I suspect that this demo from Uxbridge quartet Seven Days Later lies at the outer fringe of the umbrella of ‘punk’ recognised by Punktastic. Without sparking a ‘What is punk?’ debate, the four tracks here basically walk a tightrope between metal and rock, maybe going so far as metal-core. This is not a bad thing.
This demo is made up of two studio-recorded tracks and two tracks recorded live at Camden’s Purple Turtle way back in February 2008. Although that sounds a somewhat convoluted, if not cost-effective way, of putting together a release, it actually works very well. It gives off a more rounded view of what the band is capable of, that being slow deliberate rhythms integrating themselves with big riffs and a heavy, heavy sound.
Opening track “Tallow” initiates a sense of Killswitch Engage that resonates throughout the entire demo. It’s all well developed structures with melodic choruses that also hint at Funeral for a Friend. “The Power of Greyskull” (the title alone giving any guy my age a heroic sense of nostalgia) is the second of the studio tracks and takes the baton from the opener, introducing a methodical pace that hints at ballad. A metal ballad though. There’s a Seattle sound to some of the lyrics here which makes for interesting listening.
The two live offerings, “Paragon” and “Chalk Outlines”, showcase the band’s metal influences. The former has a huge Metallica-esque change-up mid song, and the latter creates a soundscape akin to Deftones. Surprisingly it’s these two live tracks that offer up the most promise. The band is obviously capable in a one-take performance setting and that’s the true key to developing a band.
If there’s a criticism to be made of this release it’s that the vocals do not hold up as well as the music engulfing them. You get the sense that vocalist Sam Wadsworth has it in him, but things here are a little restrained. To be fair though, I can’t think of many metal bands where the vocals haven’t improved with age. A little more developing and Seven Days Later will be pushing onwards and upwards.
Alex