Seventh Veil - Rubber America | ||
Tracks:
Plus 3 bonus tracks |
Album Cover: |
Label: Warped Records Producers: Paul Osborn & Seventh Veil Year: 1998 Total Playing Time: 66:37 mins:secs Review date: 12 Feb 1999 |
| Web site: www.cyberramp.net/~7thveil
Email: Availability: Warped Records Metal Mayhem Imports and the band's web site | ||
| Rating: 7 | ||
| Verdict: Funkified hard rock with a few bluesy surprises. | ||
| Seventh Veil have been together for about 10 years. Back in 1993 they were about to record an album & hit the road, but one of the guitarist left & in 1994 vocalist, Robert Babina, lost his fight against leukaemia. It took the band a while to get over this set back, but in April 1995 they hooked up with guitarist Jimmy Adcock & vocalist James Arnett. The band released "Rubber America" in 1998.
The band quote influences like The Cult, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Megadeth, Soundgarden, Lenny Kravitz & Jane's Addiction. With the exception of thinking about buying the last Megadeth album simply because of the Dann Huff involvement, I haven't even thought about buying albums by any of those bands. So I wasn't too hopeful about liking this one. Indeed, my initial reaction was decidedly icy. However, you can't review an album after one listen, so this got a few more spins before I got a clear idea of how the review was going to shape up. Those distinctly modern influences show through particularly on the first few songs of the album and despite the fact that is some tasty guitar action, those don't do a lot for me. "How I Feel" marks a turning point in my appreciation of the album. A gritty ballad that bears a passing resemblance to bands like Matchbox 20 and Hootie & The Blowfish. This followed by the lumbering "Ramses", which I like. On "No Reason" the Lenny Kravitz funky influence shines through. "Joyride" starts with what sounds like a car being stolen. There is a vaguely jazz vibe during parts of this tune, which has a GnR style chorus. The next track came as a surprise the first time I listened to the album. "Train To Memphis" is a blues metal affair. It has me thinking about Poison's bluesier moments. For "Hero" it is back to a more standard rock format. "2nd Chances" is the second ballad. "Clean" combines a funky backdrop with Iron Maiden style runs up & down the fretboard to give a modern sounding tune. The 3 bonus tracks give a bluesy acoustic guitar piece to start with, bluesy hard rock & a track that reminds me of Neverland. My favourites moments are the bluesy bits & the ballads. For regular Mood Swings readers it won't be a surprise that the more 'modern' sounding tunes leave me a bit cold. However, they could well be the ones that grab the attention of some of you out there. | ||
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