Chastain – The 7th Of Never (30 Years Heavy) – Album Reissue Review

Unfairly ignored for the most part, American metal powerhouse Chastain have always been highly atmospheric, chillingly melodic and had a strong taste for the epic…..and they’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of 80’s metal classic, The 7th Of Never, with a stonking new reissue of this must own slab of American power metal!

Leather Leone, one of the greatest female vocalists in metal (check out Leather, Leone’s brand new solo album to fully appreciate the magisterial might of this queen of metal), is flawless throughout – matching the likes of the mighty David Wayne on the Metal Church-esque highlight, “The Wicked Are Restless” – and smashing her contemporaries into the ether on the ethereal “Forevermore” and the lightning speed neo-thrash of “Paradise”. All are great songs in their own right, but they are amplified ten-fold by Leather Leone’s presence alone.

The 2 added instrumental’s on this reissue may be pretty throwaway but it’s the main bulk of The 7th Of Never you’re here/hear for and those songs remains as irresistible as ever.

Full of incomparable shred and neoclassical noodling (Chastain were originally signed to Shrapnel Records’ roster, after all), the aforementioned “The Wicked Are Restless” may be a stomping shred-fest and an absolute anthem, but it’s the unbridled technical wizardry, mixed with trad metal structures, of “It’s Too Late For Yesterday” and “Paradise” which makes The 7th Of Never so damn irresistible……even 30 years on!

With the band still going strong – 2015’s We Bleed Metal was a riff lovers dream – there’s no better time to retrace the sizeable footsteps left by Chastain and this anniversary edition of The 7th Of Never is a fine place to start! 8/10

Release date: Friday, August 31st 2018

Vinyl comes with a lyric sheet and 2 bonus tracks.

TRACKLIST:

Side A
1. We Must Carry On
2. Paradise
3. It’s Too Late For Yesterday
4. 827
5. The Wicked Are Restless
6. It’s Too Late For Yesterday (instrumental bonus track)

Side B
7. The 7th Of Never
8. Take Me Back In Time
9. Feel His Magic
10. Forevermore
11. The 7th Of Never (instrumental bonus track)

LINE-UP:

Leather Leone – vocals
David T. Chastain – guitars
Mike Skimmerhorn – bass, backing vocals
Ken Mary – drums

www.webleedmetal.com

www.facebook.com/DavidTChastain2/