Dominion & Power 
Artist: The Seventh Power 
Label: Retroactive Records 
Length: 10 tracks / 40:24 min 

I liked this band better back when they were called Black Sabbath.  Singer Bill Menchen does one of the most spot-on Ozzy Osbourne impressions you’ll ever hear, and the album’s production is nice and thick. Dominion & Power is slow and plodding with quality guitar work throughout, not too complicated but well-executed. Riff-wise, there’s nothing here that approaches the quality of a “Paranoid” or “Sweet Leaf,” but it’s good for what it is and is eminently headbangable.

It’s a bit ironic that The Seventh Power is considered a Christian band.  Black Sabbath sings that Satan will kill you.  Several of The Seventh Power’s songs warn you that God will kill you.  They aren’t nearly as gleeful about it as say Vengeance Rising, whose Christianity was always suspect.  To be fair, some of their songs are hopeful, like “Heavy Laden”:

Heavy laden, come to me, I’ll give you rest.  I’ll send your sins from east to west.

But most of the gospel message here comes across as more of a threat.

Lyrics aside, this is pretty solid old-school heavy metal with just a few frills.  It’s best for listeners who love Ozzy’s voice but don’t want to have flashbacks of headless bats while they’re listening.

Dan Singleton 
July 17, 2008