This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2014) |
Seventh Angel | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Halesowen, West Midlands, England |
Genres | Christian metal, death metal, doom metal, thrash metal [1] |
Years active | 1987–1993, 2008–present |
Labels | Bombworks Records Under One Flag / Music For Nations |
Members | Ian Arkley Andrew "Tank" Thompson Simon Bibby Mark Broomhead |
Seventh Angel are an English former Christian metal band that formed in 1987 in Halesowen, West Midlands. The band was known for its combination of doom metal and thrash metal. [2] The band initially released two albums, The Torment (1990) and Lament for the Weary (1992), before disbanding; these records achieved mainstream distribution through the Music for Nations label, making Seventh Angel label mates with such groups as Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. [3] The Daily Telegraph called Seventh Angel "one of the leading Christian thrash metal bands in Great Britain." [4]
The band headlined the Metal Meltdown festival in 1990, played concerts in Germany and the Netherlands, and they were featured on both Channel 4 and BBC TV for several live performances of their Greenbelt Festival concerts. Guitarist/vocalist Ian Arkley later formed the doom metal bands Ashen Mortality and My Silent Wake. In May 2008, the group announced their reforming. [5] The current line-up consists of the original members Ian Arkley (guitars, vocals), Simon Bibby (guitar), Andrew "Tank" Thompson (drums) and Mark Broomhead (bass). The band released their third album, The Dust of Years , in 2009.
Seventh Angel was formed in 1987 by Ian Arkley and Andrew (Andi) Blount with Scott Rawson joining very soon afterwards. In August 1988, the first drummer Andrew Blount was replaced by Andy Hopkins who played with the band until December. Stuart Benton was trialled as the vocalist for a brief period in 1988.
In early 1989, Mark Ruff joined the band as their drummer. Seventh Angel's self-titled demo, sometimes referred to as the "Red" demo, was produced in 1989 with Ian playing lead guitar, bass (as Neil A Kray) as well as vocals. A few days later, Simon Bibby joined as the bassist and the band began to play local concerts around the West Midlands. The band played its first concert in May 1989 in Netherton, West Midlands.
In August 1989, Seventh Angel performed their fifth concert at the Greenbelt Festival, supporting American rock band One Bad Pig. Afterwards, Mark Ruff left and Seventh Angel toured the United Kingdom, including Ireland, with the American Christian metal band Whitecross. Colin Brookes played drums during the tour. Andrew "Tank" Thompson replaced Colin on drums. Seventh Angel's second demo, The Rehearsal Demo, was recorded whilst Scott Rawson had a short break away from the band.
On 25 January 1990, Seventh Angel appeared on Channel 4's Not on Sunday programme which featured a performance of "Divine Takeover" and a band interview with Brian Redhead. Later that year, The Daily Telegraph described Seventh Angel as "one of Britain's leading Christian thrash metal bands." The demos received positive reviews in various magazines.
On 14 February, Ian Arkley and Simon Bibby were involved in a car crash in which Bibby broke his arm and Ian damaged several of his teeth. However, the band was able to play their confirmed concerts. Simon took over on vocal duties and Scott played bass for the gig following the accident.
Between 12 and 14 March 1990, the third demo titled Heed the Warning was recorded and mixed at White Rabbit Studios in Bridgnorth with Paul Hodson. Afterwards, the band recorded their debut album entitled The Torment at Mad Hat Studios in Wolverhampton by the same producer; the album was released that year. The British fantasy artist Rodney Matthews painted the cover painting for the album.
Over the next few months, Seventh Angel played at local venues around Dudley and Stourbridge, including five performances at The Rock Tavern in Brierley Hill. The band headlined Metal meltdown in November, which was Simon Bibby's last concert as he left the band in February. The band also contributed to the Just Be Sure It's Pure split EP in 1990 with American Christian metal bands Bride, Seraiah and Xalt, German Christian metal band Creed, and Jeff Scheetz.
In February, Seventh Angel appeared on BBC TV four times with footage recorded at their Greenbelt festival concert; "Forbidden Desires" was the featured song.
Simon Jones joined in to play bass and Seventh Angel performed concerts around Horsham and Stourbridge during the spring. The band played festivals including Harry and Crossfire. Seventh Angel toured the UK with Toranaga from 21 March to 7 April, playing eleven concerts.
Seventh Angel's second album, Lament for the Weary , was recorded in ICC studios, Eastbourne, with Roy Rowland from 4 to 16 July 1991; it was released in 1992. The album saw the band combine doom metal elements with progressive thrash metal. The album received positive reviews. The band contributed to a second split EP, White Metal Warriors – Last Ship Home in 1991 with the bands Detritus, Lazarus, Maverick and Stairway.
Seventh Angel performed on the mainstage of the Greenbelt festival on 23 August, sharing the stage with the American progressive metal group Galactic Cowboys. In October 1991, after a concert in Croydon, Scott left the band, as did Simon Jones after the Greenbelt festival concert. The band continued with only Tank and Ian Arkley as permanent members.
On 7 December 1991, the band played a concert at Christmas Rock Night in Ennepetal, Germany. Jon Willis played bass on this occasion. Also filling in for bass during the next few months were Earl Morris of Detritus and Nic White.
Over the next few months, the band played at festivals and concerts around the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. On 30 May, Seventh Angel played in Utrecht, Netherlands. Mark Broomhead of the fellow thrash metal band Detritus played bass at the time for Seventh Angel, and the band played a concert at Greenbelt festival on 28 August, sharing stage with the reputive Swedish progressive doom metal group Veni Domine.
Seventh Angel toured the Netherlands from 9 September to 12 October and from 12 November until 12 December. Mark Broomhead became a permanent member of the band. Despite work towards a new album for the now three piece group, 12 December 1992 saw Seventh Angel's last gig in Utrecht, Netherlands. The band split up the following year. [6]
Ian Arkley went on to form the doom metal bands Ashen Mortality in 1993 and My Silent Wake in 2005, the former of which disbanded in 2005, and was also the guitarist in the Australian Christian doom metal band Paramaecium in 1999; Tank formed the rap metal group Freekspert and later SukMunki; Mark joined with other former Seventh Angel bassist Simon Bibby on the epic doom project Amaranth and later the experimental rock band Fire Fly. [7]
In 2005, a compilation album titled Heed the Warning: Live & Demo Recordings was released by Bombworks Records, containing Seventh Angel's demo of the same name as well as live recordings of songs from the band's studio albums. On 23 May 2008, Seventh Angel announced they were reforming. They also announced the release of a new album. [5] The band had written half the song material for their new album, according to the press release. The re-issue of Lament for the Weary includes a newly recorded bonus track titled "The Turning Tide". The song features similar thrash/doom style the band is known for, albeit with death growl vocals as opposed to the previous thrash shouting. In late 2008, the band performed concerts in Brainstorm festival, Netherlands and Nordic Fest, Norway. In March 2009, Blabbermouth.net reported that the band would enter studio The Priory in Birmingham with Greg Chandler of Esoteric to record their new album. The cover art was provided by Matt Vickerstaff of Darkwave Art. It was also announced that the band had signed with Bombworks Records to release the album. [8] As reported via their Myspace, during 19–23 March the band recorded the album, entitled The Dust of Years , which was released on 24 June 2009.
Seventh Angel's official Facebook page was launched in 2012. [9] The band's second compilation album, the Demo Collection, was released in 2017 and contains material from their three demos. In 2018, remasters of both The Torment and Lament for the Weary were released. On 20 May 2019, the band posted on Facebook, "We have not split SA as we see no need; we probably never will. We hope to record again one day but there are no immediate plans." [10]
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Extended plays
Demo albums
Possessed is an American thrash metal band, originally formed in 1982 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dark Angel is an American thrash metal band from Downey, California, formed in 1981. The band's current lineup includes drummer Gene Hoglan, guitarists Eric Meyer and Laura Christine, frontman Ron Rinehart and bassist Mike Gonzalez. In its history, they have gone through many lineup changes, and as of guitarist Jim Durkin's death on March 8, 2023, there are no original members left in the current lineup of Dark Angel, although Meyer is the only member to appear on all of their studio albums.
Forbidden is an American thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. They formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, but would change their name in 1987. Since their formation, Forbidden have broken up and reformed twice with numerous line-up changes. After breaking up for the first time in 1997, Forbidden reunited once again in 2007, went into an indefinite hiatus in 2012, but reformed in 2023. The current line-up of the band is Norman Skinner (vocals), Craig Locicero (guitar), Matt Camacho (bass), and Chris Kontos (drums).
Paramaecium was an Australian death/doom metal band formed in 1991. There is use of instrumentation like flutes, cellos and violins on some albums. Paramaecium is one of the few doom metal bands that focus on Christian lyrical themes and Christian concepts. According to Doom-metal.com, "what sets Paramaecium apart from other bands in the doom metal scene, is the fact that they are the only Christian death/doom band that made it to the top of the genre."
Beherit is a Finnish black metal band from Rovaniemi. The band was formed in 1989 by Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance, Jari Vaarala and Sodomatic Slaughter, with the purpose of performing "the most primitive, savage, hell-obsessed black metal imaginable". "Beherit" is claimed to be the Syriac word for Satan, but this word does not exist in the language and the claim is falsehood. Through the uncommercial nature of their music, visuals, and live performances, the band quickly attracted a cult following. Besides the "raw" sound, the band's music is noted for its avant-garde side and emphasis on atmosphere. Beherit are now regarded as a pioneer in their genre.
Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. They have released nine studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and three live albums. The band has gone through several line-up changes, leaving guitarist Rob Cavestany as the only constant member; he and vocalist Mark Osegueda are the only members of to appear on all of their studio albums.
Solitude Aeturnus is an American epic doom metal band from Arlington, Texas. Founded by John Perez in early 1987, the original lineup consisted of Perez on guitar, vocalist Kristoff (Christopher) Gabehart, guitarist Tom Martinez, drummer Brad Kane, and Chris Hardin on bass. The name Solitude was chosen to pay homage to the bands Black Sabbath and Candlemass, both of whom had songs bearing the name "Solitude". Solitude Aeturnus released their debut album "Into the Depths of Sorrow" in 1991 with John Perez and Edgar Rivera on guitars, Robert Lowe on vocals, Lyle Steadham on bass and John Covington on drums. Solitude Aeturnus played with Candlemass in Texas in 1991. Their second and most progressive album, "Beyond the Crimson Horizon", was released in 1992. "Through the Darkest Hour", the band's landmark album, was released in 1994. "Downfall", the band's fourth studio album, was released in 1996. "Adagio", released two years later in 1998, featured Steve Moseley on bass, who replaced Lyle Steadham. Lyle Steadham was the main lyricist of the band until then. The band's final album, "Alone", was released in 2006 with a different lineup, as James Martin took over bass duties, Steve Moseley moved to lead guitar replacing Edgar Rivera, and Steve Nichols replaced John Covington on drums. Following a few concerts in Europe, Solitude Aeturnus went into a long hiatus as singer Robert Lowe took over singing duties in Candlemass.
Hirax is an American thrash metal band from Cypress, California. Starting in 1984 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena, the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with several of their thrash metal peers such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. The band was an early example of thrash metal, speed metal and crossover thrash, yet inspired by cross-genre influences including blues vocalist Sam Cooke, who De Pena once cited as "the greatest vocalist [De Pena] has ever heard."
Autopsy Torment is a Swedish death metal band, formed in 1989. The band was started by Thomas Karlsson, Autopsy Torment's frontman and singer, with Onkel on guitars. In 1991, the band became a trio with Karl Vincent on drums and Daniel Nilsen on guitar who wrote and recorded the demo Darkest Rituals that same year. Then followed a period of constant personnel changes, with Thomas Karlsson and Karl Vincent as the core members.
Ashen Mortality were a British doom metal band formed in 1993 by Ian Arkley and Melanie Bolton. They recorded two demos, and two albums, and played gigs in England, the Netherlands and Germany. Featuring clean and growled male vocals, and female vocals, their music was heavy, slow to mid-paced, and influenced by medieval music, black, doom, death and goth. The band split up in 2005, when Arkley went on to form My Silent Wake.
Epidemic was an American death/thrash metal band which was part of the Bay Area thrash scene.
Ian Arkley is a British heavy metal guitarist and singer. His current band is the UK gothic doom metal outfit My Silent Wake.
Lȧȧz Rockit was an American thrash metal band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1981. They are most notable for their association with the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the 1980s, and they are considered to be a member of the region's so-called "Big Six", along with Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Forbidden and Vio-lence.
Hobbs' Angel of Death was an Australian thrash metal band that began in 1987 in Melbourne, and are one of the first Australian groups to perform in that genre. They released two studio albums, Hobbs' Angel of Death (1988) and Inheritance (1995) before disbanding in 1996. They reformed in 2002 and released a compilation album, Hobbs' Satan's Crusade (2003), and a third album Heaven Bled (2016).
Armoured Angel were an Australian thrash and death metal band from Canberra, which formed in 1982 as Metal Asylum. The band's founding mainstay, Glen "Lucy" Luck provided bass guitar. They pushed the musical boundaries of the local thrash metal scene and were pioneers of Australian death metal. The group also helped establish Australia's metal festival, Metal for the Brain in 1991. They issued a studio album, Angel of the Sixth Order, in July 1999 before disbanding soon after.
The Torment is the debut studio album by the British Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel, released on Music for Nations in 1990. The album established the band as "one of England's leading thrash metal bands" by The Daily Telegraph. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it number 51 on the Top 100 Christian Metal Albums of All Time list.
Lament for the Weary is Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel's second studio album, released in late 1991 on Music for Nations. The album saw the band incorporating doom metal elements to thrash. The album garnered generous reviews from British music press at the time. Lament for the Weary is a concept album about a man who suffered abuse during childhood and struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts in adulthood. On his deathbed, the man gets his childhood faith back and is not afraid to die anymore.
The Dust of Years is the third studio album by the British Christian metal band Seventh Angel, released on 24 June 2009 on Bombworks Records. A comeback album, The Dust of Years is the band's first studio album since 1992's Lament for the Weary. While the style continues on Seventh Angel's trademark thrash and doom metal sound, the vocals are death growls as opposed to the previous thrash metal shouts. The album was produced by Esoteric member Greg Chandler who also contributed some growls. The cover art was done by Matt Vickerstaff of Darkwave Art.
Sacrifice is a Canadian thrash metal band from Toronto, Ontario. The band was formed by guitarists Rob Urbinati and Joe Rico in 1983. Sacrifice played a prominent role in the 1980s underground metal scene in Toronto, and along with Voivod, Razor and Annihilator, they are considered one of the "Big Four" of Canadian thrash metal. Sacrifice has been cited as an influence on many notable heavy metal bands, including Sepultura, Cannibal Corpse, and Carcass. The band released four studio albums before parting ways in 1993. After coming back together to play a reunion concert in 2006, they released their fifth studio album The Ones I Condemn on Brazilian label Marquee Records in 2009. Although the band faced numerous line-up changes, especially in their early days, founding guitarists Urbinati, Rico and bassist Scott Watts recorded every studio album and demo with drummer Gus Pynn on everything but the Apocalypse Inside demo and CD.
Detritus are an English thrash metal band formed in Bristol in 1989. The band consists of two current and former members of the British Christian metal band Seventh Angel. Detritus disbanded in October 1993. Vocalist/bassist Mark Broomhead formed Fire Fly and joined Seventh Angel. The band teased a potential reunion, stating the following: "So first Detritus practice for 26 years, went quite well. Maybe we might do it again sometime." On 9 December 2018, Mark Broomhead confirmed that Detritus' reunion concert would be at the Alive festival in the Netherlands, which was held from 17 to 19 May 2019. Detritus' first studio album in 28 years, Myths, was released on 19 February 2021.