Out of the Darkness 2012

"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!

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)"