There’s no sin in trying.
At first, the name of this band conjured up an image of a wayward metal group offering up their album to Kerrang but Seven Dark Lords describe themselves as a new UK-based Americana/Alt-Country act, a collaborative songwriting project between Cleethorpes Darren Capp and Bill Kerry from Nottingham. For a bigger sound they recruited a backline of Max Johnson on bass, Dan De Wit on drums and lead guitar from Steve Blacow.
‘Counterpoint’ is an interesting first track which turns out to be the band’s strongest. Capp has a great voice with a touch of Chris Stapleton, but then his voice has not done time with the Steeldrivers. This poignant song could resonate in Glasgow, Birmingham or Tennessee.
There then follows what seems like a parody of tracks with train beats, references to whiskey, religion and surely some tongue-in-cheek (Whoa, Whoa, Whoa) backing. ‘Drunk High and Lonesome’ is just not cool. Methamphetamine has a long and tragic history in the Southern US – that particular drug soon stops being cool. ‘Mexico’ bizarrely mentions sarsaparilla (didn’t they use it to treat syphilis?) and then goes on to mention codeine dreams. Still not remotely cool. ‘Revenant’ is a better song and the inspiration behind the album title. ‘Dee Dee’ has one of the most memorable lines on the album: “There was more in his eyes than the whiskey.” The last track is just waiting for Avenged Sevenfold to cover.
Seven Dark Lords say they wanted the music of each song to be as much part of the story as the lyrics themselves. There is the rub. The music is fine. The lyrics just don’t have the chops. Seven Dark Lords see Americana not as geographically locked but as the most soulful of genres and culture. Agreed. If they can ditch the imagery of trucks, Makers Mark, grocery stores, trailers, cowboy boots, snippets of US police channels and sermons they might find their way. Here’s to a return sometime soon with a moving on up through the lyrical gears.
