So, the existence of a young little band called A Sound of Thunder came to my attention. More especifically, yesterday I discovered them through the album they released this very year, titled Out of the Darkness, which kicks a fair amount of ass. What we have here is a modern take on old school heavy/power metal, with lots of big hooks, solid riffs and the very strong, versatile and somewhat unorthodox vocals of Nina Osegueda. Now, the album might be a bit too long (its length extends over an hour), but I found it to be a very rewarding listen, and very complete to boot. You have punchy, short songs, more anthemic and midpaced tracks, and even a couple of long-winded epics. Here are a couple more songs to make up your mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngw5FZexZZk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Xq-ciSQSM

So yes, if strong choruses, powerful and driving riffs and percussion and a soaring, quirky vocalist are your kind of thing, then for all means check this out.