Released by: Mad Neptune Records
Release Date: June 4th, 2013
Genre: Heavy Metal
Links: http://www.asoundofthunderband.com/
Line Up:
Nina Osegueda – Vocals
Josh Schwartz – Guitar
Chris Haren – Drums
Jesse Keen – Bass
Tracklist:
1. Power Play
2. Time’s Arrow
3. I Will Not Break
4. Broken Bridge
5. Queen of Hell
6. Let’s Start a Fire
7. I’ll Walk With You
8. My Disease (featuring Blaze Bayley)
9. Wastelands
10. End of the Road
11. Reign of The Hawklords
Music is one of those things that people tend to feel strongly about. Every music lover on the planet holds fervently that their group is the greatest on the planet. Love of music is a subjective thing. No one is right and no one is necessarily wrong in their assessment. Sure, there are some bands from a technical stand point that do indeed suck. However there are a ton of bands that fall into the category of being great, but not really being everyone’s cup of tea. That tends to happen with bands with progressive leanings. In particular bands like A Sound of Thunder that are all over the place influence wise within their own sound. Yet somehow they manage to make it work beyond belief.
Seeming to have taken heed while on tour with NWOBHM stalwart’s and legends R taken heed while on tour with NWOBHM stalwart’aven last year, A Sound of Thunder come out strong waving the heavy metal flag high and proud with their latest release on Mad Neptune Records Time’s Arrow, especially on the opening track “Power Play.” At first I thought they were moving away from their prog sound I enjoyed on their previous release Out of the Darkness. Then they follow that with the epic title track eliminating my concerns of their direction change. Equal parts NWOBHM, progressive metal, and splashes of hard rock a’ la Halestorm A Sound of Thunder definitely packs a wallop that should easily please even the most discerning metal fan. The songwriting has improved considerably since the last album showing a maturity not found in many young bands. With only four years under their belts they have a bravado and musical swagger some classic bands no longer possess. Stylistically it isn’t possible to pigeon-hole ASoT as they go from the obvious homage to NWOBHM to the bombastic pomp and circumstance of prog metal to full throttle in your face metal to the hauntingly beautiful. They’ve also been blessed with getting to perform with legends in the metal world. When I saw them live they got John Gallagher of Raven to sing with them, and now on Time’s Arrow there’s a duet with Blaze Bayley (Wolfsbane/Iron Maiden) that is quite stunning. Nina’s voice blends perfectly with Blaze.
It’s great to hear new young bands staying fresh while also keeping the spirit alive of heavy metal. A Sound of Thunder has created a sound that has quick and easy appeal to even the casual metal fan- superb performances behind masterful songs makes Time’s Arrow a wonderful listening experience. This is likely an album I will turn to often as it satisfies so many different desires in me.
Written by Chris Martin
Ratings Chris 8/10
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