A SOUND OF THUNDER - Tales From The Deadside

10 songs
59:55 minutes
***** ***
Mad Neptune

Bandpage

Readers of our website should by now be familiar with American metal band A Sound Of Thunder as we reviewed their four last albums. A Sound Of Thunder not only convince with their musical talents, but also by having shown through their own initiative that you can be successful without the backing of a record label. As in the past, the current album Tales From The Deadside has been financed by a crowdfunding campaign.

Tales From The Deadside is a concept album about the not so well known comic figure Shadowman. Apart from a rather boring videogame from the late Nineties, I wasn’t familiar with him either.

157 centimetre tall frontwoman Nina Osegueda is once again the centre of attention, and it is no exaggeration to call her one of the best female metal vocalists of all time. Even though not that much has changed, there are still some differences to be made out. The opener Children Of The Dark shows that the band has taken some distance to their erstwhile metal days by concentrating their energies on a more rock sound. This doesn’t mean that they are playing the typical worn out rock riffs. On the contrary, the songwriting is clever and surprises with some quite intricate structures. The following Sandria (Carry On) is a not so fast but very demanding song. Can’t Go Back is maybe overdoing the commercial touch by veering too strongly into arena rock territory. This song could also have been an Eighties hit from Heart. Occasionally the band tries to add suspense and drama, for instance by using a voice that tells of Shadowman’s fate or by the organ which sounds really great on Deadside. The middle of the album surprises with a return to the metal roots which does work better for the band. Especially Losing Control, where Nina is screaming in anguish, and the furious Punk Mambo are two highlights on Tales From The Deadside. The final tracks are somewhat mellower again, and especially Alyssa (Life In Shadows) shows the band from an unusual side.

A Sound Of Thunder have always done their own things in the most uncompromising way imaginable. This hasn’t changed on Tales From The Dead Side. Instrumentation and vocals are as perfect as ever, even if they haven’t met my expectations stylistically this time. I have the impression that the predecessors were somewhat heavier, and also this time I love their metal songs more than their quieter material. Let’s say what the future holds in store for A Sound Of Thunder.