adg211288 Metal Renaissance (2011) is the debut full-length album by US heavy metal act A Sound of Thunder. It was self-released by the band and follows a self-titled EP (2009) and a non-album single, Justice at Last (2010). Metal Renaissance is the first release to feature the line-up of Nina Osegueda (vocals), Josh Schwartz (guitars), Jesse Keen (bass, keyboards) and Chris Haren (drums) which is the line-up the band has stuck with to date (February 2015), though some bass on the album is played by former member Ben Washburn while opening track Wee Beastie is actually performed by the Celtic group Painted Trillium.

Given that I'm reviewing Metal Renaissance from the perspective of someone who heard all three of the following A Sound of Thunder albums first (I started with second album Out of the Darkness (2012)) it actually comes as a bit of a shock how much the band progressed between albums one and two. Metal Renaissance isn't a bad record per se but it is much more bland and generic sounding traditional heavy metal compared to what would follow. That's forgivable for a debut record but it does also mean that Metal Renaissance is far from the best starting point for any newcomer to A Sound of Thunder and it's not an album that even I as a big fan of the group can see myself putting on for a spin too much. This one is pretty much the sound of a band still finding their feet.

That's not to say that it doesn't have its moments that push more towards the quality of the following releases. A particular favourite of mine from this record is My Name is Doom (The Doctor Is In) which better captures the aggression of the music I know the band is capable of, though it does seem a little overlong at over the ten minute mark. The rest of the album usually seems like the group is struggling to find the power to really belt the songs out with the best of them and that's true of both the musicianship and Nina's vocals, both things that, as I said, greatly improved on Out of the Darkness and have continued to do so with Time's Arrow (2013) and The Lesser Key of Solomon (2014).

Metal Renaissance is a good album, it's just not a great one. I'm glad I heard it last out of the four A Sound of Thunder records released so far as I think that if I had heard this one first I might have been tempted to write the band off, which would have been a big mistake. Worth owning then if you are a fan of the following albums, but safely skippable otherwise. 3 Stars.

adg211288 The Lesser Key of Solomon (2014) is the fourth full-length album by US heavy metal act A Sound of Thunder. A Sound of Thunder are one of those bands who seem to be an unstoppable force with their output as it's only actually been a few years since their debut album Metal Renaissance (2011) was released. I've personally followed them since their second album Out of the Darkness (2012) and have never failed to be impressed by their work and their last album Time's Arrow (2013) was just about everything I wanted from the band after first experiencing Out of the Darkness. Needless to say that makes The Lesser Key of Solomon a release that I've been highly anticipating since it was first announced.

It's clear right from the first spin though that The Lesser Key of Solomon isn't the instant love affair that Time's Arrow offered. The mood of this album seems darker than the previous two A Sound of Thunder efforts I've listened to, which may explain why it needs a little time to sink in. I guess the band were also due an album that was less immediate though, needing time to grow on the listener and I feel confident to say that's certainly the case here. I can actually track my reactions to each spin I've given the album starting from this is good, but... to I may have to settle on a lower score than Time's Arrow for this one to hmm...I think I've been misjudging this one so far.

The music on The Lesser Key of Solomon is essentially yet another take on A Sound of Thunder's traditional heavy metal sound and that's exactly what I expect to hear. I still need to hear their debut but they haven't made the same album twice since I've been listening to them. Though The Lesser Key of Solomon has proved to need a few listens to get into this was one thing that was never in question. I do think though that the actual elements in the sound, in terms of the amount of different genres being drawn on, that The Lesser Key of Solomon is actually the least diverse I've heard A Sound of Thunder so far but to counteract that rather than drawing a little bit of several genres they instead draw more extensively on progressive metal, which has now become the most common the most common secondary element I can hear in their music, followed by power metal which to my ears is absent on this record.

I would go as far to say that the progressive elements make The Lesser Key of Solomon a progressive heavy metal album. That is to say that it's not a progressive metal album in the sense that the term is used for bands like Dream Theater or Ayreon but it's also significantly more than a straight up no frills attached traditional heavy metal album too. This is the same niche that I'd put Iron Maiden's later records in as well as their classic Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) album. In fact a comparison to the later Iron Maiden albums isn't wrong in other ways too. Particularly the mix of longer and shorter songs has later Maiden written all over it.

As the album grew on me more and more it became clear that The Lesser Key of Solomon is easily A Sound of Thunder's most consistent work to date. Early standouts should be mentioned as Elijah and Blood From the Mummy's Tomb, which are two of the album's longer tracks. The of course there's Udoroth, the first full long on the album after the doomy intro piece Nexus of Realities, which is a real beast of a song. The other songs all definitely reach the same level after a few spins too. Even the more ballad orientated parts are top quality work and not all metal albums can claim that.

The Lesser Key of Solomon may be a grower but it's often the case that such albums end up the better regarded works and after giving it a few listens I'm happy to report than my early fears of it being a step down from Time's Arrow were unfounded. In fact just as Time's Arrow was a step up from Out of the Darkness so too is The Lesser Key of Solomon a step up from Time's Arrow. This is the finest traditional heavy metal release I've heard from 2014 and a top tier rating is most definitely well earned. The first of hopefully many for A Sound of Thunder.

98/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/a-sound-of-thunder-the-lesser-key-of-solomon-t3806.html)

adg211288 Time’s Arrow is the third full-length album by US heavy metal act A Sound of Thunder. Released in 2013, it follows hot on the heels of prior EP Queen of Hell (2012), the title track from which is re-presented here. A Sound of Thunder first came to my attention with their prior full-length Out of the Darkness (2012), a release that instantly made a positive impression on me. It had its faults to be fair, but there was so much more greatness to be had out of it. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this follow-up ever since it was first announced.

I think we can cut the suspense and just confirm that the band has delivered in just about every area I could have wanted following the last album. The female fronted act has quite the varied sound built on a backbone of old school sounding traditional heavy metal, and the sound heard on Time’s Arrow is a logical progression from that of Out of the Darkness. While the basic ingredients they’re adding to the traditional metal sound remain much the same, the measures are quite different which results in Time’s Arrow’s sound having its own identity. The only thing of note that is absent this time around is the doom metal influences that mostly appeared on Out of the Darkness’s opener The Day I Die. Instead there are some aspects of classic hard rock creeping in, along with the few power metal elements, that also appeared on the prior release, mostly heard during the song Queen of Hell, which is pretty much a full on power metal track, but also in a couple of other places.

The biggest change is how many progressive elements there are present on Time’s Arrow. I’m of the opinion that Out of the Darkness also had some progressive touches, but while there they were quite subtle, on Time’s Arrow they’re much more obvious to hear, although they never overpower the main intent of the release, which is quite clearly, once again, to be a classic heavy metal band, and A Sound of Thunder have succeeded in that on Time’s Arrow, just as they did on Out of the Darkness. The way they got there may have been a bit different this time, but the result is still that passionate, energetic act that won me over last year.

Out of the Darkness had one issue for me, one which ultimately kept it off my higher two rating tiers when I reviewed it. One song, called Kill That Bitch, although quite good in its own right, always came across as being lyrically out of place on the album, to the point that it actually disrupted the flow of my listens every time it started up. The rest of the album ranged from exceptional to masterful, but that hiccup kept in the four stars sort of rating range. There is no such hiccup present on Time’s Arrow. This naturally means the album flows much more smoothly from start to finish, and since the band clearly hasn’t run out of steam despite dropping a new full-length every year since their debut Metal Renaissance (2011), and instantly makes the album stand out as the work of a band moving up in the world. Singer Nina Osegueda sounds better than ever and once again they deliver consistent high quality work including anthems like the aforementioned Queen of Hell, as well as I Will Not Break and My Disease, the latter of which is a duet between Nina and former Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley. Another highlight is the lengthy title track, in which not a second is wasted.

When Out of the Darkness was released in 2012 it was during a time when a lot of female fronted heavy and power metal acts were making names for themselves and delivering high quality work. Out of all those I personally reviewed, in a move that in hindsight I think may have been harsh, Out of the Darkness ended up one of the lower ranked releases. With Time’s Arrow however I can’t see much danger of that happening again. It is, in fact, the strongest traditional metal (well mostly traditional metal anyway) release I’ve heard so far for 2013. An exceptional grade rating is deserved.

92/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/a-sound-of-thunder-time-s-arrow-t3008.html)

Time Signature The American metallers A Sound of Thunder are back with their sophomore effort, and, all I can say is HOLY FUCK it's awesome!

But since reviews on the Metal Music Archives have to be more than 100 words, I guess I have to say more than just "HOLY FUCK it's awesome."

Fortunately, this gives me the opportunity to praise the band even more. Combining elements from traditional heavy metal (especially Iron Maiden and Judas Priest seem to be sources of inspiration here) with a few of the non-cheesy elements from mainly US power metal, A Sound of Thunder have put together a collection of very strong and compelling songs, sprinkled with a bit of southern groove, a bit of hard rock swagger, a bit of power-thrash aggression, and a bit of doom metal darkness every now and then. Some tracks are even epic in natures, such as the ballad 'This Too Shall Pass' and the Spanish-flavored 'Calat Alhambra' as well as the quasi-symphonic 'Discovery'.

I must say that, while I enjoy every aspect of the album and the musicianship is top notch all round, the main attraction to me on this album is Nina Osegueda's vocals. She is simply awesome. Her voice is super versatile, ranging from soft silky sentimental singing over raw metal screams to ballbusting rock roars. She is definitely one of the best metal vocalist I have heard in a long time.

Fans of classic metal should definitely check out this album because... HOLY FUCK it's awesome!

adg211288 And so here we have A Sound of Thunder coming out of the USA, who look set to make a lot of noise this year along with several other acts as a part of a group of female fronted traditional and power metal bands releasing albums in 2012. That is if people sit up and pay attention to the quality of music coming out of these acts instead of worrying about the boring and repetitive djent scene. Okay, that was a little low attacking a style completely unrelated to this album I’m reviewing, but sue me I got sick of this djent stuff fast and with these female fronted heavy and power metal acts I’ve been hearing consistent high quality metal that in most cases seems to be going completely under the radar, which as far as this reviewer is concerned is a travesty. Out of the Darkness is the second album from A Sound of Thunder and continues the trend I’ve experienced of current traditional metal releases with female vocalists being the best traditional metal releases of the year so far.

If you’re a regular reader of my writing you’ve likely encountered reviews for some of the other artists playing traditional/power metal with female vocals by now. I expect it wouldn’t be unfair of you to be thinking by now something along the lines of “so do I really need all of these bands you’ve covered lately?”. Well, that’s probably the best thing about all the releases that fit this mould I’ve encountered, they all have their own identity. What sets A Sound of Thunder apart on Out of the Darkness is their penchant for more complex song structures, evident straight away with the opening The Day I Die, and that their singer Nina Osegueda is more inclined to use a lot more clear and melodic vocals along with the much more aggressive approach of Crystal Viper’s Marta Gabriel or Huntress’ Jill Janus, although she’s certainly capable of delivering her take on such vocals as well. I actually wish she used them a little more, since they give the band’s music a bit more bite against the highly melodic sound they produce.

The approach used in their actual music brings to mind at times the early material of Black Sabbath. The slower paced parts have a very notable doom feel to them in other words. I also detect a bit of power metal influence here and there, but mostly we’re talking a quite old school sounding traditional heavy metal release. The tracks are pretty well varied and easy to tell apart even after a relatively small number of listens, and I’d also say that A Sound of Thunder’s music is a bit more inventive than many other trad metal acts, which is something they make evident right with their opening number, The Day I Die. The light instrumental section is this track is very well crafted. Sections like this hint at some possible progressive influences among the A Sound of Thunder personnel. Although I don’t personally see Out of the Darkness as openly progressive, future release from A Sound of Thunder potentially could be if this is anything to go by.

Overall Out of the Darkness is a great album, but unfortunately there are a couple of tracks that just failed to live up to the high standard of the majority. Third track in, Kill That Bitch, is one of them. Musically it’s fine, but lyrically it just didn’t fit the whole thing A Sound of Thunder has going for them to these ears. It sounds more like it belongs in some random teenage revenge movie than on a metal album. I’m also not too fond of the ballad This Too Shall Pass, mostly because I think at over five minutes it’s just a bit too long. Not a bad track, it’s actually one of Nina’s vocal highlights, just one that outstays its welcome a little. The good thing is that all the other tracks are really good, especially The Day I Die, The Night Witch, Murderous Horde, A Sound of Thunder, Out of the Darkness (a duet with John Gallagher of Raven), actually I’m going to stop here, because I’m tempted to list more or less the rest of the whole album, the level of consistency is that high.

What we’ve ultimately got here is a really fine record that I think fans of old school metal are going to lap up. While not perfect by any means, A Sound of Thunder didn’t leave a lot of to be sniffed at really. Since in the wider view of things the two tracks that let the album down for me aren’t totally awful and it really is just these two tracks I find any fault with I’d say it only just misses out on an exceptional rating. I think A Sound of Thunder is going to blow this album out of the water next time around though.

8.4/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))