Seventh Angel formed when Ian Arkley (vocals/guitars) met Scott Rawson (guitars) and started jamming together back in 1987 in Netherton, UK. A Spinal Tap-esq hunt for drummers began, and the legend has it that 5 drummers came and went during 1988/89. Andrew Blount joined, and the first few songs were written. Andrew Blount was soon replaced by Andy Hopkins who in turn played with the band until December '88. Early in 1989 Mark Ruff took over the drums. The first demo, simply entitled 'Seventh Angel' was recorded, with Ian playing lead guitar, bass as well as vocals. A few days later Simon Bibby joined to play bass and the band began to play local gigs around the West Midlands. Seventh Angel's first gig took place in May in Netherton, W. Midlands, England. In August the band played their fifth gig at the Greenbelt festival, following One Bad Pig in the big top. Shortly afterwards Mark left, and Seventh Angel toured the UK, including Ireland, with American band Whitecross. Colin Brookes helped out on drums during the tour. Scott then left the band, but the lineup stabilized with Scott rejoining and Andrew Thompson, known as Tank, replacing Colin on drums. Scott left again for a couple of months, during which time the second demo, 'The Rehearsal Demo', was recorded live for the grand total of £26. On December 27th Scott rejoined the band. On January 25th 1990 Seventh Angel appeared on Channel 4's 'Not on Sunday' program, which featured a performance of "Divine Takeover" and a band interview with Brian Redhead, recorded the previous day. The demos received good reviews in various magazines. Ian and Simon were involved in a car crash on February 14th in which Simon broke his arm, and Ian damaged several of his teeth. However, this did not stop the band fulfilling their gig commitments that week, although Simon was only able to sing. Between March 12th and 14th the third demo, 'Heed the Warning', was recorded and mixed at White Rabbit Studios in Bridgenorth with Paul Hodson producing. Shortly afterwards the band recorded their first album, 'The Torment', at Mad Hat Studios in Wolverhampton, again with Paul Hodson at the producing helm. Rodney Matthews provided the artwork for the album cover. Over the next few months Seventh Angel played a number of local venues around Dudley and Stourbridge, including at least five appearances at The Rock Tavern in Brierley Hill. The band also headlined Metal Meltdown in November, which was to be Simon's last gig, as he left the band the following February. 1991 also saw the band parting ways with their manager Dave Williams. Simon Jones helped out by stepping in to play bass, and the band continued to play gigs around Horsham and Stourbridge during the spring. The band played festivals including Harry and Crossfire. Seventh Angel also toured the UK with Toranaga from March 21st to April 7th, playing a total of 11 tour dates. The second album, 'Lament For The Weary', was recorded in ICC studios, Eastbourne, with Roy Rowland producing. The recording took place from the 4th to the 16th of July 1991. It was mixed during the first ten days of August, but the final album wasn't released until the following year. The band also appeared on a compilation album, released on Edge/Pure Metal Records, entitled 'White Metal Warriors - Last Ship Home'. The compilation was made to highlight the British white metal scene, and featured 4 other metal acts from the UK. The 2 Seventh Angel songs featured were both from the 'Heed The Warning' demo.  On the 23rd of August, Seventh Angel played a memorable set on main stage at the Greenbelt Festival, sharing the bill with Galactic Cowboys. In October 1991, shortly after a gig in Croyden, Scott left the band (for the third and final time). Due to work commitments Simon Jones also left shortly after Greenbelt, and the band continued with only Tank and Ian as permanent members. The band temporarily split between the 1st and 14th November, but reformed, responding to the invitation to play at the Christmas Rock Night in Ennepetal, Germany on the 7th of December. Jon Willis played bass on this occasion, in the absence of the irreplaceable Simon Bibby. Also helping out on bass during the next few months were Earl Morris and Nic White. February 1992 saw Seventh Angel on BBC TV four times, in footage recorded the previous August at the Greenbelt festival. The featured track was "Forbidden Desires". Over the next few months the band played at many festivals and gigs around the UK, Holland and Germany. On May 30th Seventh Angel played in Utrecht, Holland. Mark Broomhead, of Detritus fame, stepped in to play bass at this point and the band, returned to Greenbelt on August the 28th, playing alongside Veni Domine. A tour of Holland took place from September 9th to October 12th , and November 12th until December 12th. December 12th 1992 saw Seventh Angel's last gig in Utrecht, Holland and the band split up shortly afterwards. In 2005 Retroactive Records re-released 'The Torment' and 'Lament for the Weary'. Bombworks Records released a CD with early demo recordings and live material, entitled 'Heed The Warning - Demo & Live Recordings'. And finally in 2008 Seventh Angel reformed, and started recording again. Metal Mind Productions re-released both their albums, with remastered sound, and newly recorded bonus tracks.

THE TORMENT (1990) UNDER ONE FLAG

Seventh Angel's debut album has been released on several record labels, including a remastered version from 2005, and one on Metal Mind in 2008. However, it is still very hard to come by. I was lucky enough to get my copy in a trade. I'm always eager to get hold of Christian metal I do not already own, and this band came highly recommended. Seventh Angel were a slightly technical thrash metal band, and 'The Torment' was their first full length effort, after having released 3 demo tapes earlier on. Unfortunately, 'The Torment' didn't grab a hold of me at first. It's very well played, but the songs failed to impress me. But I've owned the disc for several years, and have kept coming back to it every now and then. So now I enjoy it, and look at it as a Christian thrash metal classic. The rapid-fire riffing is stellar, and combined with the raspy, aggressive voice of Ian serves as ingredients that are very reminiscent of many other British thrash metal acts from this era (Acid Reign, Detritus, Xentrix, Re-Animator, Sabbat). Seventh Angel didn't stand back to any of their more familiar British brothers. My only complaint now must be that the album is a bit samey. There are little or no variation within the material. But that also tells you that if you like 1 song, you are bound to like the rest of them also.

Even thought 'The Torment' was issued through familiar record labels, such as Edge/Pure Metal for the Christian market, and Under One Flag on the secular market, it failed to get the attention it deserved. Heck, the cover art by Rodney Matthews (Asia, Magnum, Nazareth etc.) alone should have been enough to create some headway for the band. But only the Christian market really seemed to care. So this album is still a gem unbeknown to most thrash metal fans. Too bad, because it really delivers as promised. You just have to give it a spin or 2 extra to really get into the groove, so to speak.

"Forbidden Desires" and "I Of The Needle" can also be found on the 'Heed The Warning' demo, recorded and released only months earlier.

Killer tracks: Tormented Forever, The Charmer, Expletive Deleted, Dr. Hatchet, Locked Up In Chains

LAMENT FOR THE WEARY (1992/2005) RETROACTIVE RECORDS

Seventh Angel strong debut was followed by an even more breathtaking sophomore release. This time it's a concept album, telling the story of a man left in a downwards spiral after being abused as a child. Plagued by hopelessness and depression, ultimately leading to thoughts of suicide, finally he turns to his childhood faith for hope and strength. The cover art was once more handled by renowned Rodney Matthews, and is perhaps on of the most stunning pieces of art in the history of metal.

By tuning down the guitars, and writing more varied material, often emphasizing on doomier parts, the band created a more somber album that definitely demands repeated listen to fully comprehend. It's interesting how they wrote the songs to fit the story at hand. One can hear the desperation, the longing, as well as the regained hope. Musically this is still a thrash metal album at heart. And Ian's unmistaken soaring vocals is still intact. This band had their own sound, and it is instantly recognizable. 'Lament For The Weary' is a more mature album, and it was to be the pinnacle of the bands career. I can only imagine what a thrill it must have been to receive such a thorough album those who were already fans of the band. Personally I think I prefer 'The Torment', although I can hear that 'Lament For The Weary' has it beat in production values. I think I just preferred the thrash to be the main focus, rather than the more doom oriented material on this album. I still like 'Lament For The Weary' very much, and regard it as a true Christian metal classic.

Shortly after the release of this album the band split up. But due to the massive interest show toward the band all over the world, 2005 saw the release of reissued material from Seventh Angel. And in 2008 the band reformed.

'Lament for The Weary' was out of print for a long time, 'til Retroactive Records remastered it, and reissued the album in 2005. This is the version I own. Metal Mind in Poland reissued in once again in 2008, with a brand new bonus track.

Killer tracks: Life In All It's Emptiness, Woken By Silence., Falling Away From Reality, Secure In Eternity

HEED THE WARNING - DEMO & LIVE RECORDINGS (2005) BOMBWORKS

Seventh Angel were never my favorite thrash metal band in the past. But as a collector of Christian metal, and an avid thrash metal lover, this is a piece of history worth owning nonetheless. I already owned a CDR with the 3 demos this band recorded. But getting this, their 3rd and final demo, as a proper CD release is of course even better. And to my pleasant surprise, I really liked the music on this release much better than first expected. Seventh Angel deliver some technical, or progressive if you like, thrash metal. The first thing that hit me this time around was how much they reminded me of Sabbat, another classic British cult thrash metal act. Especially the vocals are similar. Ian Arkely doesn't have that rapid machine gun fire delivery, but the raspy, aggressive tone is very much alike Martin Walkyre's style. There is no denying the typical British sound of Seventh Angel. Bands like Xentrix, Detritus and the already mentioned Sabbat are all brothers in genre, and in sound to Seventh Angel. The 4 demo tracks were all recorded just 1 or 2 months prior to the recording of the bands full-length debut, 'The Torment'. This, and the fact that the sound quality on the demo is just as good as on their debut, I suspect that the 2 tracks represented on both releases are the same recordings. The 2 tracks that didn't make the cut for 'The Torment' can both be found on the 'White Metal Warriors' compilation, and are amongst the finest songs Seventh Angel ever recorded. Alongside the 'Heed The Warning' demo, Bombworks has also thrown in a bunch of live tracks, recorded at 3 different venues. These are not exactly very good sound wise. But we do get a glimpse of how tight this band was live. Personally I would have included the bands 2 earlier demos instead though, as they have yet to see a proper release on CD. Still, this is Christian metal history, and worth checking into if you still haven't heard this band, or if you are just curious as to what the band sounded like in the early days. I've included both the original artwork for 'Heed The Warning', and of course the cover on the reissue, created by Rex Zachary (aka Rexorcist). Now, excuse me, I have to go and re-familiarize myself with the bands studio efforts.

Seventh Angel also appear on:  

V/A -  'White Metal Warriors - Last Ship Home'

Tank guest appearances:

Detritus - 'If But For One'

Related artists:

Paramæcium, My Sient Wake, Detritus