Royal Thunder : "Rebuilding the Mountain"

 I have been looking forward to this one. It's been seven years since their last album and the band went through some personal shit before returning reconfigured with drummer Adam Diprima back in the fold. The album opens with a more introspective feeling, before roaring back with the first single from this album, "The Knife". Things get darker and heavier on " Now Here Nowhere" . The heaviest element of the album might be the lyrics. Their lyrics have always felt personal, but this time around there is more emotional catharsis to them which empowers Parsonz vocal performance. This time around it's a case of when you point the finger, three are pointing back at themselves. 

"Twice" finds her doing some interesting things with her voice to dip down for a note and come back up in her head register. There is an almost country feel to how some of the chords are picked out. "Pull" finds the more soulful aspects of who they are coming to the forefront. The stripped-down approach to songwriting means the band gets to the point. The more economic arrangements reflect this as every minute counts. "Live to Live" allows Miny's voice the space to wander, before they build the song up to soar off rather than explode. They do stomp on the volume and rock out more with "My Ten" which is driven by Parsonz's bass line. 

"Fade" grew on me by the second listen. It's a smoky rock tune that breezes by, but it reminded me of the conversation I have seen online regarding who should replace Chris Cornell in the event of a Soundgarden reunion, and her performance on this song is a good argument for Parsonz to fill the role. She belts out even harder on "the King". Once again the reverb-tinged phrasing of the guitar brings hints of country to mind.  "Dead Star' closes the album. More riff-oriented than the bulk of the album that slithers around you like a fever dream, it is a reminder that they are at least influenced by metal bands, an influence that fades further in the horizon. I will give this album a 10 for now to give it more time to grow on. They can not be accused of doing more of the same and the lengthy break brought a fresh coat of sonic musing to the table.