Thursday, February 23, 2017

THUNDER: "Rip It Up"

Rating: RRRRr
Label: EarMusic
Review by Martien Koolen

I have always had a special place in my rock heart for Thunder, as their live shows are always a treat and among the best you ever see and hear. Wonder Days, released in 2015, was a brilliant album and it even was a top 10 success for these classic hard rockers from London. Now, two years later, Thunder release their 11th studio album called Rip It Up and in my humble opinion it is even better than Wonder Days; go figure! Thunder have a very recognisable sound, but fortunately they are not Status Quo and do definitely not slavishly follow the same musical paths over and over again. Just listen to the amazing, rocky opener No One Gets Out Alive and you will know what I mean; it is classic Thunder stuff but also, slightly different and exciting.

Rip It Up contains 11 songs and none is a filler, or a so-called left over track. Musical highlights are without any doubt: Right From The Start (a massive superb ballad, with very emotional vocals and one of the best guitar solos of Morley that I have ever heard), Tumbling Down (magical British rock; check out the intro riff, which sounds like Pinball Wizard) and The Chosen One, which will become another Thunder classic like Backstreet Symphony or Dirty Love. Rip It Up is a great classic hard rock album, almost a throwback to seventies/eighties rock, but then with a very up to date edge and all the songs sound very fresh and extremely good. I truly believe that these guys can go like this for more than 20 years to come; rock on, guys and see you in Weert on 28 April; can't wait to hear the new songs "in the flesh". Needless to say that you have to play this album at maximum volume!!

www.thunderonline.com/

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