A Sound Of Thunder - The Lesser Key Of Solomon

A Sound Of Thunder's Nina Osegueda is the secret ingredient in this metal formula that rocks the fuck out of you old school.It's not often that you come across a band that makes you go scrambling for your music player, thinking "woah, who is this?" but A Sound Of Thunder (ASOT) is just such a group. Screaming out of Washington, DC, this quartet is phenomenal. They smack of old school - not retro - as if their manager might be a rogue time lord (yeah, I made a Doctor Who reference, what of it?) who happened upon the 80s looking for tunes. Seriously, this band makes me imagine a parallel universe where Heart and Iron Maiden merge into one kick ass metal band and I can't recommend ASOT's fourth studio album, The Lesser Key Of Solomon highly enough.

The main ingredient in this heavy metal goulash is unequivocally the amazing Nina Osegueda, who packs about 7 feet of Viking shieldmaiden into her 5'2" frame, as illustrated on the last minute and a half of the moody Elijah. What a voice this woman has! But let's not forget the fantastic guitarwork of co-founder Josh Schwartz, whose razor sharp attack gives the band a sound that can hold up to any classic metal band of the last 40 years.

There's the usual material regarding dark and dreadful forces, including a Dio-worthy track, Master Of Pain. But look, this is just some classic American metal with a fantastic new voice in Miss Osegueda and you simply have to check them out if you're a fan of bands like Dio, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden or Motörhead. 'Nuff said.

The Bottom Line: If you're looking to rock the fuck out, old school like the pros, you can't go wrong propping open the windows with your Cerwin Vega speakers and cranking this shit up. I'll bring the beer!

- Genghis is still headbanging long after the music's been shut off...