Atlanta hard rockers reassemble post-dissolution for a triumphant return to creative peaks.
After featuring in my Lost Rocks 2010-17 piece last year, wondering what the heck is going on with bands who haven’t released albums in 6+ years, Royal Thunder dropped an album the same day as Queens of the Stone Age, which was a surprise to me because I saw no pre-release info about it, and I thought they had broken up. In recent interviews Mlny Parsonz referenced going to some dark places during their hiatus. I’m less interested in lurid gossip and am just chuffed that they made it through to their fourth album.
After listening to it a few times, I went back to their previous three albums and EP to refresh my memory of their progression. While I can’t help but favor the album that initially dazzled me, CVI (2012), their evolution hasn’t really involved any jarring left turns. While their original roots in stoner doom and heavy psych are no longer primary elements, they’re still there, even though they were never an overwhelming factor. Even on their 2010 self-titled EP, Fleetwood Mac style harmonies were interwoven with textures drawn from a wide range of influences. I noted alt rock elements all the way back to Crooked Doors (2015) with some smoky atmospherics evoking Afghan Whigs. While a track like “Fade” could vaguely evoke late period Soundgarden, for the most part, it’s nearly impossible to extract any direct comparisons with other bands. Like Baroness (who just announced their sixth album, Stone, is coming in September), they retain their signature sound, and of course Mlny Parsonz remains a secret weapon, one of the best vocalists of any genre this century.
While previous albums were around an hour long, this one is pretty concise, packing ten songs in under 40 minutes, just six minutes longer than their EP. The simmering “Drag Me” feels like it’s going to build to a boil, but aside from an elegant guitar solo from Josh Weaver that finishes with a noir twang, it holds back. Since Will Fiore left, the band has remained a trio, with all guitar duties falling on Weaver’s able hands. He shines throughout, such as on “Dead Star,” which suggests what Radiohead might sound like if they tried out hard rock. Single “The Knife” shows Parsonz unleashing her soulful powerhouse of a voice that inspired Janis Joplin comparisons, and “Now Here / No Where” ups the heaviness with some pounding ferocity. “Live to Live” shows off her range, from clear, high notes to controlled roars. This would be the song they’d use if Royal Thunder became huge stars and they did a movie about them. After persevering through mind control cults, marriage troubles and breakups, this would be the song where audiences are startled by how Parsonz’ singing has only gotten more powerful, come to their senses and properly lose their minds. | Buy
