A Sound of Thunder – Time’s Arrow
Release Date: 2013
Highlights: Power Play, Time’s Arrow, Broken Bridge, Queen of Hell, My Disease, Reign of the Hawklords
First off, how did I make it this far without writing a review of this big ass platter of face melting epicness? Well, better late than never right? Listening to A Sound of Thunder was like being introduced to a new friend that after a few minutes together you feel you’ve known for a lifetime. That is the best way to describe A Sound of Thunder’s latest album “Times Arrow.” Everything about this album is familiar and comfortable yet fresh, new, and exciting all at the same time.
Lead vocalist Nina Osequeda has such an epically powerful voice. Unlike many metal singers, Nina’s voice is free of all of those over the top acrobatics and instead she features a punchy, clear as a bell voice that actually allows the listener to hear every word she is singing. Way too often I hear hear some amazing metal bands but I can’t help but feel I’m missing something when I can’t understand the lyrics. With Osequeda, you can hear every word and it’s a great thing because they are lyrics worth listening to.
Time’s Arrow kicks off with two of what I feel are two of the strongest metal songs I have heard in ages. “Power Play” and “Times Arrow really show off the amazing playing of guitarist Josh Schwartz and the bands ability to construct truly dynamic metal masterpieces. “Queen of Hell” is such an epic masterpiece in itself and I honestly have to say that I love this version way more than the version on the EP that featured Veronica Freeman of Benedictum. “My Disease” which features Blaze Bayley on guest vocals is a great song and much like with “Queen of Hell” I feel that it doesn’t need a guest vocalist when you’ve got a massive singer like Nina already at the helm. Blaze just annoys this living shit out of me but I have to say that his work on this song actually really worked pretty well. “Reign of the Hawklords” is a spectacular album closer and has some amazingly infections hooks and changes going. By the time the song was done I found myself wanting to go back and listen again just to find my favorite songs.
Time’s Arrow is a fantastic addition to any metal fan’s collection that likes their metal diverse, well produced, and expertly executed. As a whole, the album has a really great flow and it is metal ear candy at its finest. As a band, A Sound of Thunder is one of the tightest bands I’ve heard in a while and because of his work on this album guitarist Josh Schwartz has been added to my list of favorite metal guitarists. A Sound of Thunder is the perfect amount of everything that I love about metal. They are touch of prog, a touch of NWOBHM, a bit of thrash, and there are even elements of some more modern metal bands such as Lacuna Coil and Epica. A Sound of Thunder is a band that has figured out how to take all of the great parts of metal and combine them into one kick ass equation that delivers something truly special. This is a band I will be keeping my eyes on for a long time to come. Now if they’d only come back to Atlanta and melt my face live.
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