Seventh Angel: Lament For The Weary (Retroactive)

Originally released in 1991, Lament For The Weary was the second full-length album from UK-based Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel. It came just one year after the band’s full-length debut (1990’s The Torment), but the band was already pushing their sound into new directions.

On The Torment, Seventh Angel’s approach to thrash metal was straightforward with a technical edge and a Venom-like snarled vocal approach. With Lament For The Weary, the band tuned down the guitars to an almost doom metal level, upped the technical factor and gave a more nuanced vocal performance. So it’s this high-tech doom/thrash hybrid that ends up working a lot better than you’d think. It has a Believer/Deliverance vibe plus elements of Coroner, early Paradise Lost and even Candlemass at times, but never loses sight of the intense thrash rhythms and riffage.

As noted earlier, Seventh Angel is a Christian band, so the lyrics to these songs reflects that. They range from the biblical to social issues, but the band’s message is clear. It’s a dark album in overall tone though, so those who come for the metal instead of the message should have no problem here.

More interesting (but no less intense) than The Torment, Lament For The Weary is arguably Seventh Angel’s finest hour. In theory, its ideal audience is fans of Christian metal, particularly Christian thrash metal bands like Believer, Deliverance and Detritus. But this is such an impressive release that it goes way beyond just the Christian scene and should be heard by fans of Testament, D-A-M, Xentrix, Sacred Reich, Coroner and even Venom.

Reissue Notes: Lament For The Weary was reissued (again) this year by the Retroactive label. The album has been remastered, but there is no bonus material, so if you grabbed an earlier reissue, there’s probably no need to upgrade. If you missed this album before now though, this will come in quite handy. There’s also a limited edition vinyl offering for serious collectors.