J-Man Spread Your Wings

Every now and again you come across an album where the title describes the music in a nutshell - Return to the Past is one of these albums. Everything about this album just transports you back to the heyday of European power metal; back when Helloween was the biggest name in German metal and Blind Guardian were the new kids on the block. Grandiose keyboards, fast double bass pedal rhythms, melodic choruses, and light-speed arpeggios are the name of the game here, and Seven Thorns delivers this style with confidence and dignity. Calling Return to the Past a forward-thinking album is far from the truth, but that doesn't affect the fun and memorable experience that Seven Thorns has created here. Power metal fans will undoubtedly get a kick out of Return to the Past, even though it's not an essential purchase for those who more casually enjoy the genre.

As previously mentioned, Return to the Past is an early-European-styled power metal album. I'm especially reminded of Helloween, Sonata Arctica, and early Blind Guardian. Seven Thorns uses a formula that many power metal bands have been following for the past 25 years, but they display the sound through great compositions and generally outstanding arrangements. The very symphonic and occasionally cheesy keyboards will most likely get on some people's nerves, though they rarely detract from my listening experience. My only complaint is the "samey" feeling that I get about halfway through the album. Although there is definitely variation in Seven Thorns' music, the verse-chorus-verse structure every track can get a bit repetitive after 5 or 6 songs. Most of the album is high-quality, so it's a bit unfortunate that the album loses a bit of its luster after the first half. If there were a bit more variation in the song structures, there's no doubt I'd be more enthusiastic about this release. Aside from that knock, I have few complaints about the rest of the album. Despite the couple of moments that scream "cheesefest", the majority of the songs here are great. My favorite is probably the opener, "Liberty", which features a great chorus and solid musicianship across the board. The production also sounds great and suits Return to the Past perfectly.

Conclusion:

Although Return to the Past isn't a must-have masterpiece, it's a high-quality modern power metal album that's head and shoulders above most of the competition. Seven Thorns deserve much more recognition than the small amount they are given - they are among the better modern power metal bands for sure. For this good (often great) album, 3.5 stars are well-earned. People who like European-styled power metal with symphonic keyboards and soaring melodies should certainly track this one down.

Time Signature Metal majesty...

Genre: power metal

Seven Thorns offers pure power metal on this album - and pure European power metal, to be more specific, in the vein of Sonata Arctica and Helloween. Seven Thorns follow the formula for successful power metal to the point here, which means loads of melodic choruses and hooklines, neoclassicisms, fast but also melodic guitar riffs and double bass drums galore. In addition, as is typical of power metal these days, the ban make use of keyboards to add an extra dimension of epicness.

A track like the opener "Liberty" is very much the epitome of European power metal.

Seven Thorns do it well, I think, and tracks like the Helloween-inspired "Liberty" and "Countdown", the neoclassical "Through the Mirror", Return to the Past", and "Freedom Call" are pretty good songs which, seen from a Danish perspective, can compete with many compositions by the bigger international European power metal names.

The downside to me is the use of keyboards, which at times makes my cheesometer react violently. The intros of "The End of the Road" and "Forest Majesty" are just too much for me, and "Spread Your Wings" is cheesy all the way through. I do like the choir effects in "Fires and Storms" though.

On the Seven Thorns do a fine job on this album, and they deserve an international career on par with the bigger European power metal acts out there.