7th Heaven - Silver


Year of Release: 2003
Label: NTD
Catalog Number: NTD 2003
Format: CD
Total Time: 00:00:00

Silver is the quintessential collection of 7th Heaven's greatest hits. Many styles of music are found conglomerating in this compilation.

The album is surprisingly priced at the cost of a regular album. It's a real bargain considering all of its contents. For starters, the packaging is downright phenomenal. The two discs come in a silver digipack. The discs are cleverly colored, too. One disc is black, the other is white, and each is branded with silver lettering. The package isn't the only thing with a silver lining. The album contains 30, count them 30, quality songs.

It is hard to categorize the music found on the album. Burned into its layers is music ranging from pop to rock to metal. 7th Heaven also utilizes electronica and several splendid sound bytes. As a whole, the gradient of styles from one song to the next certainly qualifies the album as progressive rock.

Mark Kennetz is the bassist. Richard Hofherr is the lead guitarist. Andrew Blake is the lead singer. There is cross-pollination between these three musicians as each demonstrates multiple talents. Mark and Richard sing. Richard and Andrew play the keyboards. Andrew does a little guitar. Richard even contributes some sequencing. Dan Miller's hands are too busy to do anything else. Dan performs whatever duties deal with the drumsticks.

The two songs that start the black disc, "Gravity" and "Cellophane," are mainstream accessible and quite exceptional. Richard shows off his guitar chops in "Medicated." "Fall Into You" could be a Smashing Pumpkins' tune. The song "While You Dream" is a heavier incarnation of the Thompson Twins. "The One" sounds quite a bit like Dream Theater's "Take Away My Pain." "Trembling" is ripe for the radio. "Broken" could be Collective Soul. "On The Inside" sounds like Roswell's "Somebody Is Watching" covered by Tool. "War Machine" is Rob Zombie.

The music continues to oscillate between styles throughout the disc.

When starting the white disc, a clever cut called "Face The Terror" is encountered, which uses an approach found in Ray Wilson's These Are The Changes. The music incorporates sampled speech from the President. This technique is later used in "Shelter." "Truth" is Limp Bizkit performing Kid Rock's "Cowboy." "Windows" sounds like Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting For You." The final song, "Breakin Me Up," is Limp Bizkit once again. This time performing Disturb's "Down With The Sickness."

The white disc is a little more adventurous. It has the more experimental songs. While the black disc has some of the heavier songs, the lighter ones are found on the white disc. It is hard to say which disc is better. It's a close race.

The music is too edgy to be considered rock, but not heavy enough to be considered metal. If Nu Rock was a category, 7th Heaven would easily fit this designation. The music is influenced by many groups of both the eighties and nineties while adding a modern touch. The album is an assortment of delectable nuggets. Each song comes in an individual snack size. Each one hovers around the four minute mark. It is highly doubtful anybody could consume just one. Each song rocks in its own way and the album is laden with a ton of melodic goodies.

While 7th Heaven presents the listener with so many options, it is hard to find one song that copies another. Each one demonstrates original thought. It is bound to please the masses and one or two songs should connect with a respective niche crowd. Among my favorites were "While You Dream," "She," "Face The Terror," "Misunderstood," and "Shelter." Personally, the ones I liked best just happen to be the ballads "I Still Need You" and "Letting Go." These particular songs demonstrate solid songwriting. Overall, I can't really say I found a single track on either disc that I disliked. The compilation casts a good reflection upon the group. It is overwhelming how many of their songs legitimately qualify as a greatest hit. It's no wonder this release ultimately manifested into a double album.

With 30 songs, it shouldn't be difficult to declare a few favorites of your own, especially if you like well-written melodic rock that crosses a diversity of styles. Munch on a couple at a time or devour the whole album at once. Whatever you do, get 7th Heaven's Silver. It definitely deserves a gold star.


Tracklisting:
Disc One: Black Disk: Gravity / Cellophane / Kill The Cycle / Ghost Of Me / Undone / Ethereal / Medicated / Fall Into You / While You Dream / The One / Trembling / She / Broken / On The Inside / War Machine

Disc Two: White Disk: Face Of Terror / Everlasting Love / Invisible / Ordinary World / I Still Need You / Misunderstood / Truth / Erased / Letting Go / Shelter / This Pressure / Right By Your Side / Cope / Windows / Breakin Me Up

Musicians:
Mark Kennetz - bass, vocals
Richie Hofherr - guitars, keys, vocals
Andrew Blake - lead vocals, guitars
Dan Miller - drums

Discography:
Faces Time Replaces (2000)
Silver (2003)

Genre: Other

Origin US

Added: September 19th 2004
Reviewer: Joshua "Prawg Dawg" Turner
Score:
Artist website: www.7thheavenband.com
Hits: 3468
Language: english

  

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