The Boys from Zagreb Spell Seven with Album Five

Croatian noise-rockers Seven That Spells return to the forefront of alternative music with their fifth album Black Om Rising. Seven That Spells stand out from their peers mainly due to their intricate and original use of a saxophone, the likes of which can be experienced through experimental music genius Ornette Coleman.

The highlight of Black Om Rising is “LO” parts I-III, an exciting composition guiding its audience through noise-rock’s core and out the other side, assisted by a spastic rhythm section and spontaneous, frantically strummed guitars. It represents the musical definition of the term “freakout.” The intensity of the central part of the composition is unbelievable, as the guitars, drums, and saxophone combine to form a frenzied spasmodic whole before easing into the final section.

As the album progresses, it’s possible to see signs of their influences, from Acid Mothers Temple, with whom they are regular collaborators, to King Crimson and the prog-rockers of the ’70s. They are a very tight band of musicians who drip with sophistication and fill their audience with a wonderful sense of being one with the compositions.

If there were one album that noise rock enthusiasts should listen to this year, it is Black Om Rising. Seven That Spells do almost everything right over the course of the album, culminating in the near-perfect track “Tearjerker” and leaving their audience with a feeling that what they have just heard is one of the modern masterpieces of the 21st century.