Review by Adam M on July 15, 2015.

Sirenia perform symphonic heavy metal that is largely atmospheric in nature. The album does differentiate itself highly from Nightwish, for example, because of a more gothic aura. The Seventh Life Path probably shares more in common with early Within Temptation.

Some of the operatic moments take some getting used to, but eventually overcome the listener with power and grace. The songs feature a good deal of melody that delightfully combine with these opera moments. The result is a group of tracks that are vibrant and poignant. However, there is an issue with the album lacking originality and an inventive twist. It is very much surpassed by something like The Silent Force and one could foresee more expansion in the future improving the material found here. Still, with repeated listens the symphonic moments begin to mould into more interesting thoughtful musical moments. One might underestimate the complexity of the music on first listen. This is certainly an album that is more rewarding on future listens than some other female-fronted bands.

In a manner akin to Epica, there is a lot of musical directions that require time to appreciate. Once everything is put into place, Sirenia’s music is able to have an impact, however. The portions involving symphony stick out more from the remainder of them. Overall, the effect of the album is a pleasant and involving one after a few repeated listens. Still, in comparison to The Silent Force or If_Then_Else, this album comes up a bit short. More practice might make this band be able to stand up to the best works of Within Temptation or The Gathering. As it stands, The Seventh Life Path is still an interesting listen.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Ryan on May 8, 2014.

Released from Love is an odd duck. Typically when you see two band names attached to one EP, you can count on it being a split seven inch. The bands will divide the running time up by sides, and each artist is allotted or two songs. Instead, what we get here is a set of four songs where Thou are augmented by contributions from The Body. That means we get a five man band, plus two orbiting and optional members, creating an arsenic mud pie with a tar ball frosting. Yummy.

This is definitely Thou's show, and I'd argue that works to the recording's advantage. In my admittedly limited experience, I find them to be the more compelling of the two bands. The Body certainly have some interesting and original ideas, but they don't seem to mesh into full songs or compositions. Thou have been around longer, and they have a more defined agenda, albeit one that doesn't exhibit much restraint when it comes to releasing b-sides and outtakes.

While Thou have developed quite a bit over that lengthy discography, the basic template remains: skeletal rhythms, guitars that vomit static, the shrieking of pterodactyls, and enough feedback to give zombie Peter Steele a necrophile erection. This is the soundtrack to a movie that got rejected by thirty studios and can only be sold through the mail.

Once hideousness is accepted as the basic theme, style and context become apparent. Thou are one of many bands currently participating in the blending of sludge with black metal, but they approach the template with an inverted strategy. Sludge is the base, and black metal is the seasoning. This reaffirms a thesis that I’ve held for some years now: black metal and sludge may be ideologically opposed, but they have many similar musical underpinnings. They also bear comparably distasteful fruit.

I thoroughly enjoyed this EP, though whether or not Thou shall become thine depends upon your tolerance for acid reflux.

Rating: 8 out of 10