Seventh Sin

Review Gothtronic 25-12-2006

Holland is blessed with a vivid gothic metal scene. Very nice, you would say, since there are many great concerts and it’s always easy to get your hands on new gothic metal albums. On the other side it gives the scene a lot of ‘wannabees’, the one even worse then the other. It’s hard to look through the mess of all these music, and pick out the ones who deserve some attention. Seventh Sin is trying to get out of the mess with their mini-album ‘Darkest of all dreams’.

The album, released in their own management, contains five tracks, all written by the band. Musically Seventh Sin isn’t afraid to label its music as ‘gothic metal’, and names Nightwish and Theatre of Tragedy as their biggest influences. Especially the tragic-romantic atmosphere last mentioned band created on their first two albums can be found on ‘Darkest of all dreams’. Singer Monique Op Hey has a nice voice, although she doesn’t always sound pure in the higher parts. The fragile female voice get combined with a dark growl of course, which is done by Roy Geelen. The songs are well composed, and can even be heavy from time to time. It’s a shame that the overall sound of the CD is a bit dull, which sometimes drowns the melodies and vocal arrangements in a sea of guitar riffs.

‘Darkest of all dreams’ is a pleasant start for Seventh Sin. Overall it could be a bit more polished; especially a better recording studio won’t harm the songs. Furthermore I’m convinced Seventh Sin will do fine: keep an eye on ‘m!

Band: Seventh Sin(nl)

Label: Own Management

Genre: gothicmetal (gothicmetal / darkmetal / black metal)

Type: cd
Grade: 7
Review by: Seraphictine

Website: http://www.seventhsin.nl

- Gothtronic

SEVENTH SIN-Darkest Of All Dreams (independent)

SEVENTH SIN is a gothic metal band from The Netherlands, the absolute leading country of this style of music. The amount of well-talented gothic metal bands is countless already. And we can add another band to this massive list now. The well- known procedure of a brutal grunter next to a beautiful female voice continues on this five track album, which is done in a very effective way, in my opinion. Vocalist Monique Op Hey has a great singing voice, and the grunts of Roy Geelen are in great contrast with this beautiness. Opener “Innocent Child” shows a lot of resemblance to “Forsaken” of WITHIN TEMPTATION. Monique’s voice has got a lot of similarity with Sharon’s vocals, which is a big compliment to her. The best songs are the lenghty, somewhat epical “Misery Called Love” and “Mourned Child” at the end of this thirty minute CD. “Misery Called Love” contains a lot of mood changes and even some DREAM THEATER influences, while Monique’s vocals sometimes have the intonation of ANOUK at the beginning. A lot is happening in this exciting song. The band is in excellent shape here and proves that they are capable of writing songs with a lot of variation and excitement. “Mourned Child” also displays this capability. It’s a balladesque kind of tune, but not less spectacular, if I may say so. SEVENTH SIN consists of Monique Op Hey on vocals, Roy Geelen on grunts and rhythm guitar, Sjors Hendriks on lead guitar, Roel van Heel on synths, Bart Joosten on bass guitar and Wiro Geerlings on drums. On “Darkest Of Dreams” they do not only scream for attention and recognition, they also claim a position in the highest ranks of the gothic metal scene of today. And I think they really deserve this place. Website: http://www.seventhsin.nl. [7 points] (Toine van Poorten)

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- Metal Maidens