Rock Music Critic

	Thunderstone
	Thunderstone

	I have gone through many metal phases in my years. 80's glam (shamefully), on to speed metal, and thrash. Then came the doom phase and the hardcore crossover phase. Followed by power metal and eventually the murkier waters of death metal and black metal. I even had a brief rap metal phase (inspired by Anthrax's "I'm The Man" of course), do you remember a band called Metal MC? Probably not, but it is collecting dust in my collection somewhere. The last few years I have been almost exclusively paying attention to black and death metal. A very angry period I suppose. For awhile, I thought power metal bands (the ones who all sound like Keeper-era Helloween) were just too weak. (Of course through all of this Manowar was and is still the greatest metal band of all time). But now I find myself re-entering the power metal phase. Maybe it's better than it used to be, or maybe I'm just ready for a change. Who knows, but there seems to be a lot of good power metal out there right now. This brings me to Thunderstone. I'm always looking for new metal (not to be confused with that horrible American contribution, nu metal. Ick.) and being that I'm fairly out of touch with the pulse of metal music (again, because of my US location) I don't always hear about things unless I go out and find them myself (shameless request for material from labels). So I do a lot of research online looking for new music, and this band Thunderstone is one of the bands I came up with. They have all the elements of your typical power metal bands these days. Double bass, great guitar work, and a melodic singer. However, I don't feel that this band is just another one of the herd. The music does seem to set them apart from the average band. And I like the guys voice. He sings maybe a wee little high for my taste, but I really like the tone of his voice so I will let that slide. The hooks on this CD really drag me in. Good strong hooks that stand out and move you without being too corny. Another thing. A lot of power metal these days uses the fantasy theme (which is great, no complaints here) but it is refreshing to hear something modern tucked into the song "Virus". At one point you hear a woman say, "You have an email". That's cool. Wasn't anything terribly flashy or special, but it helped connect me with our present time and I liked it. Whoa. I just got the impression of Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" album. Wasn't a real strong impression, but for a few seconds there I could almost pretend I was listening to that album (and I see there is a song called "Eyes of a Stranger" hmmmm). The only really good Queensryche album in my opinion. On "Me, My Enemy" I am hearing a little bit of Riot's "On Wings of Eagles" just a little. Funny, I seem to be hearing a lot of Riot in bands these days. And here I thought I was the only one that ever heard "Thundersteel." I guess that line of thought comes from being the only metal guy I know in this neck of the woods. I'm sure there are more out there, but I don't know 'em. I don't leave the house enough to meet anyone, too busy writing these damn reviews. (Send women!) Damn, I just had another impression. Journey. At times they almost sound like a heavy metal Journey. Scary. I never was much of a Journey fan. But I don't say this as if it's a bad thing about Thunderstone. No, it's just one of those thoughts that passes through my mind while listening. Because I am actually listening to the CD as I write this. Stream of consciousness reviews. Bet you couldn't tell. Kick ass! "Weak" starts off with this Paradise Lost-ish piano, and the guys voice is actually rather deep. Deep for what I have been hearing anyway. The music at the beginning of "Voice in a Dream" reminds me of something, but I can't place it. Maybe something Dio. Pretty cool though. Ok, here is what I think. This is a pretty good CD. If you like power metal music, then I'm sure you will probably enjoy this. If you aren't a fan of power metal, this probably isn't the CD that is gonna bring you over to the other side. It has some really good songs, but after awhile it didn't hold my attention. If I listened to it a bit at a time rather than all at once I might think differently. I certainly don't have anything bad to say about this band. Check it out.