7th Son

Before the Nevada quartet were known as Taking Dawn -- later becoming Devil’s Run -- they were Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Well, no, they were just called 7th Son. Instead of playing heavy metal they played more of a mixture of early Megadeth and Motley Crüe. The three song demo would get them signed to Roadrunner Records which would also see them change up stylistically. Musically, these guys definitely have some chops with great riffs and melodies and hints of anthemic chants fit for an arena setting.

The demo kicks off with the blistering “Tension for Dissention”. It starts off with a bang and keeps the pace throughout. “Forced Fed Up” starts off a bit slower with an acoustic intro and kicks it into high gear with dueling leads and melodies. This song is more straightforward with fewer dueling solos and tangential melodies. This is probably the closest to what Taking Dawn would become. “Shout with a Fist” is the thrash anthem on the demo and my favorite song on it. It’s fast, thrashy, and has some pretty good hooks to grab you.

The weakest point of the demo is whenever Chris Babbit opens his mouth and starts singing. His singing is not bad; he has a gruffness that fits the music but his tongue gets in the way of his delivery leaving it a garbled mess. Except when it comes to the chorus then he becomes more intelligible. Of course this is just a demo and I’m sure that with the proper production, producer, and studio everything about the band would have improved. Babbit did improve his delivery with Taking Dawn and I’m sure that if 7th Son got a proper release, his delivery would have improved too.

7th Son’s demo is worth checking out even if you don’t care for Taking Dawn. You’ll get a solid set of three thrashers that will forever be part of the “What If” series in metal history.