The Square, the eighth album from Floridian Heavy Metal quartet SEVEN KINGDOMS, comes out of gates in full stride gallop. I mean really. As in I had to hit replay several times before I was convinced my download wasn't clipped. But that's okay. It's a convincing opener that grabs your attention. The rest of the track lives up to the hype of the first few seconds—well-refined Heavy Metal, nice hooks, contagious chorus, soaring clean vocals. some solid riffage, and plenty of speed. The next three tracks aren't quite as compelling, but they are strong. The only regret is the final track, a cover from 80's MR. MISTER.

There is a part of me that wants to hold the non-aggressive nature of this album and this band against them, but that seems a bit unfair as nowhere did SEVEN KINGDOMS ever claim to be an extreme metal band. Also, in fact, this EP for all the squishiness of the final track is damned good. And it almost hurts me to say that because I feel like I am admitting to a vulnerability: Yes, I sometimes appreciate catchy, radio-friendly Power Metal.

The first two tracks, "The Square" and "Through these Waves," are pretty solid rockers, definitely the heaviest tracks on the album. "Wilted Pieces" is, well, a bit wilted but still good. Track four, "The Serpent and the Lotus," gets us back on track again. Some great vocals here by Sabrina, but they also play with some vocal effects and synths that fall flat for me. In balance, though, a good track. Reminiscent of UNLEASH THE ARCHERS.

The final track, a cover of the 1985 MR. MISTER song, "Kyrie," pretty much murders me. And not in a good way. We're talking death by drowning in a syrupy mire of sweetness and rot. If you don't remember 1985, or maybe weren't alive then, while the POSSESSED was putting out "Seven Churches" and VENOM was putting out "Possessed," MR. MISTER was doing their best imitation of ASIA. Enough said on this track.

All in all, The Square from SEVEN KINGDOMS starts off as a ripper, loses some traction midway, gets back on course, and then runs into a wall of 80's sentimentality. To be fair, four of the five tracks are very, very good, pretty much making the EP well worth the price of admittance.