7 Layers Deep
11/17/07
Sonar
Baltimore, Maryland

Maryland’s local music scene has many different flavors, and one of the newer bands to emerge on the local scene is a Catonsville based band called 7 Layers Deep.  The band is comprised of Toby and Mike on guitars, Zach on vocals, Shawn on bass and Tim on drums.  In terms of the bands sound, the biggest influence I pick up on, based on the bands stage presence, is Killswitch Engage. That’s quite simply because they have this frantic stage energy that’s not quite as serious or intense as certain other bands. When you see a 7 Layers Deep show, you might see someone wearing a cape onstage, you might see a band member jump offstage and play in the crowd . . . what I am getting at is, you never quite know what you will see when you see the band live, and having seen them a few times, if you like good heavy music, these boys are for you!

I caught the 7 Layers Deep set on November 17, 2007 at Sonar, and the band didn’t fail to entertain the crowd with their interesting stage presence and their intense music!  The key thing that I really get from this band is that they are genuinely having a good time on stage..they played a set that consisted of 9 original songs and each song seemed to be more intense than the last, and the very last song the band played this particular night (which just happened to be a brand new one) was heavier than hell, and the thing that really stood out was the intensity in Tim’s drumming and the use of triggers on that song...it was seriously an amazing song!

At one point towards the middle of the set, Shawn jumped off the stage and played bass in the middle of the mosh pit and that is another thing I wanna address...you see mosh pits at a lot of national shows, but when it comes to local show, it’s not something you always see, and at this show, there was a lot o’ pit action and even some stage diving!  7 Layers Deep really gets their crowd juiced, and for a band that hasn’t been around and on the local scene as long as some of the more established acts, I am impressed with the nice sized crowd this metal band attracts!  For me personally, I always get a kick out of watching the antics Toby and Mike pull on stage, because they kid around with each other a lot, and at one point during this particular show, both guitarists were literally laying down while playing.  At the very end of their set, the 2 guitarists did a goofy little spoof-type shred off where they both pulled out hack metal riffs and it was all done in fun and pretty freakin’ funny if you were watching them closely!

To Check out play dates, music and more on 7 Layers Deep, go to  http://www.myspace.com/7layersdeep

Tags: metal