SEVENSINS - KAZAKHSTAN

SEVENSINS – LEGENDS OF KAZAKHSTAN – SATANATH  
Dodged a bullet there! This is my first encounter with the Kazakh brutal band Sevensins and I was expecting the worst. A metal band singing about its homeland likely is a wussy poser act like Korpiklaani or Amorphis and will bore the pants off. The predictions of having to slog through an hour of dombra and kobyz (and suffer) did not come to fruition and instead this album was filled with some 30 minutes of brutal speedy metal a la Necrophobic or Dark Funeral. Neither did descriptions calling band “symphonic.” While ‘Symphonic’ it is in a metallic fashion, this terms is often used to describe so-called metal bands worshipping at the altar of Depeche Mode so that was another blessing. Phew!
Oddity certainly ensues when the lyrics are not in Kazak, but in Russian – yes, it is an official language in the country, but still.. – but never mind that because while metal has always been a source for learning and education, jingoism or nationalism are not and should never be a part of metal. The music of gods is there to unite brethren across borders and smash through barriers not to promote or accentuate them.
So given the Russian language barrier, let’s leave it at speed-oriented underground metal that is as good as anything else out there. The band loses points for emphasizing its national heritage, the powerless, clicky drum sound and a cover version and wins more for speed, heaviness, brutal vocals and subverting the nation’s coat of arms on its cover. Serpent Mountain has a wonderful bass sound, Kozy-Korpesh/Bayan-Sulu is depraved and Miracle With White Eyes pounds the metal home.
This album delivers for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan! – Ali “The Metallian”