SECTION A – The Seventh Sign

Section A does that sound like a name of a new Heavy Metal band, or a quadrant of a pie chart? Well, you’d be right either way, but in this case, Section A is a band that has released their debut CD called The Seventh Sign, and it’s damn good. You’ll just have to forgive the name.

Section A is the brainchild of Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen, who has recently released instrumental CDs but wanted to add vocals on his new project for a change of pace. Before he found the vocalist, he acquired the drumming of Andreas Lill (Vanden Plas.) But then, he made the best move he could make — asking ex-Lion Share voice Andy Engberg to join the fray. If you are not familiar with Engberg’s work, you should be, and there are no excuses. The guy is a major talent. Derek Sherinian and Günter Werno also add their skills to this mix.

The CD begins with song almost 9 minutes long, called “The Seventh Sign.” You’ll hear dreamy keyboards, wind, and then some knife-like guitars ripping into the calm. It culminates in a scream by Engberg, which is a feral, “I’m back!” to everyone that missed him. And he was missed. The song blows up, and then finds serenity again, with a melodic keyboard part and a guitar solo. Strange to have a solo at the beginning of the song, but hey, deal with it. When Engberg starts singing, you’ll be brought back to the sound of Lion’s Share, but it quickly passes. After all, this is Section A. It’s a heavy song, with exceptional vocals.

The second song, “Riot,” highlights some aggressive drumming by Lill but Enevoldsen is the one who shines here. His solos are so succinct and clear, but it doesn’t sound like he’s doing it just to show he can, much like Yngwie Malmsteen does. All of his guitar work fits. After the first verse, you’ll hear Enevoldsen go nuts, and it’s a treat. And if it needs to be said, Engberg sounds over the top again.

“Nightmare,” an 8-minute song, again shows the power of Enevoldsen’s writing ability, and in this case, the song begins heavy, but has a strange keyboard part, with echoed vocals whispering in confusion. The song really tones it down, with subdued and very low key, melodic vocals. When the chorus hits, and Engberg is singing, “Somebody please make me whole!” you’ll begin to realize Section A is a technical band that doesn’t annoy you with talent, but instead writes catchy, memorable songs.

There are only eight songs on the CD, but when all of them are worth listening to, then you don’t feel sold short. “Into the Fire,” is a heavy song that allows Engberg to wail, and the drumming again is something to marvel at. This song will remind you of Lion’s Share maybe more than any of the others, but if you are used to the voice, it’s hard to separate the two at times. Think if Elvis sang for Slayer; you’d still think it sounds like Elvis.

There are a lot of projects going on out there, musicians that get their friends together to record a CD that THEY want to record. In this case, we just have to hope that Section A stays together, starts touring, and keeps making CDs together. Sure, Lill and Sherinian probably have a couple other duties to keep them busy, but Engberg and Enevoldsen are on to something worthy here. As a weepy Dennis DeYoung would ask, “don’t let it end …”