CHASTAIN – The 7th Of Never 30 Years Heavy

Originally released in 1987, Chastain’s The 7th Of Never was a highlight of the band’s 80’s heyday. Featuring the too-often overlooked Leather Leone on vocals, this release still stands up well as a time-capsule of Traditional Heavy Metal. 30 years later, the remaster treatment has been applied as a new generation of younger metal fans have stumbled upon the release. As far as remasters go, this is mostly unremarkable, in that the album sounds about the same as it did before, although perhaps a bit thicker on the low-end and generally louder.

While Chastain never quite reached the popularity level of a number of its peers, the band is often sighted as a personal favorite and early influence among many musicians from the era. The 7th Of Never is a bit more on the progressive side, as Chastain albums go, and trades hooks for heaviness and melodic surprises. Leone’s vocal delivery is fantastic and Chastain (himself) is in fine form as a guitarist.

In the grand scheme the entire Chastain catalog, this may not be the strongest release, but it still is a strong album and represents the band’s early years, and the 80’s Heavy Metal zeitgeist, well. This is an easy win for fans of RIOT, Warrior, Armored Saint, and Savatage.

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