UMUR
"Heaven Is Gone" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New York based stoner/doom metal act Seventh Void. The album was released through Big Vin Records (Vinnie Paul´s label, who is also credited as producer on the album) in April 2009. Seventh Void formed in 2003 and to many, part of the band´s appeal is probably the fact that two of the four members of the contemporary Type O Negative lineup are included in the lineup who recorded "Heaven Is Gone". Johnny Kelly on drums and Kenny Hickey on lead vocals and guitar. Bassist Hank Bell and lead guitarist Matt Brown complete the quartet lineup.
The material featured on "Heaven Is Gone" was recorded during a pause in Type O Negative band activity after finishing their tour supporting "Dead Again" (2007), and Seventh Void was probably just meant to be a project to keep Kelly and Hickey busy while they waited for Peter Steele to write material for the next Type O Negative album. Of course that never came to be as Steele unexpectedly died in April 2010 and in November the same year the official announcement came that the remaining members of Type O Negative would not continue without Steele.
So a lot of talk about Type O Negative above, but name dropping that band is not only valid because of the shared members, but also because of musical similarities. Seventh Void are generally more straight forward delivering heavy stoner doomy riffs and rhythms and no gothic rock/metal influences or lyrics about depressive vampires or dark romance, but when Hickey sings it´s impossible not to think of his then main band, as he has always complimented Steele, with his high pitched voice and semi-aggressive delivery. Here he is the sole vocalist, and while he does a good job within the boundaries of his abilities, a whole album featuring his voice is a bit much. Other than that the material is decent enough, although seldom reaching excellence. In many ways Seventh Void remind me of another Type O Negative offspring in A Pale Horse Named Death (minus the gothic metal influences). So the heavy riffs and rhythms are at times complimented by alternative rock/metal elements.
The sound production is well sounding and obviously the work of a professional, but I would actually have prefered a more raw and organic sounding production, which I think would have suited the material better. Upon conclusion "Heaven Is Gone" isn´t exactly a revelation, and I probably wouldn´t have given it a shot if it wasn´t for the names involved, but with that said it´s still a decent quality release, and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.