Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Seven Witches - City Of Lost Souls (Reissue) - 2006 - Crash Music

Track Listing1. The Question 2. The Answer 3. Witching Hour 4. Atlantis 5. City Of Lost Souls 6. Pounding Metal 7. No Man's Land 8. Hell Is For Children 9. The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow 10. We Are The Coven

Seven Witches mania continues through the early part of 2006, with the likes of new album "Amped", the Crash Music reissue of "Second War In Heaven", and now this the sophomore effort from the band, "City Of Lost Souls". Just like the group's debut, this originally came out on Massacre Records in Europe and never received proper distribution here in the US. Now six years later this album has finally hit the domestic shelves, probably finding a better set of ears here now than it's original airing date. Metal is most certainly not dead in America and now that we have interest growing in the genre it is a perfect time to introduce the casual listener to this great power metal band.

Jack Frost and company followed-up their stellar debut with another solid release, this time using all of the same members other than drummer Brian Vincent, who departed to make way for Doctor Butcher skinsman John Osborn. The revolving door would continue until the present, but that is another story in itself. Instead we focus all attention on the work at hand, that being the rampaging wattage found throughout "City Of Lost Souls, a worthy sequel that could really stand the test of time as the group's best work.

Here we have Bobby Lucas pounding his way through blistering sonic voltage on heaping cuts like "The Answer" and "We Are The Coven". The release finds Frost quickly establishing his own niche within the metal genre, by 2000 really honing his craft in more of a mid-tempo pace with plenty of fat grooves and huge vicious chops. Big block riffs rattle bones and necks on the Exciter tune "Pounding Metal" as well as the epic fantasy of "Atlantis". Favorite cuts here for me are the ones that build atmosphere through fantastic lead playing, most evident being the diverse scorcher "City Of Lost Souls", which oddly enough could have been the building blocks to a much more layered composition called "Passage To The Other Side" two albums later. The group check in for one more cover tune, a razzle dazzle display of "Hell Is For Children".

Hats off to Crash Music for finally bringing the goods Stateside. As a bonus for the long waiting US audience...a hidden "dance" version of "Pounding Metal". Odd.



--EC 02.16.06