By Artist 7 Thunders Be Free
Be Free
Monday, 04 May 2009 10:32 | 
Author: The Grouch | 
7 Thunders' My Space page with tracks
From their My Space page: The band is Mike(M77), guitar & vocals, Gabriel Aaron is playing bass and singing too and Michael Anthony(The Backwoods Preacher Man) is the drummer.Of note, M77 is the only living survivor of the infamous National People's Gang, immortalized in the David Bowie song "Panic in Detroit"
They go on to say that they have been told that they sound like "Syd Barret doing hard rock Dylan". I wish that weren't the case. I hate Pink Floyd and frankly while Dylan wrote some good songs. He sucks as a performer. I saw Dylan at a small 3000 seat venue a couple of years back and I was very appreciative of the hired guns he had backing him up.
I'm not quite sure but I wonder if 7 Thunders is some kind of Jesus band? (They have a lot of crosses in the art work on the My Space page, along with a drawing of Jesus) If so, they are the best Jesus band I've heard.
Track 1: Out of Darkness - There is a thunder sound effect at the beginning of the song. Then some cool guitar comes in. The drums have the cliché big roll entry. I can't understand what he is singing. I like the guitar, he has some lightening - I can hear him back there chomping at the bit. I can make out the words cocaine and no pain. At the 3:07 mark the music bridges into a new section that reminds me of the Grateful Dead - I hate the Dead as much as I hate Pink Floyd. Having said that the music is pretty good - I dislike the singer's voice. it sounds too much like Dylan. The song ends with everyone going out for a smoke but not telling the drummer - he hits a few notes and seems to realize that everyone else has left.
Track 2: ITW - The guitar is back and I like it. Mike can play. Unfortunately Mike can't sing. Dude, the vocals are inhibiting my enjoyment of the song. You play guitar well - do that. Find someone who can sing (in something other than a Bob Dylan imitation) and you'll sound a lot better. The music is good. Its a little on the Hippy Jam band side, but good. I keep imagining white guys who need a shower dancing around while wearing hemp clothing.
Track 3: Rock Shock - I do not like this song at all. Well that isn't true, I like the bass. The lyrics are cheesy and vocals bad. Even his guitar ability doesn't save this song. Although he tries hard to do so, from 2:09 to 2:30 nice guitar work comes in only to be overpowered by the cheese factor that ends the song.
Track 4: Creation - Nice guitar at the beginning - not the one you first hear, but the other one doing the leads. Again the vocals BUG me! Musically there are some nice things - he CAN play guitar. The drums sound OK and the bass is there doing his thing. Man, those vocals suck.
Track 5: 1 More Tear - You know the drill - music pretty good - vocals bad. The drums bug me on this song. It may be the mix, but for some reason he sounds unsure of himself - I keep waiting for him to unleash and he doesn't. The guitar does have some nice spots in the solo.
Track 6: God Spoke - Jamming into! This dude can definitely make it wail. The vocals don't bug me too much, it seems like Bob Dylan is sitting this one out. I like this song.
Bottom line: They have potential. They need a new singer. Personally the whole Bob Dylan Neo-Hippy vibe is a bit much, but inspite of that the band is pretty good.
Grouch rating 2 and 1/2 scowls out of 5
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Last Updated (Monday, 04 May 2009 12:12)