Label: Frontiers Music
Genre: Melodic Rock
Release Date EU: June 8th, 2018
https://www.facebook.com/TNTtheband/
Line Up:
Vocal – Baol Bardot Bulsara
Guitar – Ronni Le Tekro
Drums – Diesel Dahl
Bass – Ove Husemoen
Tracklist:
We’re Gonna Make It
Not Feeling Anything
Fair Warning
It’s Electric
Where You Belong
Can’t Breathe Anymore
Get Ready For Some Hard Rock
People, Come Together
Tears in My Eyes
17th Of May
Catch a Wave
Sunshine
My introduction to TNT was the album entitled ‘Knights of the New Thunder’, released in 1984. It was the time of melodic metal and rock music. TNT picked-up this vibe for their sophomore record and transferred it into awesome songs like ‘Ready to Leave’.
Ronnie Le Tekro, Tony Harnell, and Diesel Dahl are three band members that experienced these early days and are still (or again) part of TNT. It’s of course not really fair to compare records that have been released with 34 years in between but it’s a shift that is very recognizable. Over time TNT became more of an AOR act that puts a lot of focus on melodies.
The new album, simply entitled ‘XIII’, is the next example of this move. ‘XIII’ comprises of 12 songs, all of them anchored in the fields of melodic rock. TNT still has a sense for good melodies and songs like ‘Get Ready for Some Hard Rock’ still shows that the band can rock, but they do far too less on the album. There are some more tracks on the album that unveils some rock power. One of them is e.g. ‘Not Feeling Anything’ with its Steppenwolf-like start.
Unfortunately, there are some rather trivial melodic rockers on the album too. ‘Where You Belong’, ‘Tears in My Eyes’ and ‘Can’t Breathe Anymore’ are standard tunes that miss the thrill. This kind of music is exchangeable and doesn’t wow.
To sum up. ‘XIII’ is an OK album that benefits from a good sound and production. What’s missing are the edges, some dynamic and the firepower. ‘XIII’ delivers a standard rock album. Not more, but also not less. I still prefer ‘Knights of the New Thunder’ and the debut.
Written by: Markus Wiedenmann
Ratings: 7/10
About Author
