Morbid Furiosity...

Dead Thunder - DEAD! (2012)

Following up on our review of Dead Thunder's Broken English EP from a couple of weeks ago, we're now checking out the band's DEAD! EP, also from 2012.  Why?  Well, I really like what I heard with the first one, and I'd like to get this crew some more exposure, in the hopes that they'll have the chance to put together some more music to play at high volume and enjoy further.
That explained, let's get into it!  Running four tracks and recorded from live improvisation, DEAD! again finds the brothers of DT turning out solid jammy riffs, bursts of lively tangentialism, twisted bridges, and gnarly tone-play from the guitar to match the drummer's rhythm juggling.  The instrumental focus allows them to keep revving harder and weirder without having to drop back into the calm of a chorus, but they do give enough time with the riffs to instigate some serious body-swaying and/or head-banging, no small trick for stuff done on the fly.
And, as on the other EP, Dead Thunder get across a clear sense of character and humor with the songs, from the low-note wallows to the tears across extensive shredding and smashing.  Quite a talented duo, and well worth your time to check out over on their SoundCloud page, particularly as it won't cost you anything but time.  Here's hoping they make some more music materialize in the near future!
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Boredoms, Daisy Chainsaw, Lightning Bolt, Terminal Cheesecake, Wizard Rifle

SoundCloud

Dead Thunder - How Come No One Questions Our Song Titles? (320 kbps)

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Snapping Sounds Like Limbs...

Dead Thunder - Broken English EP (2012)

Picking this one out for review was a tough call, because (as the sharper-eyed among you will have already noticed) it came out back in 2012.  But the guys behind this music seemed so earnest, and the mix of styles so tempting, that I decided 'Hell with it,' and slapped it on to play.  To give a little more background, Dead Thunder are a pair of brothers from Illinois, doing their music with guitar and a drum-set, using stylistic elements drawn from stoner rock, doom metal, psychedelic, noise, and several other groupings.  On top of that, all four songs on this release are improvised, making their grooves that much more impressive.
On first listen, what'll probably grab your attention, aside from the gnarly guitar tone, is the rhythms the two members play through together.  Spinning up tangled beats, slickly diving into a smooth break-down, and collecting themselves for another go through the weird poundings is something you'll hear a fair amount of on the album, along with some tasty riffs that tend to last just long enough to pull you in before switching it up with another one.
Though it's billed as an EP, the release has 40 minutes of tunes to it, so newcomers will have plenty of material to check out while getting used to the band's style.  And while it doesn't have the production values of a major-label release, I'd urge all fans of creative heavy psych to check this out for themselves and get a sense of how talented this pair of brothers is.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Celophys, Meanderthal, Lightning Bolt, Sleep, Wizard Rifle

SoundCloud

Dead Thunder - The Death Of Lucifer (Rain) Dance Sam

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