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Sometimes I am longing back to the mid 80's. The best record shop was 40 kilometres from my home town. Once in the 3 months we took the train to go to the 'big' city. We saved some pocket-money, just enough to buy one album and to pay for the ticket. Coming home with Accept - Restless and Wild, Metallica - Kill 'em All, Overkill - Feel the Fire or Agent Steel - Unstoppable Force were mile stones that still are carved in my memory. Today where music has become a consuming product that can be downloaded for free on the internet and where CDs have become mp3 downloads, a lot of the pleasure and hunger is gone. Also considering the tons of new releases that overwhelm the market, it isn't difficult to conclude that bands have a very hard time.

A band like Seven Dark Eyes must be very happy to find a smaller label willing to release their new album. Another band from Italy, a country where there must be a metal band on every corner by now. This female fronted band is into gothic metal with power metal influences. The production is clear and the instruments are well balanced in the mix, although the drums at times sound too hollow. The keys carry most of the songs and give them an epic, sometimes melancholy character. Front lady Angela Castellani doesn't have a typical opera kind of singing style, but sounds more like a female power metal singer. The opening song is rather up-tempo and also later on the band shows some aggression and that makes this band not a wimpy gothic band but a rather metallic version. The guitar riffs and the occasional grunt are responsible for that too. The rather originally chosen cover song "Frozen" (Madonna) isn't my cup of tea in the original and Seven Dark Eyes didn't make it a real metal track so their version isn't for me either. 

Not a bad effort from this Italians, but if they will stick out between all the other releases? I don't know, time will tell.

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