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It's hard to believe that an album as downright crushing and distinct as Brood Of Vipers came from the same Seventh Star that wrote the energetic, but wholly typical, album, Dead End. With a combination of natural progression and a change in vocalists, the band has undergone a transformation from average to genuinely exciting. While Seventh Star still isn't exploring uncharted musical territory, Brood Of Vipers is an efficient, 34-minute outpouring of aggression.
A change in vocalists often marks a turning point in a band's career. After all, singers have a substantial role in developing and molding a band's identity, and also can have a pointed, personal connection with listeners. For Seventh Star, adding new vocalist Johnny Intravaia to their lineup led to a redefinition of their sound, but it's a change that I welcome with a healthy embrace. Intravaia's gruff, bellowed yells are fittingly forceful, uniquely textured and intimidating. They add depth to the straightforward music, rather than sounding tacked on and unnatural.
Seventh Star's songs are based around metallic, mid-paced chord progressions, lumbering grooves and breakdowns, and a driving rhythm section. Although to-the-point and in line with the common elements of heavy, metallic hardcore, Seventh Star ups the intensity and crunch, making Brood Of Vipers markedly heavier than the output of similar-minded bands. The band also toys with staccato guitar riffing, guitar solos and some increased tempos, but, as a whole, Brood Of Vipers is a consistent effort. Additionally, Kurt Ballou's beefy production goes on to emphasize Seventh Star's mammoth instrumentation and in-your-face vocals.
Seventh Star expectedly uses religious themes and references to God in the lyrics of Brood Of Vipers, but the message is often delivered with spite, anger and realism. Intravaia doesn't necessarily push the band's religious beliefs on his listeners, and instead delivers the words as a perspective worth considering (even though I fully disagree with it).
There are a lot of bands playing hardcore with some form of metal involved, and far too many of them have few or no distinguishing characteristics. Seventh Star, though, stands out as being one of the most ferocious and overwhelmingly heavy bands in the genre. And for that reason, Brood Of Vipers won't easily be erased from one's memory.
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