If you like your Classic Hard Rock the way it was delivered in the late seventies and the early eighties then Vancouver’s Thunderbird is a band that should be on your radar; and with ‘Heavyweight’ clocking in at 16 tracks and about an hour of music it’s well worth getting your teeth into.
Opener ‘Run for the Border’ is a great introduction to the band whose cumulative talents have graced numerous bands and tours with big names over the years. It’s the sort of song that has a bluesy edge and an organic feel to its stomp. Add to that a great vocal and cool guitars and you’re back in the late seventies. Think ZZ Top meets BTO meets Van Halen.
There’s more relentless pace to ‘Dog’ and its hard barroom groove, a bit more blues via AC/DC to ‘Earth’ and both show a great understanding of harmonies and creating a mood. Elsewhere the title track shows a great understanding of dynamics with its laid back verse and foot to the floor choruses. And that’s just the opening 4 cuts!
The band manages to sustain it too with plenty more to groove to. ‘The Set Up’ adds a little Metal and a great story; ‘Leave it Alone’ does it quick hard and dirty; and ‘On the Prowl’ features guest vocalist Steve Mulry who injects some bluesy swagger to a song that seems better each listen.
There are other gems to: ‘Go’ is an instrumental that rips it up Halen-style; whilst ‘Baton Rouge’ adds some nice blues and closer ‘Bloody Mary’ is full of wailing guitar that can only please.
Add this to your rotation if you love your rock like it used to be before genres ruled the airwaves and Metal was just louder guitars.
