Seven Spires - A Fortress Called Home (2024)

I want to start this review with a question. What is Symphonic Metal in your mind? Let’s leave this hanging and we will get back to it soon. A Fortress Called Home is the much anticipated 4th album of the rising talents Seven Spires, succeeding the amazing three years old, Gods of Debauchery. Same line-up for the last time, as this is drummer Chris Dovas’ swan song with the band. I was very eager to see what paths songwriting will follow this time, so let’s see what impressions this record leaves after two months of repeated listening.

Starting with a strong Seven Spires characteristic that also exists here, is how they excel in blending genres together. If you listened to their new single Almosttown, you may have noticed it has a strong melodic Power Metal aura. On the other hand, Architect of Creation is full of Black/Death metal extensions. This is only a small taste, as there are references from Progressive, Doom, Jazz, movie & video game soundtracks and the list goes on. All those are always passed from a strong Symphonic filter, with orchestrations crafted from Adrienne Cowan herself. No need to point out how diverse and rich the end result becomes thanks to this.

Continuing with the traditions, the lyrical themes of Spires were always very dark, personal and emotional. This abundance of emotion is reflected on everything, from the music to the passionate vocal performances, there is soul and heart in each note. Now that we touched the vocal department, can we just agree that Adrienne is one of the best metal vocalists of our time? She nails so many different singing styles with equal grace, to the point that other bands would need two or three singers to get similar results. If we add the songwriting and orchestration duties the mix, I really struggle to think of a more complete artist. Musicians like her, make me confident about the fruitful future of this music.

Another aspect that gave me the best impressions, was how A Fortress Called Home took both words of the term Symphonic Metal and made a perfect example out of it. First and foremost, symphonic and heavy do not take turns, they exist as one. Fans who want the metal, will find blastbeats, screams, brutal vocals, sharp riffing, beautiful solos and strong basslines to keep them entertained. People who want the Symphonic part, are not prepared. The album may have one of the most epic and intense instrumentation I have heard in the recent years. It draws inspiration from so many things, like it winks at Disney, Lord of the Rings and what made me lose my mind, is that it even touched the greatness of the Dark Souls series at a point. I have not yet recovered from the choir part in the middle of Love’s Souvenir.

Everything we have said is the tip of the iceberg. The album runs for more than 1 hour with 11 tracks + one interlude. No two songs sound the same, while there is enough variety even within each track, so I do not want to spoil many details. They are best discovered by you, as the record is full of them. That’s the beautiful part. We are not dealing with a record that can be described as mix of band A and band B. Its creation is fuelled by so many inspirations, that it is impossible to describe in a small text. To that extend each one will translate the music in a different way, creating a unique and personalized experience. Like I said above that a part reminded me of Dark Souls or Disney, but that’s just me. Others will be reminded of other stuff for sure.

To answer the question I set at the beginning, Seven Spires give a new meaning to Symphonic Metal. They don’t try to copy anyone, they redefine the genre they serve and stand alone on a peak of their own making. They do not respect boundaries and A Fortress Called Home ends up as an unparalleled inner journey full of heart and emotion, that nails the aspects of originality, inspiration, variety and performance.