"Spin wheel of life/hypnotize me"
D. Knouse | vancouver, washington United States | 05/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Continuing with the Solitude Aeturnus meets Black Sabbath sound Thunderstorm return with an album that rekindles some of the magic of their second album "Witchunter Tales". While I still believe that album to be their best effort overall, "As We Die Alone" comes in a very close second place. The catchy mid-tempo riffage throughout is often highlighted with a sense of fun as they begin or end with the vocals yelling out "Yeah!" or "Alright!" just like a young Ozzy Osbourne used to do many moons ago. While their previous album "Faithless Soul" had some great songs there was a soft middle section in that release and a downright terrible cover tune that took away from the overall effect of the recording. "As We Die Alone", however, is a near perfect album of Epic/Traditional Doom Metal. After the one-two punch of "Hawking Radiation" and "Death Rides on the Highway", which are Black Sabbath-influenced nearly to the core, "We Die As We Dream (Alone)" shows off the Solitude Aeturnus side of the band with a simple yet haunting chorus before an incredibly heavy riff steamrolls the listener into full submission. "I Wait" is seemlessly integrated to the end of the previous track and is a hypnotic, trance-inducing song that reminds me a little of Katatonia at their most mesmerizing. "Hypnowheel of Life" brings the energy level back up with another Black Sabbath-style juggernaut that immediately crushes everything in its path; add to this echoing vocals a la Solitude Aeturnus and you receive a fantastic mixture, indeed. The only misstep or unnecessary track here is "L" which is a strange acid-trip montage of instruments and studio effects that becomes more superflous the more times I hear it. "L" is short enough to dismiss entirely as the appropriately titled "S.L.O.W." sludges forth with a magnificently heavy riff and layered vocals laced with a meandering guitar "solo" that carries the listener all the way through the quagmire to dry ground. "Preacher's Dream" is an obvious salutation to Black Sabbath's acoustic gem "Laguna Sunrise" and fits in nicely with the tone of the entire album. "The Mad Monk" then thunders forth and bludgeons the unwary with a skull-crushing riff that is simply impossible to ignore. The tempo shifts on this song are fluid and superb! Outstanding! At first, I thought doing a cover of a Jimi Hendrix tune on a Doom Metal album would sound completely out of place, but then I heard what Thunderstorm achieved. Excellent! Running Time: (49:13)
1. HAWKING RADIATION (6:28)
2. DEATH RIDES ON THE HIGHWAY (4:52)
3. WE DIE AS WE DREAM (ALONE) (4:51)
4. I WAIT (3:33)
5. HYPNOWHEEL OF LIFE (6:49)
6. L (1:02)
7. S.L.O.W. (8:42)
8. PREACHER'S DREAM (1:24)
9. THE MAD MONK (6:33)
10. VOODOO CHILD (SLIGHT RETURN) (4:54)
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1