Band:	A Sound Of Thunder
Album:	Time's Arrow
Style:	Heavy metal, Power metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	June 2013

01. Power Play
02. Time's Arrow
03. I Will Not Break
04. Broken Bridge
05. Queen Of Hell
06. Let's Start A Fire
07. I'll Walk With You
08. My Disease [featuring Blaze Bayley]
09. Wastelands
10. End Of The Road
11. Reign Of The Hawklords

Melodic heavy metal with a giant dose of classic metal and hard rock? Sounds like fun! And fun it is. Time's Arrow is non-stop, but so full of subtle differences that it never wears you down.

This album has some of the best replay value I've heard all year. On the first listen you thoroughly enjoy this lively, powerful record. On the second listen (which will likely happen mere seconds later), you already recognize many of the tunes like old friends. It's fun and seemingly straightforward, yet on the 10th or 15th listen you're still discovering new depths in these songs. Instantly memorable, yet with possibilities for long-term exploration and enjoyment.

The subtle differences are really what set this apart. The end result is an album that may seem full of similar songs, or seem to be sticking to one style, but is strangely compelling at the same time. If you put some thought into your listening, you'll notice a vast range of approaches to their classic metal style.

You won't notice from listening but the songs are quite long for being a "fun" heavy metal album. Many are upwards of 6 minutes, but the second track/title track is 9:50. I was very surprised to realize this after having spun the album perhaps 6 times already. If you'd asked me to guess the song lengths without looking, I would have said they were probably 3-4 minute songs. Time really does fly on Time's Arrow, which is due to the ridiculously strong songwriting as well as the musicians' solid performances.

The vocals here are so amazing you'll probably find yourself with an air microphone whether or not you've ever sung a note in your life. Nina Osegueda represents a range of styles, notes, and emotion rarely matched in heavy metal. Basically: Bruce Dickinson, eat your heart out.

Glorious guitar solos and leads decorate each tune, while the rhythm section in many ways creates the true mood with their decisive energy level. Classic melodic metal with energy to spare.

The opening track, "Power Play," could easily have been the lead off single, as could about half the songs on here. The band's ability to create rocking yet individual tunes is so, so evident. The chosen single for EP release was "Queen Of Hell" and it was a worthy choice. (The Queen Of Hell EP includes a version of the song with Benedictum's Veronica Freeman on guest vocals, in duet with Nina.)

Another song worth mentioning is the ballad "I'll Walk With You." This further shows off the band's creativity in lyric-writing and range of abilities with emotion and musical style. It's a love story? set during the zombie apocalypse. It's thoughtfully written and quite fascinating; could have easily been a chapter in World War Z.

A Sound Of Thunder really stakes their claim with this record. If you hadn't heard of them before (I hadn't!) then join me in taking a collective moment to scratch our heads and wonder why the hell that is, then move on with falling in love with this record. Definitely a contender for a Best Of 2013 list.

Time's Arrow comes out June 4th. Hear a few tracks and pre-order the CD or vinyl on the band's Website.