The international progressive metal band Seventh Station, based in Slovenia, were doing a couple of shows in May, and with one of those performances just a few minutes away from my home, I did not hesitate much in attending their gig. Seeing this band live was kind of a blind date for me, since I’ve never heard their music before. It’s an occasional thing for me, to attend certain events without knowing the band’s material prior. It can be rewarding sometimes. This particular event took place at a very special, historical and quite intimate place, at the castle courtyard in the city of Brežice. Usually, this venue hosts different cultural and musical events during the spring/summer months. Not exactly a mundane venue for metal concerts, from the perspective of ambience it was quite nice and refreshing; however, from a sound quality perspective, not so much.
Up to now in their career, Seventh Station have produced two full-length releases, with a third one coming out later this year through their newly signed label Layered Reality Productions. The band is basically built up around the guitarist and founding member, Dmitry Alperovich, who showcased a wide range of skills on his instrument during the whole show. He was not the only one, as other band members delivered at a high level as well. Vocalist Davidavi Dolev, also a member of Subterranean Masquerade, portrayed his capabilities in many different ways, from powerful cleans, occasional gutturals and screams to spoken words in different languages. An intriguing element was also when the drummer performed a couple of song parts on marimba, a larger xylophone-like instrument originating from Africa. All in all, there was a fair share of shifts and solos contributed from everyone, making this exploration even more unpredictable throughout the whole show.
Although labelled as a progressive metal group, and at its core it is, Seventh Station’s music is doubtlessly much more than that. There is quite a lot of experimenting, especially, as they pointed out themselves, in connection with the classic music. They rely heavily on the latter as one of the main inspirations when producing new compositions. Music-wise, it might not be something I would enjoy in full; nonetheless, I was certainly overwhelmed with the overall performance by Seventh Station, and can ultimately confirm that I’ve experienced a very well-executed “blind date”. Quite a journey, a rewarding one.
 | Written on 23.06.2024 by Attending all sorts of music events is my thing. |