Download "Heaven is Gone" MP3

A lauded guitarist who has played with notable bands like TYPE O NEGATIVE, KINGDOM OF SORROW and DANZIG, a video director, a prolific writer of fiction and a vocalist, Kenny Hickey has already covered a tremendous amount of ground with no sign of slowing down. The next step in his career seemed clear to him and to his TYPE O / DANZIG band mate, drummer Johnny Kelly. “After being in Type O for so many years Johnny and I wanted to do something different,” says Hickey. “We wanted it to reflect the heavy, melodic elements of all our favorite classic rock bands: Sabbath, Zeppelin, AC/DC, etc without sounding like what we had already done. We wanted to simplify things and create a straight up hard rock/metal band.”

Johnny Kelly is rock solid in more ways than his drumming. The most gregarious member of any group he has played with, Kelly has made friends and fans all over the world. SEVENTH VOID band mate, Matt Brown was from the same Brooklyn music scene and traveled in the same circles as Hickey and Kelly. His previous bands ran the road opening for TYPE O many times. The headliners grew to respect him as a musician and a close friend. When the plan for SEVENTH VOID was hatched, it only seemed natural that Brown write songs with Hickey. Brown’s background in music production made him a perfect writing partner. “I understand where Kenny is going with things. I write music in a less direct way than he does,” states Brown. “I look at it from a producer standpoint - hearing the potential in the ideas that Kenny comes up with. I have to hear something that inspires me – and that is what his ideas do.”

When the trio set about finding a bass player, Brown immediately thought of his long time friend, Hank Hell. His influential punk band, INHUMAN, was quite different from SEVENTH VOID, but Brown knew he was up to the challenge. The bassist’s boundless enthusiasm and artistic talent pushed the group even further in the right direction. “It’s kind of hard not to be excited about something like this. I have been in punk bands for 15 years now – this is a new world for me,” he enthuses. “We all hit it off right away, got down to re-recording the few tracks they had already laid down, and went on to record the rest together.”

The group’s debut album “Heaven is Gone” is a slow grind, a thick blackened brew of organic instrumentation matched with rich bellowing vocals, that brings to mind classic recordings such as Soundgarden’s “Louder Than Love” and Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath”. Chugging along like a steam locomotive, Kelly and Hell plant the roots of the rhythm as Hickey and Brown fill in the landscape with broad strokes of roaring guitars. Kelly explains, “We put a lot of time in trying to find ourselves, since we started working on SEVENTH VOID material in 2003. We finally found our identity when the song ‘Heaven Is Gone’ was written. It has all the elements of what we wanted Seventh Void to be.” The album tells “a story of the life of a tormented person,” explains Brown. “If you read into the lyrics, it has a real storybook quality to it.”

When the record was done, the group set about finding a champion—someone who would work with them to get “Heaven is Gone” to fans of rock music everywhere. SEVENTH VOID’s true-believer came in the form of Vinnie Paul (HELLYEAH, DAMAGEPLAN, PANTERA), who signed the band to his label, Big Vin Records. Vinnie loved the record so much he co-produced and mixed the album with long time cohort Sterling Winfield. His passionate support is greatly appreciated by all. “When Vinnie Paul calls you at 5 a.m. to tell you that he just played the record for his friends and everyone loves it (like he knew they would), you are o.k. with waking up at that hour,” laughs Hickey. Soon after, the band signed a record deal with the Austrian label Napalm Records, who will release and distribute SEVENTH VOID’s debut in Europe.

Out of the ashes of the legendary Type O Negative, a new band emerges from the very heart of Brooklyn, New York. Type O Negative veterans Kenny Hickey and Johnny Kelly could not have chosen a better moniker for their new group, than the Dante-inspired "Seventh Void". On the New Yorkers' debut, it rains despair, sin, agony, fire, and doom metal in its purest form. Seventh Void needs not offer unnecessary embellishments. The quartet rightfully focuses on the genre’s quintessence: hypnotic riffs, heavy grooves, and haunting vocal lines. Kenny Hickey skillfully masters both guitar and vocal duties, while transforming songs like "Closing In", "Broken Sky", or the title-track into first-class doom anthems. The top-notch production emphasizes the album's obscure character, as well as its unique Brooklyn spirit. "Heaven is Gone" is an album that will undoubtedly take more than just Type O Negative fans by storm. Beginning in November, Seventh Void will embark on a European tour in support of Monster Magnet!

Seventh Void is:
Kenny Hickey - vocals, guitar
Johnny Kelly - drums
Matt Brown - guitar
Hank Hell - bass