A Sound of Thunder
“Time’s Arrow”
Mad Neptune Records
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Tracks: 11
Running Time: 65 minutes
Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars
Holy shit! Those are the first words that came through my head when listening to this album. “Time’s Arrow” is A Sound of Thunder’s third full-length album. I was a huge fan of 2012’s “Out of the Darkness” and this year’s “Queen of Hell EP” but this one really raised the bar again! The band in the last two years have quickly become one of my favorite metal bands in the business. There music is heavy, original and very well-written. Each song is unique and yet still fits perfectly as a whole into the album. If you haven’t heard of the band, this would be an perfect way to get introduce and I guarantee you will become an instant fan for life!
Guitarist and composer Josh Schwartz is absolutely insane on this album and really gives his all into each track. Frontwoman Nina Osegueda has never sounded better. Between you and me, I am usually not a fan of female lead metal bands, don’t hate me, but goddamn from the first time I heard her voice on “Out of the Darkness”, I couldn’t stop listening. On this album, she is fierce and really just nails it with song after song. What I like about this band as a whole is that they have range. They definitely know how to bring the metal, get those devil horns ready, but on this album they also explore other genres with the classic rock-inspired “End of the Road” or the space-rock tribute “Reign of the Hawklords”. These tracks just show how diverse this band is and how they are going to become one of the top bands in the business.
I have to say it is rare when you find an album that you literally love every song but this is definitely one of those albums. Let me focus on the title track for a minute, “Time’s Arrow”. This song is nearly 10 minutes long and it is easily one of the most epic tracks that I have heard in the recent years! It is heavy and also well-paced. When you are listening to a 10 minute you expect the song to feel like a 10 minute song. That doesn’t happen with this track, you go off on this journey and it literally just drags you along like a cartoon character being dragged through mid-air by the smell of food. Sorry I watch a lot of cartoons. METAL! Anyway, this track really shows that this band packs a lot talent, since a 10 minute track is not easy to pull off. I can’t wait to see this performed live, it should be extremely epic!
Another aspect of this this album that I love is that “Time’s Arrow” is released by Mad Neptune Records, which is the band’s own record label that was just started for this release. This just shows that the music comes first for this band and they would rather not sell out to some big label and have their sound molded into “what the label thinks we want to here”. This takes balls and the band sure down how a lot of that, sorry Nina – you still rule! Trust me, take out the 65 minutes and listen to “Time’s Arrow”. It is one of those albums that when you hear it you will be unable to speak until there is a break in the track. Yes it is that epic!
Track Listing:
1. Power Play
2. Time’s Arrow
3. I Will Not Break
4. Broken Bridge
5. Queen of Hell
6. Let’s Start A Fire
7. I’ll Walk With You
8. My Disease (featuring Blaze Bayley)
9. Wastelands
10. End Of The Road
11. Reign Of The Hawklords
