Review Summary: 7 Angels 7 Plagues was there for the kids when they were first learning Kung-Fu.
7 Angels 7 Plagues was a metalcore group from Wisconsin that formed in the late 90's. They released an EP and a full-length, toured extensively, and seemingly randomly decided to call it quits. Members went on to form other projects like Dead To Fall, Misery Signals, xFor Death or Gloryx, and Adriell. They were one of those groups that popularized the breakdown!
Their EP
Until The Day Breathes And The Shadows Flee was released in 1999, and can be described pretty simply as melancholic, as well as a metalcore classic. Throughout the album there's a great emphasis on mood, portrayed in nostalgic clean portions, melodic distorted portions, frantic hardcore transitions, and abrasive breaks and screeches. Doubled, high rasps cry out forlornly while guitars tend to drone depressively into frustrating breakdowns as a perfect build of tension into an uplifting release with ambient melodies. Each song has these root transitions, but each is identified by its own qualities and structures. Nothing is formulated by the rule of melodic-breakdown combinations, or the clean choruses and monotonous spoken portions (over-used to an annoying extent by their later vocalist). The drums are busy, the footwork is even and quick, and not triggered/the only focus of the drumming. The production is fuzzy, and actually lends to the whole atmospheric effect of the album.
When releasing
Jhazmyne's Lullaby, the band bragged that they would revolutionize the genre of metallic hardcore, and listening to any of their material, it's easily noticeable how much this band has influenced the modern metalcore scene. So much of what they have done has been repeated by bands like Underoath, As I Lay Dying, This Runs Through, Devil Sold His Soul, and plenty of other Christcore acts.
Such a significant release is a must have for any fan of the style, and was a milestone of the genre that should be remembered and praised above the clones that plague the modern scene.
