JULY 31st , 2022
SEVEN KINGDOMS: ZENITH
Review by: Ruben Mosqueda

I recently discovered Seven Kingdoms with their fifth full-length album titled ‘Zenith.’ I stumbled upon the band when I saw the video for the tune ‘Universal Terrestrial’ which is on the new album ‘Zenith.’ They are an American power metal band that showcases their stellar musical chops as well as the vocal prowess of their singer Sabrina Valentine who can go toe to toe with any of the top names in the genre [based on the clips that I have seen online and having listened to her recordings]. I’m excited to break down what you can expect on the new album and share my take and share some of the highlights of the record.  
 
Zenith features an eclectic collection of songs that showcase the band’s various influences. The song “A Silent Remedy” pummels you with a couple of memorable relentless riffs that are in line with anything created by The Big 4, “Love Dagger” is their nod to the era when 80s glam ruled the scene in North America, if radio mattered this would be a Bonafede hit. There’s “Diamond Handed” which should have been retitled ‘heavy handed’ because it lands a haymaker on you and resets your clock, it’s bombastic, explosive, and aggressive. This is one of singer Valentine’s shining moments on ‘Zenith.’ My personal favorite on this album is “Universal Terrestrial”, maybe because it was the first song of Seven Kingdoms that I have ever heard or maybe because it is just that damn great! “Magic In The Mist” is my second favorite. It's a majestic, epic sounding power metal masterpiece that adds to this collection of songs.  Zenith closes on a somewhat anticlimactic note as Seven Kingdoms tackles Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself For Loving You” which has been played to death by Joan over the years and has made its way onto an intro to Sunday Night Football. It works well for Joan. It doesn’t work so well for Seven Kingdoms in that they seem to be ‘dumbing it down’ when performing such a simple and elementary song.