to suggest "Cycle of Self" as a suitably heavy starting point. You won't be disappointed.

Saturday: 7 Horns 7 Eyes - The Hill Difficulty

     I've featured today's band before, but I feel they're kinda under a lot of people's radar and could use another day in the spotlight.

     7 Horns 7 Eyes came out of nowhere a little bit with their 2012 debut Throes of Absolution, a record that slayed royally and delivered a heaping helping of guitar-drive "melodeath" in the truest sense of the word: doomy deathy goodness that's still melodically strong. Facebook tells me the guys are working on a couple of releases for 2014, and that's exciting news, but for the time being we'll all just have to settle for something off the rock-solid Throes of Absolution.

     "The Hill Difficulty" is a bit slower and less shreddy than some of the other stuff on Throes but it nevertheless retains the quality of being heavy as fuck. Dig it and I practically guarantee you'll like 7 Horns 7 Eyes.

Song of the Day: 7 Horns 7 Eyes - Delusions

     I've got another new band for you today, and they're one of those acts that definitely has a bright future in metal. I'm a big fan of British metal label Basick Records, so when I see a band like 7 Horns 7 Eyes hyped so thoroughly on their website and their Facebook*, and I then read that Jeff Loomis guests on their debut album, well I've got to at least check that shit out. And I'm glad I did.

     Your song today is "Delusions" from this year's Throes of Absolution by 7 Horns 7 Eyes. The whole album is pretty damn solid, so why this song? Simple: the guitar solo in the middle. Shreddy and technical but still tasteful and soulful, the perfect culmination of what this slow burner of a song has hitherto been building towards. Have a listen, and if you're suitably tickled, try something else off the album. You'll be glad you did too.

*A kind of hype to be taken with a certain grain of salt, of course, as Basick are trying to sell records too...