Review by Saxy S for Seven Spires - Emerald Seas (2020)

Emerald Seas is a serviceable symphonic metal record from a band that has thankfully made some solid steps in the right direction after their pretty terrible debut record, Solveig from 2017.

For one, the production has seen a fairly sizable increase in quality. It’s still not great; the guitars still sound tinny, the bass is far from existent throughout the project, and the symphonic elements still sound a little slap dash at times. But, Adrienne Cowen’s vocals are now emphasized in the mix and sound good most of the time, and the melodic passages of guitar, such as solos, are also vastly improved from before.

The compositions are more streamlined and memorable and the group does have some pretty decent melodic ideas that they are attempting to portray. Songwriting is better, but Adrienne needs to stop soaring to these highest of highs that she can’t hit with consistency. Most of the time they sound rough, but she’s also screaming on the record so why doesn’t she just do that? Then there is whatever the hell was going on in the bridge of “Drowner of Worlds” and the less time we spend talking about it the better.

A decent improvement from the band, but still a long way to go if they want any chance of catching up with symphonic metal giants like Epica and Nightwish.

BTW, nice lick on “Bury You”. I wonder if these guys have ever watched an Adam Neely video before. Yes, I know I’m a memer, sue me.