Thundermother – Black And Gold

Thundermother
Black And Gold
AFM Records
Out: August 19^th, 2022
Playing time: 42:51

The band has been around for about thirteen years – Thundermother from Sweden. In 2009, they were still one of the few All Female Metal bands. And was thus a role model for many other bands. In 2017, the band was on the verge of calling it quits after four of the five members left the band. Guitarist Filippa Nässil was suddenly all alone. But giving up was not her thing. She looked for new comrades-in-arms. From then on, Thundermother continued as a quartet, stronger and better than ever before. With “Black And Gold”, the fifth album in the band’s history has now been released.

With “The Light In The Sky”, the Swedes move in the tradition of AC/DC. There is no need to say much more about exceptional singer Guernica Mancini. With her Rock voice, she has a major influence on the Thundermother sound. Add to that the hard drumming of Emlee Johansson and the pumping bass of Mona Lindgren. And bandleader Filippa Nässil fires off one riff after another and can shine with an excellent guitar solo. The title track “Black And Gold” is one of the highlights of the album. It doesn’t have the heaviness of the opener, but it is very melodic. And with the sing-along chorus, it definitely has airplay qualities. Guitar solo? But of course. Filippa doesn’t let herself be deprived of that. With “Raise Your Hands”, the heaviness is stepped up a bit, but the tempo is slowed down a little. “Hot Mess” is a great Power-Ballad. Guernica’s singing is outstanding. For all her power, she also puts a lot of feeling into it. On “Wasted”, Thundermother once again poach in AC/DC territory. This is the sweaty sound that made the band well-known. “Watch Out” offers fast and hard Rock. All four go along with the high tempo set by the drummer. The song is also in heavy rotation on rock radio stations. Back to AC/DC it goes with “I Don’t Know You”. This could well have been a track on an album by the Australians. Surprise!? Thundermother also feel right at home in Southern Rock, as they show with “Looks No Hooks”. With “Loud And Free” it’s back to roots again, with typical Thundermother sound. On “Try With Love” Filippa again fires off riffs every second, driven by her drummer Emlee. This then continues seamlessly on “Stratosphere”. For the guitar passages, Filippa will probably use a half-drunk beer bottle again live. The album ends with the second great power ballad “Borrowed Time”.

With “Black And Gold”, Thundermother continue exactly where they left off with “Heat Wave“. And they easily manage to top the previous album. This is probably the band’s best and most varied album. They easily play in the leading group of Heavy Metal. Chapeau!

Thundermother – I Don’t Know You: https://youtu.be/fRBClXIZSms

Lineup:

Filippa Nässil – Guitar
Guernica Mancini – Vocals
Emlee Johansson – Drums
Mona Lindgren – Bass

Track list:

• The Light In The Sky
• Black And Gold
• Raise Your Hands
• Hot Mess
• Wasted
• Watch Out
• I Don’t Know You
• All Looks No Hooks
• Loud And Free
• Try With Love
• Stratosphere
• Borrowed Time