Thunder Rising is a metal band with a
very old school sound about them. It’s pretty refreshing to hear something like
this. The album itself is quite short, coming in at only 21 minutes, but it’s
definitely an enjoyable listen.
The first song on the album, titled "THE BEST THINGS ARE FREE"
features ex-Malmsteen singe, Mark Boals. Boals’ vocal style is perfect for this
kind of old school 80s metal sounding song. It has a great balance between real
dirty, heavy riffs and some nice airy clean chords with flourishing solos.
The last song, titled "LIGHTNING,
THUNDER, AND RAINBOW" is pretty clever. This is the longest track on the album
at about six minutes. In a way, this song is three songs in one which I think
plays on the title of the song. One section for thunder, one for lightning, and
one for rainbow. These tracks definitely capture the essences of these ideas. I love imagery in music, and this was well done by Thunder Rising.
One thing I really like about this album is how every song is
very, very distinct. They all share a style, but characteristically they're all
very different. And consistent through most of my reviews, I really don't like
when a band puts out an album where every song sounds kind of the same. These
guys definitely put a lot of work into taking this relatively small album and
making it as diverse as possible, while still retaining a more or less
centralized style. As far as their sound goes, they seemed to make it a point to
use a completely different set of tones for their instruments each time. The
guitar sounds completely different song after song, and that has a lot to do
with how the album is so dynamic.
This was just a really fun listen for me. My only qualm is
that there are only five songs. I suppose as an artist, when you think the work
is done, it's done. But I would've definitely enjoyed more content. Either way,
this is some good music. Do check it out.
