Thunder is one of those peculiar bands who, despite reaching superstar, arena headliner, multi-platinum selling status everywhere else around the globe, are virtually unknown here in the United States. Sure, they scored a pair of minor rock radio hits pre-Nirvana in “Dirty Love” and “Love Walks In”, but unless you were glued to your local rock radio station à la Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, these songs were merely blips on the radar. It’s especially bizarre considering Thunder was never overtly “English” the way Genesis, Jethro Tull, and Iron Maiden, among other acts who achieved much greater success stateside, were.
No, Thunder were among the English crop that co-opted the American blues sound and made it their M.O. Following in the grand tradition of Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, and Whitesnake before them, Thunder placed emphasis on killer grooves, raunchy riffs, and soulful vocals. Fast forward some 30+ years later and this still remains the bedrock of their sound. There was never an ill fated foray into grunge, nu metal, or any other here today, gone tomorrow fad for that matter. Thunder has always been unabashedly Thunder, and is blatantly so on their latest album, Dopamine.
One could forgive Thunder for putting on the brakes, especially in this unpredictable pandemic age. Instead, they’ve become the poster boys for musical productivity. The 16 track Dopamine comes hot off the heel’s of last year’s critically acclaimed (and rightfully so) All the Right Noises. Picking up right where that album left off is the aggressive opening punch of “The Western Sky”. With its metallic riffing and attitude, even I was a bit taken aback by this cut, but not before being treated to the warm, soulful and familiar hard rock of tracks like the bluesy “One Day We’ll Be Free Again”, rhythmic “Black”, and sleazy “The Dead City”.
As Dopamine progresses, the album is fully fleshed out by influences of pop rock (“Dancing in the Sunshine”), southern rock (“Last Orders”), singer/songwriter (“Unraveling”), and even jazz rock (“Big Pink Supermoon”). Yet all of this experimentation is accomplished without ever losing sight of the band’s initial musical ambition, and that is to rock your face off. They do so well, thanks to not just their ageless performances on their own respective instruments, but also the manner of their songs, which sound more like that of a band of 20 something year olds than a band of 60 something year olds. It’s as if somewhere around the release of their 1990 debut, Backstreet Symphony, Thunder drank shots from the fountain of youth, ensuring they’d play and stay young forever.
Packed to the brim with energy and flash, Dopamine is an eclectically exciting hard rock album, bound to please old schoolers and their kin alike. Thunder still roars with fury, bringing the naysayers and nonbelievers to their knees at maximum volume and power. If anyone’s gonna be Laughing on Judgement Day, it’s these rock n’ roll veterans.
7 out of 10
Label: BMG
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Bad Company, Whitesnake, AC/DC