7 Angels 7 Plagues

Sometimes it's good to have something come from the furthest reaches of leftfield and kick your perfunctory existence into gear again. Of course, it's probably better that what's blindsiding you is more akin to a metalcore band from Milwaukee than an 18-wheeled product of the automotive industry. Milwaukee? Even the people who live there - when they're not partaking of the local cottage industry - are fully aware of the irony of the phrase, "I'm from Milwaukee." There's a big metal fest that's been going on there for the past 15 years and I don't think anyone from the city has ever attended. So, colour me surprised that not only did this quartet blindside me with their super-aggressive, hyper-melodic Shai Hulud/12 Tribes/Taken stylistics, and how they take the genre by throat and lovingly caress it before throttling it within an inch of its suspended seventh chord existence, but that they call Milwaukee home. What comes out of Milwaukee? In spite of geographic location, this band is one of the brightest spots on the hardcore horizon. They combine a keen sense of when to attack and when to lay back and be all introspective and pretty. They construct songs that hardcore kids will hurt themselves to without realising how much of a jazz influence goes into 7A7P's style and graphic design. They beat down the restrictive walls of what can go onto a hardcore record with the inclusion of piano etudes and acoustic guitar solos. What more can I do to convince you other than giving you 20 dollars and a map to the nearest record store?