Review – A Sound of Thunder “The Lesser Key of Solomon” (Neptune)

When ya write a review of an album that first sentence is always a bitch. More so when the album has soundly kicked your ass for the last 48 hours. That’s the case with “The Lesser Key of Solomon”, A Sound of Thunder’s fourth release.

As always in the interest of full disclosure I am a longtime supporter of this band but I feel that I can still maintain a fair outlook on their musical output and I believe that the album will speak for itself.

The album drops on September 9th but I have been given a rare PHYSICAL advance copy. That has allowed me to listen to this not only with headphones but also cranked on my car system. And I will tell you I have taken maximum advantage of this situation. Each way of listening yields a different experience and it’s nice to be able to have at both ways. With some nice headphones on (not those crappy ear buds) you can really hear all the nuances in the tracks while on the car system you get to revel in the sheer power of the tunes.

So the cast of characters hasn’t changed since “Time’s Arrow”. Chris Haren on drums, Jesse Keen and Josh Schwartz doing guitars and keys and of course the amazing vocals of Nina Osegueda. I should also note that once again Kevin Gutierrez has the production reigns. This is like old school metal with a band sticking with a producer for album after album only in this case they don’t get complacent they just get better.

As a Kickstarter supporter for this album I have gotten small glimpses of the work in progress but those snippets clearly did not represent what these guys have rolled out on this one. First off sonically it’s incredible. The bass sound is superb. It’s the tone that I think bass players aspire to. The drums are equally clear and present and those two elements just anchor everything else so solidly. And there’s plenty to anchor. One thing that struck me was the increased use of keyboards but they never sound forced or out of place. I would characterize the B3 parts as the best use of that sound since Deep Purple. As usual the guitar parts are set in that nice midrange that allows them room to breathe and compliment the vocals. And the vocals, well I’ve never made any bones about the fact that Nina is one of my favorite vocalists out there and the performance here does nothing to diminish that.

With all that out of the way let’s dig in.

The album kicks off with “Nexus of Realities” more an intro than an actual track it does set the mood nicely. Now the ensuing “Udoroth” is another thing entirely. This is classic ASOT. Fast and in your face with unrelenting vocals and their trademarks spiraling guitar lines. This track cannot and should not be ignored. Clearly this could easily be the single off the disc and a killer opening track for a live set. That one transitions to “Fortuneteller” a mid tempo track featuring some nicely woven guitars over a straightforward keyboard pad. Later in the track they make use of the B3 for a very cool breakdown. This track reminds me what it would sound like if you combined DIo era Sabbath with Deep Purple MK2.

Next up is “The Boy Who Could Fly”. This one is probably the most commercial sounding track I have ever heard Nina sing. This could easily sit well on terrestrial radio (I’m still working out if that’s good or bad). Clearly though there’s a depth and a story behind the lyrics and that in my opinion is what sets this one apart from the normal commercial song. I did i mention that Josh throws down one of the tastiest solos I have ever heard from him on this too.

Track 5 “Elijah” is a near ten minute epic clocking in at 9:30. Talk about deep themes this really hits it out of the park. Cleverly Nina never lays it out fully and leaves just enough to your imagination to come up with your own interpretation about what is really going on in this one. It definitely ups the eerie factor. This is also one of those tracks where Nina takes you on a journey by essentially speaking in each characters voice which creates almost a mini rock opera. Instrumentation on this is also excellent with a metric shit ton of stuff going on.

After three “lighter” tracks ASOT turns back to the heavy with “Master of Pain”. A soon as I saw the title I knew this was going to go places and I’m pretty damn sure that Nina had a blast writing this one. If this one doesn’t create a legion of S&M devotees I don’t know what will. Nina has clearly mined the thin line between ecstasy and agony and put it to words in an undeniably effective way. If you don’t listen to the lyrics on this one you are denying yourself a very cool experience. The lyrics on this will blow the mind of any of those sheltered housewives out there that are so enamored by “Fifty Shades of Grey”. This one also contains another killer wah inflected Josh solo on it. One of the best tracks on the disc in my opinion.

From this point on Nina goes full on Mercyful Fate/King Diamond and that’s a good thing. First up is “Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb” a way cool tune about revenge from the grave. The double bass wok on this one is so freaking tight but it doesn’t hit you in the face because they didn’t go for that booming cannon bass sound it just sits there nicely in the mix. If you ever wanted to hear Josh do some Floyd-like soling this is where he does it. Nice B3 riffing on this one too. And I gotta say that some bands would have probably gone overboard on the Egyptian thing and made a campy mess not so with these guys. ASOT has made a horror classic with this one.

“Black Secrets” is pure classic hard rock riffing. What to not like about that? Solid hooky riffs. B3 in the breakdown. Even a tiny drum solo in there. Great mid tempo track with a classic 70’s vibe.

Track 9 “One Empty Grave” starts out with some very stripped down backing and it lets Nina’s vocals and the subject matter shine. The absence of stuff really lends to the ghostly nature of the subject. One thing that drives me nuts on this one is the backing vocals. There’s another voice in there and I have no idea who it is. Perhaps it’s Veronica Freeman but there’s nothing on the advance copy about it. Why does it matter? Cuz the voices sound so greasing good together that it’ll make the hairs on your arms go up. Update: Josh gave me a shout out and assured me that Nina is the only female voice on the album. Once again proving how versatile Nina is. So it’s a more down tempo tune but the mood created is so inescapable that you just have to listen.

The disc wraps up with “House of Bones” clocking in at 8:39 it initially seems like a long tune however the first 1:15 is an intro piece. It almost a reprise of some of the themes heard in track one. That transition to a cool almost proggy bass line. There’s a real jazz fusion element n this one between the bass and the guitar. Reminded me a bit of Jaco meets Blow by Blow era Jeff Beck for a good chunk of it however they bring the metal about three minutes in along with a nice bluesy vocal line from Nina.

ASOT has taken ten tracks of heavy and supernatural themed songs and created another killer release with “The Lesser Key of Solomon” Listening to all of it just enforces the notion that this band is still growing and that they haven’t become complacent or predictable. If this is your first ASOT experience I would urge you to go back and explore the prior release too. Each one has a unique tone and experience.

So what’s the FoM score on this one? With ten tracks and a max score of 1 point per track I’m going with 9.5 out of 10. “The Boy Who Could Fly” leaned a little too commercial for my tastes but the solo and the lyrical depth gave it a half point. This one’s another release that I think is well worth your wharf earned cash from an independent band that continues to do things on their own terms. The fact that the fans continue to heavily support everything they do should be a clear indication that these guys are the real deal.