Seven Spires in Tokyo
Adrienne Cowan’s fabulous voice and Seven Spires’ technical, heavy-yet-melodic metal gave us a night to remember in Tokyo.
Seven Spires at Antiknock, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan on 6th December 2024
Finally seeing the Boston-based band Seven Spires live was a treat. Ever since I first heard this band, I have been intrigued by their complex and layered music and the smashing voice of Adrienne Cowan. Seeing her perform in Tokyo in 2019 with Avantasia made me want to see Seven Spires in concert even more.
With Seven Spires, you never know what’s next, what’s around the corner. The music twists and turns throughout their songs. They constantly switch styles, tempo, mood and volume. I love it because it is such a melting pot of different styles. It keeps things interesting and the listener engaged. It is a wonderful mix of symphonic, power and extreme metal that has evolved since the band was founded over a decade ago.
The band’s fabulous fourth album, “A Fortress Called Home”, was released in June 2024. It is one thing to write and record complex music in the studio and another to recreate those songs live on stage. Seven Spires can do both. Sometimes when bands are formed at elite music schools or by alumni from such schools, the result isn’t good. Often such bands or projects lack feeling, oomph, connection, chemistry and magic. The focus is too much on technical perfection. Not so with Seven Spires. The band members are top-notch musicians educated at the prestigious Berklee College of Music but also music lovers.
The band’s core trio of Adrienne Cowan (vocals), Jack Kosto (guitar) and Peter de Reyna (bass) has a chemistry between them that translates into fabulous music with a cinematic touch to it. They are a metal band but they bring jazz, orchestral music and other influences into the mix. In the current touring line-up of the band, we also find Canadian drummer Dylan Gowan (who happens to be the son of Styx vocalist Lawrence Gowan).
They opened the Tokyo gig with two songs from the latest album, “Songs Upon Wine-Stained Tongues” and “Almosttown”. The show was dominated by songs from the new album but there were some older songs from the band’s back catalogue as well, such as “Oceans of Time” from the “Gods of Debauchery” album. For the song “Succumb” a couple of members from Lords of the Trident (who was also on the bill on this Japan tour) joined Seven Spires on stage. The highlight of the show for me was “The Road”, an excellent song that was a bonus track released on the Japanese edition of the album “Emerald Seas”. Another treat was the live debut of “Portrait of Us” from the new album.
They finished the set with “The Old Hurt of Being Left Behind”. It was an extraordinary performance by an excellent band. The only disappointment with the Tokyo gig was that they didn’t perform the splendid song “Gods of Debauchery”. Well, that gives me a reason to hope that Seven Spires will come back to Tokyo soon.
https://www.sevenspiresband.com
https://www.facebook.com/sevenspiresband
