VELVET THUNDER

Aeonblack is a hard rock/power metal band from Baden-Württemberg in the South West of Germany who formed in 2003 and prior to this, from 1988 to 2003 were known as Groggy Elks. There is not a lot of recorded product available with a solitary EP in 2007 and it was not until 2015 that their debut, Metal Bound, was released. There have been a couple of changes in the band since then with the band now comprising Holger Berger on vocals, Piet Steinbach on drums, Ferdinand Panknin on guitar and bass and Michael Maunze on guitar, keyboards and bass. The band is currently looking for a bass player so if you are in the area and are a master of the 4 string then give them a call!

The Time Will Come is another of those wonderful albums that makes you sit up and pay attention from the first crashing beat and within 10 seconds you just know that this is an album that you’re going to love. This is traditional metal as it should be played with screaming and soaring vocals that are powerful and thoroughly in command with bass and drums set to skull crushing setting and twin guitars in unison that lay down riffs with the force of a cruise missile and searing, blistering lead breaks that always, and I mean always, hit the mark. The sound is based purely on the world’s greatest ever metal band, yes, Judas Priest plus Accept and a smattering of Iron Maiden so you know that is going to be a brilliant metal release. What truly surprises though is that these guys have the look of veteran’s yet they have only released just the two solitary albums and that is a great tragedy as they are simply phenomenal and should have a back catalogue as long as your arm! If you are a fan of Judas Priest and the myriad of offshoots that they have inspired then you will love this relentless and intense metal extravaganza. Holger Berger is of the Rob Halford class of singers and the album also puts me in mind of the latest by Ross The Boss and the stunning album by The Three Tremors which features the incredible vocal talents of Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, Sean ‘The Hell Destroyer’ Peck and Harry ‘The Tyrant’ Conklin. If you haven’t heard this yet then do so immediately as it is metal at its finest.

The Time Will Come is raw, elemental and crushing metal with more guitar solos than most bands achieve in a lifetime of recording and the song are simply sensational. From the opening refrain of Specter In Black you can tell you are in the presence of a band that knows how to rock big style and they deliver momentous and delicious brain numbing metal for the next 54 minutes as you forget that anything in the world other than Aeonblack exists. There are a number of quieter acoustic moments that give a lull in the proceedings which allows a moments respite to draw breath but these are simply designed to set up the next devastating attack to batter you senseless. The cover art sets the standards and you just know from looking at it that you are about to embark on a heavy metal journey to hell and that you just might not be coming back but when metal is good then you just have to go with the flow.

Simply buy this album as you are going to love it, guaranteed!