THUNDERSTONE – The Burning (Remastered)

With the tons of remastered releases made by Metal Mind Records, a new edition was made to honor one of the first releases of the Finnish magicians, Thunderstone. As a definite part of the Finnish Metal scene, this band struck as an alternate version to the bombastic Stratovarius (or even a good one for Olaf Lenk’s At Vance). Judging from their stunning material so far, besides this reviewed album, they sometimes came to be much stronger from their fellow compatriots. The Burning is Thunderstone’s second album (originally released in 2004) and it turned out to be a beautiful creature. Inspired by 80s Melodic Heavy Metal/Power Metal, while adding a taste of the Hard Rock medicine, these guys applied their straightforward approach next to elements that transpired emotions on various levels.

No doubt about it that The Burning is a cash register of, more or less, certified hits. Even the weakest track, and it is tough to notice, has great melodies and charming attributes that were kept on a short leash. This baby is a classic to be remembered. Its lineup had been under preservation up until not long ago when the inspirational vocalist, Pasi Rantanen, and talented keyboard artist, Kari Tornack, left the band after participating in their last release with Thunderstone, Evolution 4.0. To wrap this up, The Burning is a fine memory from this pack of maestros and with the help of Metal Mind Records, it will continue to serve as additional memory of great melodic Metal.

Highlights: As it was written earlier, you would be able enjoy all of these flaming crackers, they represent high-quality melody, catchiness, on a safe level without too much sticky superglue, delightful rhythms and the rest you can figure out on your own.

One last important thing, Metal Mind Records, as always, left you a small present behind. With the original tracks of The Burning, you will be treated right with three cover tracks of Metallica, Judas Priest and Manowar. Besides the jewel covers, the label let you take a peak, maybe more than just a peak, on the band’s earlier demos of tracks that were inserted into their debut album. Knock yourself out with this one.