Driven by the raw passion and warmth of a band who play for the love of playing, and who write from a place of reflective depth, “SAVE MY SOUL” presents the “Seventrain” sound under a notably mellow and emotional light – making for an easy going groove that reaches out for the soul, or for those memories of a love that came and went. Seventrain featured Dave Odigaard, guitarist and founder Eric Horton (Cage), vocalist Eric Koonze, Drummer, Calvin LankinJ and Bass player Greg Rupp.
Seventrain.’s voice leads the way melodically, though the entire set-up showcases a band entirely united by the moment – the guitars, the bass, the drums, the structure; it all works towards the common goal of completely surrounding you with the mood of the music. The leading voice offers the gravel, grit, delicacy and power required to really connect in an intense and captivating way. It’s a mighty voice, and in a sense, its unique strength raises the bar for everything else within the ambiance (or perhaps it’s the other way around) – in either case, all elements meet the standard beautifully.
“SAVE MY SOUL” is the name of the song. The further into it you get, the more familiar and enjoyable the progression and the various building blocks that make it what it is start to become. The sound is unforgiving, real, energetic, unmistakable in tone and character. On top of this, the lyrics ring well, particularly in light of the accompanying video – there’s a sort of visual side-project in hand to really help make it feel like more of a film than a simple song.
From the opening few bars this feels very much like a live performance. The studio quality is there to let you turn things up loud, but by all accounts you can hear every intricacy and detail that makes this what it is. The band’s leading vocalist delivers these initially short snippets of lyricism, letting the tone of his voice and the nature of his performance intrigue and draw you in gradually, step by step.
The whole thing feels very natural, the evolution allows new elements to step into the spotlight at only the right moments, never feeling forceful or there simply to show off. You get the impression this is exactly what the band would be doing whether you were listening or not, which, although it may seem like an obvious thing to say, is genuinely not always the case these days. Many people play purely with the hope of reaching wider acclaim. In this case, the music comes first, the expression, the skill, the soul. As you hear the gentleness of the introduction mutate into the color and chaos of the later section, you appreciate this even more-so.“Seventrain” are doing a lot of good with their art, and what’s more – the effort they’ve put into these releases is immense. The quality is high, and the music is honestly quite refreshing right now. “SAVE MY SOUL” is a song that pours out and is over all too quickly, but the more times you listen, the more addictive and connected to you it becomes. It’s easy to press play three or four times over to let it all really sink in. It’s also a totally nostalgic and brilliant source of escapism to take both the song and the comic and just leave the real world behind for a little while. Well worth exploring.
