7 Seconds still committed to hardcore sound
By Bryan Peterson
Staff Reporter
"We can, with the help of
Satyagraha, win over those young
men who have been driven to des
peration and anger by what they
think to be the tyranny of the gov
ernment and utilize their courage
and their mettlesome spirit, their
capacity for suffering, to strengthen
satyagraha.”
- Gandhi
"A soulforce revolution, it could
give us what we need/ Destruction
ain't no option, it's the end at any
speed. “
- 7 Seconds, "Satyagraha”
One of the high points of my
punk rock career was arriving at a
7 Seconds concert in Des Moines,
Iowa, in a police car.
You see, a couple carloads of us
from Omaha were driving to Des
Moines to see 7 Seconds, the clos
est thing to punk icons who had
ventured our way in some time.
I was in the back of a truck that
got rear-enaea on tne interstate.
The engine had overheated and
was pouring out more smoke than
those little machines which dot the
stage at heavy metal concerts.
So we’re coasting along on the
shoulder, pouring out smoke, and
some guy manages to rear-end us.
No one was hurt, and the local
police or highway patrol drove us
the last eight miles.
They took us right to the con
cert. I’ve never seen anything so
funny: all the kids trying to hide
their beers when the police pulled
in, only to see a fellow group of
leather-and-spike-aaorned
weirdos emerge from the patrol
cars wuh hellish grins on our faces.
After all that, 7 Seconds did not
show u p for the concert. Someone
talked to the band on the phone
and they said something about
their drummer havingbcen beaten
up in Baltimore.
That was all right, because the
local bands all rocked and every
one had a great time. And, of
course, we laughed again and
again about our arrival atthcshow.
That was one of three times I
have been stood up by 7 Seconds
I have yet to see them live The
band was supposed to play at the
very first hardcore show I went to,
back when 1 did not know what
the circled A’s on everyone’s cloth
ing stood for.
7 Seconds arrived around mid
night, after the show already had
ended, saying they had had prob
lems with the promoter of their
Denver show on the previous day.
I still cannot understand how a
dispute over a stolen boom box
could make the band that late.
But that was all right, too. 1 still
got to see Samhain, those scary
guys who rose from the ashes of
The Misfits. These guys made Bela
Lugosi look tame, being clothed in
shiny black and distorting their evil
faces while singing about death
and ghouls and death and stuff.
7 Seconds also stood me up in
Kansas, but I had gotten used to
their absence by then. If not for the
band’s records, I would have
thought them a figment of the col
lective punk mind.
Those records kept the band
alive, made it real to us who were
stranded far from the thriving punk
scenes of both American coasts. 7
Seconds was a band that cared and
we had faith in them, even if they
never showed up to perform at
concerts.
The nine-song “Skins, Brains
and Guts” F.P on Alternative Ten
tacles Records established 7 Sec
onds as a premier thrash band in
1982, when most American punk
bands still were busy imitating the
Sex Pistols and playing in the slow
1977 style.
7 Seconds became synonymous
with the thrash sound, a hyper
speed version of the already-fast
punk genre. The band ranked with
Dead Kcnnedys and MDC but was
not as fast as DRI, the undisputed
kings of thrash at that time.
DRI is now the rage of the
speedmetal scene. The band has
caught endless flak from those in
the punk scene for its “sellout,”
much of which seems unjustified.
The band’s musical interests
changed, and so did its style. The
band members have no obligation
to play the same music they always
have played
7 Seconds is now also on the top
of most peoples’ sellout list, but
the band has gone the opposite
( oiirt«-sy Alternative Tentacles Records
direction, becoming highly pop
influenced and signing with Rest
less Records, a “mainstream” label.
The band formed around 1980
and just has released the “Soul
force Revolution” LP, which con
tinues the band’s drift away from
its original thrash sound.
Any “real” punk will be quick to
label the album as a lame pop
record. 7 Seconds may have sub
stantially changed its sound, but
the band has not abandoned its
heritage.
The number of American punk
bands that has survived 10 years is
small, and smaller still is the num
ber of bands that have maintained
any sort of integrity over the years.
I’ve had bad luck trying to see
the band live, but 7 Seconds has
shown consistent commitment to
the hardcore scene over the years.
Band members played impor
tant roles in the formation and
provision of continued support to
Positive Force Records (Reno,
Nev.) and Better Youth Organiza
tion (Los Angeles), both dedicated
to providing constructive, hopeful
music and roles for those involved
in the hardcore scene.
7 Seconds’ best release was
1985’s “Walk Together, Rock To
gether,” a short album whose title
song was the band’s best song
ever.
The album was associated with
several punk dignitaries, being
produced by Ian MacKaye (Minor
Threat vocalist and unwilling mes
siah of the straight-edge move
ment), who also provided backing
vocals.
Don Zientara engineered the LP
as he has nearly every early DC
record. The album’s cover was
drawn by Brian Walsby, now a
mainstay of punk art and album
cover design
Between the album’s title song
and a cover of “99 Red Balloons,”
"Walk Together, Rock Together”
was the zenith and a major transi
tion point in 7 Seconds’ hardcore
career.
Listeners have accused every
subsequent 7 Seconds release of
being wimpy, weak, or worst of all
to green-haired punks every
where, of being pop influenced.
7 Seconds is clearly no longer a
thrash band, but the band is still
firmly rooted in the punk style.
“Soulforce Revolution” is an 11
song album full of matured musical
style and lyrical content which re
veals the band’s continued com
mitment to soul searching.
The band is now a trio, witn
Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth
remaining from the initial lineup
and Troy Mowat, who has been
with the band since at least 1985,
still drumming.
The sound is a hard-edged pop,
complete with occasional “na-na
na’’s and “wo-oh’’s. "Satyagraha”
and “Tribute Freedom Landscape”
are among the album’s best songs
and both are among the most lively
on the album.
The new sound has grown on
me. f was initially ready to join
others in denouncing this release
as watered-down pop drivel. But I
since have found the songs staying
in my head and becoming more
enjoyable.
In their best moments, the mem
bers of 7 Seconds unite words and
sounds and grab the listener, as in
"I wrote this in a notebook and I
censored out the best/ I said I’ll
wish and wait and rest/ I said I’ll
hope you’ll wait and rest and/ I
hope that there’s more time for me
than this.”
But too often the lyrics are
overly obscure, too vague to leave
any impression. The simplistic,
anthemic lyrics of 1982 are no
more, but 7 Seconds has moved
from one extreme to the other.
The slogans of “No Authority,”
“I Hate Sports” and “Racism Sucks”
have been replaced by meander
ings like “Sometimes life can pull a
fastoneonya/Andsometimesyou
really dig it when it does.”
Such words detract from more
meaningful passages. Some of the
songs are quite clear but others slip
into bland lare like Soul to Keep.
The band faces some uncer
tainty (“4 a.m. in Texas”) but pres
ents a mostly hopeful picture in
songs like “Tickets to a Better
Place,” “Mother’s Day” and “Swan
song.”
The album’s only major flaw is a
failure to develop the soulforce
revolution theme, an absence of
any struggle for social change
rooted in truth and non-violence.
The idea is touched upon in two
songs but is otherwise neglected.
Spiritual revelations are hinted
at but no focus is found or fol
lowed. The members of 7 Seconds
are examining their souls but have
yet to find any firm answers.
With more time and explora
tion, perhaps we all will be ready
for a soulforce revolution.
/~Nthe
fifth
column
album review
Courtesy Restless Records
7 Seconds from its beginning as a punk band in 1982, with its 1984 release of “Walk Together, Rock Together” and the earlier “Skins, Brains & Guts” EP. Its latest
album, “Soulforce Revolution,” further displays their evolution musically and visually.