Seven Witches - Amped
Regain Records - RR076 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
American traditional heavy metal act Seven Witches may well appear in the great Heavy Metal Dictionary, their (most recent) band photo appearing as the definition of 'Revolving-Door Lineup'. Band founder/guitarist, main songwriter and noted riff-craftsman Jack Frost seems to get through bassists and vocalists like a particularly nypho-manic groupie.This time round, bassist Kevin Bolembach and vocalist Alan Tecchio (who played together in Non Fiction from '90 to '94) got the nod to join the group, and the press sheet claims that with this lineup (completed by drummer Jeff Curenton) is the 'definitive' one. We'll see, shall we?
Tecchio, at least, seems to have made some impact on Seven Witches sound, particularly with his lyrical concerns. Covering everything from somewhat crackpot theories about terrorist-created diseases ('West Nile') to the failure of the justice system when it comes to locking up errant celebrities ('Fame Gets You Off'), Tecchio's lyrics are somewhat more grounded in reality than predecessor Wade Black. Thankfully, his vocal performance is far more tolerable than Black's, too - how that guy keeps landing gigs is a mystery to me. Granted, Tecchio's no Halford, and his harmonies occasionally sound a little off, but he's got some range, and his apparent enthusiasm keeps things from going off the rails.
The songs themselves seem a bit more focused this time round, too - Frost's muscular, straightforwardly chunky riffage never really ratchets itself up into creating anything remarkable, but timely use of harmonic squeals and the obligatory blazing solos make for an admirably consistent level of heaviness and melody throughout. There's a cover of Billy Idol's 'Flesh For Fantasy' that sticks out somewhat amid the generally serious tone of the rest of the album (well, apart from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer-based track, 'Sunnydale High'), but there's not a really duff track on the album (even counting piano-laden ballad 'Be').
Overall, this is a fairly vast improvement over previous effort Xiled To Infinity And One, if only for the fact that Tecchio's vocals are far preferable to Wade Black's, his lyrics are more interesting, and the songs overall are a little more to-the-point. If you've never been a Seven Witches fan, you'll find little to convince you here, but if you've stuck through their repeated personnel changes thus far, you'll find much to love.
7/10
Official Seven Witches Website
Official Regain Records Website
Regain Records - RR076 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
American traditional heavy metal act Seven Witches may well appear in the great Heavy Metal Dictionary, their (most recent) band photo appearing as the definition of 'Revolving-Door Lineup'. Band founder/guitarist, main songwriter and noted riff-craftsman Jack Frost seems to get through bassists and vocalists like a particularly nypho-manic groupie.This time round, bassist Kevin Bolembach and vocalist Alan Tecchio (who played together in Non Fiction from '90 to '94) got the nod to join the group, and the press sheet claims that with this lineup (completed by drummer Jeff Curenton) is the 'definitive' one. We'll see, shall we?
Tecchio, at least, seems to have made some impact on Seven Witches sound, particularly with his lyrical concerns. Covering everything from somewhat crackpot theories about terrorist-created diseases ('West Nile') to the failure of the justice system when it comes to locking up errant celebrities ('Fame Gets You Off'), Tecchio's lyrics are somewhat more grounded in reality than predecessor Wade Black. Thankfully, his vocal performance is far more tolerable than Black's, too - how that guy keeps landing gigs is a mystery to me. Granted, Tecchio's no Halford, and his harmonies occasionally sound a little off, but he's got some range, and his apparent enthusiasm keeps things from going off the rails.
The songs themselves seem a bit more focused this time round, too - Frost's muscular, straightforwardly chunky riffage never really ratchets itself up into creating anything remarkable, but timely use of harmonic squeals and the obligatory blazing solos make for an admirably consistent level of heaviness and melody throughout. There's a cover of Billy Idol's 'Flesh For Fantasy' that sticks out somewhat amid the generally serious tone of the rest of the album (well, apart from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer-based track, 'Sunnydale High'), but there's not a really duff track on the album (even counting piano-laden ballad 'Be').
Overall, this is a fairly vast improvement over previous effort Xiled To Infinity And One, if only for the fact that Tecchio's vocals are far preferable to Wade Black's, his lyrics are more interesting, and the songs overall are a little more to-the-point. If you've never been a Seven Witches fan, you'll find little to convince you here, but if you've stuck through their repeated personnel changes thus far, you'll find much to love.
7/10
Official Seven Witches Website
Official Regain Records Website
