Seven Sorrows is a Catholic metal/punk band out of Redlands, California. Their music is a great mixture of raw punk and metal textures that introduce this band as a group of Catholic warriors rallying around the call of our beautiful Virgin Mother Mary.
You won’t hear any ballady (did I just make that word up? – LOL) Marian songs here. Not thatthere is anything wrong with the more meditative beautiful songs that are in praise of Our Mother – but this is Catholic Metal – and Seven Sorrows is definitely a “must” listen for anyone who is a patron of the heavier Catholic music genre. This band has made it easy for potential fans of their music since they are giving their music away for free. Links to their websites for these tunes can be seen at the end of this review.
I’m going to focus on one of their songs for this review . “1930” is an awesome example of this bands musical talents; it is authentic, – it is raw – and it is pure punk rock!! When I first listened to this song – I was impressed by the explosive drum work. D.H. Peligro (drummer for the Dead Kennedys) would have been proud! The frantic pace of the drumwork combined with the rawness of the guitars sets a great sense of urgency which gets across the subject matter in a compelling fashion. The message of “Trust in God, not the pills you swallow” reveal a sense of immediacy in terms of the preference of our society to ignore the word of God and take the easy way out in terms of our morality, our legal system and personal political gain.
Trust in God, not the pills you swallow
Lyric–wise the band sets out their message without the use of cliché and without resorting to the banal predictable punk politics that one would expect to hear. This band reveals the importance of not being ashamed to speak out for our Catholic faith and not to give in to watering down our beliefs in the face of political correctness. In a world where society seems to condone abortion, the re-definition of sacred marriage, and the total rejection of God’s word – it seems that a practicing Catholic is the ultimate “punk.” If being “punk” means going against society and it’s norm – then the lyrics presented in “1930” reveal a total change in attitude about the role of our Catholic faith. Much like the punk revolution in the late 1970s – a new revolution could be in the works where Christ and His Church are the focus to make us worthy of the promises of Christ.
“1930” is a song that has production values that are typical of this genre. The song sounds raw – but this is a definite positive criticism. As someone who witnessed the punk revolution in the late 1970s (yes, I’m that old!! LOL), I actually found the song to be refreshing. In my experience of being a studio producer, there is a tendency to make a mix sound “over produced” but this song and the way it was recorded is great. One could argue that the bass could have been compressed a little tighter and that the drums could have been equalized in a different manner – but get over it!! This is punk rock! “1930” is a song that kicks and should be a part of anyone’s song collection. It’s raw, it’s heavy and I’ve been listening to it a lot. It would be cool to hear a whole album of their material in the future.
You can get a free copy of the song at www.sevensorrows.com and let me know what you think. The band has also done an excellent job of detailing the seven sorrows of our Lady and explaining them in co-relation to the vision of St. Bridget of Sweden. If this topic is new to you, I can promise you that this is worth the read and if you haven’t included Mary in your daily prayers, the material on their website is sure to kick start your prayer life into including our Lady at every chance you can!! I can definitely guarantee that if you like heavy Catholic music – this song will make you a fan of this great band!
