Band:	The Foreshadowing
Album:	Seven Heads, Ten Horns
Style:	Doom metal, Gothic metal
Release date:	April 22, 2016
A review by:	Dream Taster

01. Ishtar
02. Fall Of Heroes
03. Two Horizons
04. New Babylon
05. Lost Soldiers
06. 17
07. Until We Fail
08. Martyrdom
09. Nimrod
    1 - The Eerie Tower
    2 - Omelia
    3 - Collapse
    4 - Inno Al Dolore

The Roman band The Foreshadowing has had enough success since its inception to be touring with the likes of Moonspell and Swallow The Sun. With three solid albums, they have endeared themselves to gothic metal aficionados worldwide. When they announced the departure of long-time drummer Jonah Padella in 2013, I was concerned. But then the same announcement mentioned that their close friend and producer Giuseppe Orlando of Novembre fame was taking over. Immediately I knew their next album would be something special. After two years of silence, their new opus entitled Seven Heads, Ten Horns will be available this week.

The Foreshadowing have their very-recognizable style but if you are unfamiliar with it, let's just say that the whole thing is overall reminiscent of modern Katatonia. Most songs have gothic and progressive rock influences and features clean vocals. Seven Heads, Ten Horns is a semi-concept album based on the fall of a united Europe and its biblical comparison to Babel. While the band's trademark sound is still well defined, the addition of Giuseppe Orlando has brought a new dimension to it. As a result, the music features a more progressive dynamic and sometimes strays away from the classic gothic rhythms. His technique and unambiguous power is obvious early on with the killer performance on "Fall of Heroes".

The rest of the lineup is unchanged with Alessandro Pace and Andrea Chiodetti on guitars, Francesco Giulianelli on bass, Francesco Sotto on keyboards and Marco Benevento on vocals. Marco's vocals are more Depeche Mode than Moonspell. It totally works with the atmosphere. By the way, the beautiful and haunting artwork is credited to Seth Siron Anton from Septicflesh.

The themes are well represented in the album and there is a nice balance between light and darkness. A special mention is due to the song "Nimrod". The ever-flowing 14-minute closer sums up the evolution of The Foreshadowing well. The band is now even more focused on melancholic melodies (a la Novembre).

The album is 55 minutes long but it unravels so fast and features so many good moments that it demands to be played in a loop. Its main drawback is the lack of continuity in the tracks. But then again, that is how they showcase so much diversity in only 9 tracks. The Foreshadowing has expanded its repertoire by adding Giuseppe Orlando on drums and Seven Heads, Ten Horns is a perfect example of a successful musical evolution.