A Sound of Thunder – Tales from the Deadside
Release Date: September 25, 2015
Label: Mad Neptune
After their last disappointing release, A Sound of Thunder has returned with their latest album Tales from the Deadside. According to guitarist Josh Schwartz, “The story of Shadowman, his alter-ego Jack Boniface, and the many characters in his world inspired us to create what we believe is our best album to date.” “We let the story lead us to places our music has never been before, combining all the elements of supernatural horror, drama, action and adventure found in the comics.” Well, I honestly have to say that while the story lead them to places, these places were places that I just had no interest in going to nor did I feel welcomed to.
One of the things I love about a band is when they make all of their fans and listeners feel welcomed into their world. Sometimes, bands can take a concept too far and by doing so can alienate and turn away said fans and that is exactly what A Sound of Thunder did for me with Tales from the Dead Side. Tales from the Deadside is nothing more than a niche conceptual album and it’s not even a strong or even remotely good concept to be honest. I mean, if you’re a fan of this particular comic or even into this kind of shit I can see how you would really enjoy this. None of the songs stand out lyrically or musically as particularly strong but I do have to point out that “Punk Mambo” is without a doubt one of the most ridiculous moments I’ve heard from a band.
With Tales from the Deadside, there is no gripping, moving , or even remotely interesting story. It’s just a long, drawn out, boring album with corny dialogue and songs that just seem to go nowhere. If you’re a fan of comics and this particular comic I’m sure you will ooze all over this album. As a matter of fact, the fact that I disliked their last two releases so much has me thinking I need to go back and re-listen to their previous material to see if my feelings on that material may have changed at all. All in all, I have to say that Tales from the Deadside very well may be the band’s Shark Sandwich.
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