Reviewed by Andrew Privett

Not the Scottish pop rock team of the same name, this bunch are Scandinavian purveyors of classy metal. Right, first the constructive I think. Musically, Sons Of Thunder are pretty much on the top of their game with full on axe attack - or should that be battleaxe? There are also some special classical guitar moments. The drums and bass give a good solid foundation with some nice splash and china cymbal work from Daniel Mouton. Okay, time for the criticism I'm afraid. Firstly, the lyrics: the whole "going out to war" motif was a little overdone for my taste - a bit of a Christian metal cliché. I think the lyrics suffer mainly from a language point of view. I think a dedicated vocalist/lyricist would really move Sons Of Thunder to a whole new level, leaving Michael Hjelte to concentrate on his guitars. If you can get past the lyrics then this album would probably be a reasonable addition to any metalhead's collection. And it's great to hear that old school white metal lives on, at least in Sweden.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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