About.com Rating



Royal Thunder debuts with CVI , which immediately puts them atop of the latest cycle of bands that in their search for a new sound have discovered the oldest sound in popular music: the blues. After releasing a DYI self-titled EP in 2007, Royal Thunder hit the tour circuit and wandered the south just as the bluesmen of old did. Honing their chops in front of increasingly impressed crowds, Relapse Records added them to their stable and hustled them into the studio.


Main thunderguy, lead guitarist Josh Weaver, toiled through lineup mishaps before Miny Parsonz sauntered through the door, bass in hand and the spirits of Johnette Napolitano and Chrissie Hynde in her voice. Together they were ready to rocket Royal Thunder through the storm clouds. Drummer Les Smith and bassist Josh Coleman signed in on the guestbook then became permanent.

Blues metal sold a lot of records and kept a lot of FM radio stations open... in the seventies. When Royal Thunder's CVI cranks up with "Parsonz Curse" (Miny sneaks her name into song titles once in a while), some weird muscle memory causes the hand to make sure the phonograph needle gets dropped in the right groove. Once Royal Thunder rumbles into full force, muscles relax and attention takes over. Retro doom blues mutations leap out of the speakers like dozens of furry gremlins. Miny is a first rate blues belter. Josh and Josh and Les grab melody like a Saturday night beer and never let go. "Parsonz Curse" could have been an annoying period piece, but two generations have passed since the early seventies, and Royal Thunder reintroduces the old excitement to new ears.

Christian Mistress, Blood Ceremony and Spider Rockets are among female-fronted bands that are leading a burst of retro-hybrid blues metal that really isn't much of any of those genres. Royal Thunder delivers something unique on CVI, their own voice. "Shake and Shift" blends Rolling Stones groove with Spanky and Our Gang harmonies, patches it through the Led Zeppelin-izer, and produces the finest song of the New Wave of Chick Heavy Metal bands phenomenon.

Royal Thunder rocks hard behind Parsonz, employing staples of the golden age such as one-note piano hammers, roadhouse electro-riffs and imitation Leslie Hammonds. The drumming comes through loud and clear as do the Strats and bass. "Blue" is a nine and a half minute long Skynyrd jam that doesn't bring Parsonz in until 3:24, after which few lyrics are sung, giving way to dramatic vocal fades and swells snake around the smoky atmosphere.

"Sleeping Witch" is the only holdover from their 2007 EP. It is slow and aided by a worn cello sound. It simmers in the oven, goes down like oak-barrel whiskey then boils over into sweaty soul-pounder. Wind chimes and doom slipping into blues thrash anchored by Parsonz's masterful vocals all melt together in "South of Somewhere." "Minus" is a down-home bluesy crooner as humid as a summery dusk in Georgia.

"Black Water Vision" ends the album, leaving behind echoes in the mist when car radios roared with the sounds of mythic giants, and Royal Thunder's CVI might have found a spot in the playlists.

(released May 22, 2012 on Relapse Records)



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.