Demonicorn

Thunder And Lightning has proven to be quite a considerable force in the world of metal, with both of their prior albums being quite successful, boosting the band's prominence in their portion of the world, which is a very pleasing thing to hear for someone with such fondness for this band as myself. Though the previous album, The Ages Will Turn, was generally considered a good, strong release, it was agreed that 2013's album, In Charge of the Scythe was a staggeringly good album that showed the kind of power this band possessed. So, six years later and with small lineup changes, there's certainly an intrigued desire from myself when I started listening to this album; as much as I love Scythe, as I shall simply refer to it as, I think it's perhaps foolish to make comparisons to it and everything else from Thunder And Lightning, as I did in my review of The Ages Will Turn. With that in mind, the album Demonicorn:

Now, if you, like me, had seen the cover art for this album and the music video for the track Demonicorn itself, and remembered the fact that a member of Alestorm was featured in the previous album, then you might have had concerns that Thunder And Lightning was about to take a turn into the lands of humor metal. Well, lay those concerns to rest; Demonicorn is an absolute kick-ass album and is very distinct from the rest of the band's discography. It pulls a bit of surprise right off the bat with the opening track, All Your Lies, being an actual song rather than an into track, done before only by Scythe, in addition to the song being six minutes long - longer than most TnL songs get. It's a song of good length and quality, allowing the new guitarist, Fabrizio Agabiti, to show his stuff, which is good and blends seamlessly into the music, meaning that without being specifically told, I don't think anyone would even notice the difference in guitars. To some that might be bad, as it means this musician isn't leaving much of his own mark on the band, but for me it's good because he shows his ability to adapt to different bands and match it.

As well as this longer opener giving us a taste of a new guitarist, it also gives us the undeniable best part of the album: Norman Dittmar. Truth be told, he hasn't really been my favorite singer, but I enjoy his very recognizable and strong voice, as most power metal singers I hear either sound like Marc Hudson or Jens Carlsson. But I have to say, after only the first few songs, I absolutely loved Dittmar's vocals here; I can think of now better word to describe him on Demonicorn than fierce; when it rains it pours, and indeed when he shouts, he fucking roars, and it's great. Honestly, he sounds great from start to finish, be it while raising his voice to the sky or whilst simply coldly speaking his lines. He's never sounded bad in the past, but he's never sounded this good either.

Now, as for the album itself rather than the people on it, the title track is a perfectly enjoyable, if slightly uninspired song, being the second shortest on the album and seemingly just used to promote the album. But, as implied, it's not a bad listen and I have no impulse to skip it when listening to the album. The funny thing is that all four of the songs the follow it are incredibly good; Demmin has a slower, darker build up than the openers with a very memorable chorus. The Temple of Death is probably the hardest hitting track to be found here and it's an absolute blast. This probably would've been a better song to advertise the album with, despite being the second longest song on the album. God For a Day, my personal favorite track from the album, is the closest to a ballad the album has, with almost two minutes of slow music with softly sung lyrics, which leads into my next note:

While The Ages Will Turn offered quite a variety of speeds and approaches throughout, Demonicorn is pretty much all thrashing power metal all the time. This may divide some people as this can be seen as both a pro and a con; the album never stops and barely slows, you're not given many chances to breathe from start to finish, and will come down to personal taste weather or not this works for the album. Some people like sheer relentlessness, and it's less common in power metal compared to some other genres, so it's more special here, but if you want to just take a break and unwind a little, you won't really find a chance here. Personally, since the the heaviness is done so well, I think it's perfectly fine to hit this hard. The coupling of fewer, longer songs with the intensity that Demonicorn has really shakes up Thunder And Lightning's formula in good, effective ways.

That remark I made about the album being relentless isn't entirely true if you, like I, helped fund the album and got the extended, backer's version, which features two bonus tracks, a cover of I Heard it Through the Grapevine, and, most significantly, a piano version of All your Lies. Though, being so close to the end of the album, perhaps it shouldn't be counted. Either way, it's a good rendition of the song and may invoke memories of their acoustic version of Horizon seen in 2014's Slice of Life. The first impressions from this album based on the cover art and the title track's music video left me with concerns about the path my favorite band might take, and now here I am, blasting the album every other day. Demonicorn will blast your doubts even more than it does your speakers and shows Thunder And Lightning only in the best of light. Thunder And Lightning, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. See you all in 2022, yeah? If the release pattern keeps up, that is.

Best songs:
3rd: Heaven's Gate
2nd: The Temple of Death
1st: God For a Day

Although having been around for fifteen years Thunder And Lightning might be a name only real fans of the genre know. Hailing from Berlin/Germany their name stands for a straight-forward and relentless yet highly melodic brand of (power) metal. Taking inspiration from the classic Teutonic school of music (think Iron Savior, Running Wild or Grave Digger) as well as from various other regions around the globe their interpretation of this particular style might not win and innovation awards but who like myself has zero interest in bands re-inventing the wheel when it comes to music should take notice. Their full length number four with the slightly corny title “Demonicorn” (you know: like “demon” plus “unicorn” – got it?) is a prime example of how melodic power metal should sound like in 2019.

The riffs are sharp and perfectly executed and some of the chord progressions are of such an uplifting and rocking nature that one cannot help but bang the head while listening to the music. The rhythm and the lead guitars are perfectly harmonized offering a perfect blend of straight rocking grooves and some clever placed melodic elements. Of course there are solo parts to be found as well but those are never overdone hurting the flow of the music. The mixture of the crunchy main riffs and the lead harmonies makes up for a perfectly entertaining listening experience.

The drumming is fast and ferocious pushing the music even more forward. The speed and intensity are kept high over most of the playing time with only a few slowed down parts. Thankfully the band members are very talented songwriters making sure that each song is easily distinguishable from the others so that there is not one moment of boredom. That being said the album has a very stringent feel leading to a very satisfying listening experience when consuming the whole record in one sitting.

Most songs are highly addictive with a nice mixture of faster and a few mid-tempo tracks. There are some outstanding chorus parts to be found here and with Norman Dittmar Thunder And Lightning have a secret weapon covering the vocal spot. His soaring delivery is the icing on the cake turning each of the eight songs into a battle hymn of the highest order. He switches between an angry mid-ranged tone and high screams with ease without ever missing a single note.

The production is flawless with every instrument sounding crystal clear. The mix shows just the right balance between offering a certain crunchiness without burying any detail. It is pretty obvious that a lot of effort and passion has been put into “Demonicorn” and in case you are looking for a slice of catchy and delicious melodic power metal, look no further. This one will definitely have a place on my personal year end list 2019. Great stuff.