SEVENTH VOID – Heaven Is Gone

Isn’t it amazing how many Metal bands are into the whole seven thing? There’s Seventh Avenue, Seventh Calling, Seventh Wonder, and now this group. Seventh Void is a modern / Stoner Rock band comprised of two members of Type O-Negative, Kenny Hickey and Johnny Kelly, along with Hank Hell and Matt Brown. Their sound is decidedly morose. If you’re looking for a feel good time, best look elsewhere, as this band tackles a lot of dark, depressing topics. Addiction, death, loss, sorrow, wasted lives, and much of what comes along with those struggles are featured on Heaven is Gone.

Kenny Hickey handles the vocals and does precisely what you’d expect of a veteran of the scene. He manages to convey a sense of pain without being a sap. The guitars are a shared responsibility for him and Brown, and they take on a stoner vibe throughout. The solos aren’t mind-blowing, but are pulled off without excess flash. This is consistent with the overall message of darkness and despair that’s on offer in every facet of this album.

Some of the better songs include the title track. “Heaven Is Gone” says something about the futility of religious worship. Another strong point is “Last Walk In The Light”. It signals an appropriate end to the album and shows that the band can do more than provide the plodding guitar rhythms that are commonplace in Stoner Metal.

Arguably, Seventh Void falls short where lyrical versatility goes. You can only listen to this album so many times before things get too weighty. Kenny Hickey sings about the suffocating nature of life with too much frequency. This doesn’t lend the band a sense of falseness; they seem to be in their element when dealing with angst, but it gets more than a little old after half a dozen spins.

Anyone into the stoner scene will gravitate to this stuff. In fact, this is pretty accessible for mainstream radio junkies, as well. A big question for the future: can Seventh Void mix things up some more? One can only take so much desolation and misery in a single album before laying it to rest for good. Still, this is a solid debut and recommended to anyone that finds themselves surrounded by too much happiness!