chapter seven

"LOW GUN"
The assult of the guitars come in like bullets. A nice set up! The sixstringers immediately give tihis song power with harmonies flying through the speakers. Then the howling of discontented vocals break the flow in a definate hardcore frenzy.
The insanity held together by the bass and drums makes this a solid piece. Each instrument doing their thing, but keeping within the song itself.

I think I've seen these guys before. I believe they have two vocalists. This is good. An original idea. The skill they show by trading vocal melodies only makes this old man smile. Killer song!!!!!!

"ALBERT'S HONEYMOON"
Another well-crafted piece. This is like a modern METAL/PUNK feel. Just as many rythms needed to get their point across. Plus, the nice Bluesy breakdown in the middle gives the song space to breathe.

Not too many vocals to kill the jam. No blight on the vocalists, but they did do the tune a great justice. As I said before, another well-crafted piece.

"FLAT FOOT"
The off time flow into a slow grind, immediately gets the listener fired up. The rage I can see by just listening to the first few notes of "FLAT FOOT".
They keep every note tight as a new bitch in the slammer. Each slam of a string and every snare punch brings out more aggression. I believe they should play this song in IRAQ to boil up the boys into hostility. Give those fucks something to fear other than shock and awe!!! I like this song. Great work!!!

Overall, this recording is done right. The bottom end is thick and the Guitars are equal and balanced. Not one is over-powering the other.

The vocals are the strength and they are mixed well. Kept within the song and not driven to over indulgence of one member of the band. Definately a nice flow. Very professional.

I give CHAPTER SEVEN 4FUCK YEAS!!!!
- E.A.P

am now pleased to announce the newest force to be reckoned with in the Northern IL hard music scene. One look at the cover art and you immediately think it's straight-up hardcore, but there is far much more to that. It's easy to spot the varying influences from time to time, but really this is a test for the ears, trying to nit-pick the inspiring forces of this band. As far as trying to describe their sound, imagine the music of Haste, Coheed and Cambria, and maybe a little harder-edged Fugazi coming together in a truly awesome mix, but with a little here and there from various other genres of rock. The dual vocalist thing isnt my favorite trick, but it's effective here, and used in much the same way as Mushroomhead, with one guy obviously being the more violent and aggro guy, and the other being more of a melodic guy who just happens to also scream a good deal. My gripes? Not many, except that i know drummer Mike is a lot better than he lets onto and I feel he should maybe show a little more of his inventiveness in some of the slower parts. Also, I believe that at least one of the guitarists should adopt a slightly more processed tone to really tighten the sound. The Vintage tone thing is great, but I feel that for this band a slight difference in tone might help. Add to all this a stellar production for this genre courtesy of Disgraceland's Mike Thompson, and this is a very enjoyable listening experience. - TrashHead

Chapter 7 seems like one of those bands who you need to see live to fully appreciate. A listen to their self-titled debut rips you through nine tracks that scream and pound but leave you feeling as if you haven't thoroughly absorbed their power. That said, the album does its best to capture this highly energetic music and gives listeners a glimpse of what they can expect from what the band calls their "razor sharp set".
The album's major strength lies in its guitar work. Thunderous riffs pervade every song and set up the band's thick sound. While they definitely have a uniform, metal-based style, the guitars create unique melodies that keep each song interesting and intense rhythm parts that are the album's main driving force. This is especially apparent in the opening track, "LowGun". It begins with a rapid, roaming lead guitar line that draws the listener in before switching to a thicker, heavier chord progression that dominates the song and sets up the rest of the album's intensity.
While Chapter 7's guitars stay engagingly varied, the relatively unchanging vocal style may turn some people off from the band. The dual vocalists are extremely intense, filling the album with screams and growls and the occasional snarling melody that contribute to the overall heavy sound but fail to distinguish themselves enough between songs. While powerful, the vocals are so perpetually fierce that they begin to sound all too similar as the album goes on. The guitars are consequently called upon to create the distinctiveness of each song. This technique usually works, but the guitars would have a whole new range of possibilities if the vocals did more to define each track.
Despite the room for improvement in the vocals, this debut shows definite promise. The album's sheer energy forcefully shows listeners that Chapter 7 are serious about what they do and that there is a whole world beyond their recorded music. Hopefully the band will continue to develop their craft through their live shows and use that growth to eventually record an even more powerful followup - Katie Haley