REVIEW: Black Sword Thunder Attack "Black Sword Thunder Attack"

Release date: 25 April, 2025

Many claim to be “cult” bands but very few truly are. One of them is the mysterious BLACK SWORD THUNDER ATTACK. A band that dwells in true mysticism, lyricism and mystery, a band that carries the spirit of true epic metal. While their music is strongly connected with the divine works of William J Tsamis in Warlord and Lordian Guard, BLACK SWORD THUNDER ATTACK manage to create a truly obscure atmosphere that awakens inner feelings, the forces of light and true metal majesty. After years of wait, the first full-length is finally here! Recorded at the BLACK SWORD THUNDER ATTACK dungeons in Kalabaka, Greece.

Review

“The Black Sword” began the album with some soft acoustic guitar, before the electrics gave way to a killer lo-fi riff. As it fully kicked in, the motif of the guitars really made me think of a cavalry charge. While the muted production of the vocals isn’t something I’m particularly fond of, it’s clear that BSTA wish for their instrumentation to speak first and loudly. Ultimately, this was one that I felt came oh so close to shifting into that final gear, but something was missing. Still, it was a nice start to the album.

“Don’t Hear The Sirens” had some nifty ambient keyboard/synths to start off, like something out of Krull or Conan the Barbarian. This track was riffs galore all throughout, and while I’ve not yet came around to BSTA’s vocal approach when it comes to mixing, the vocal performance itself is magic. Singer Mareike has a stellar set of pipes, the little bits of vibrato she peppers in throughout her singing is nice.

“On The Way Of Acheron” was our third track, and once more opened with some keyboards, albeit ones that reminded me more of video game fantasy music as opposed to fantasy music in film. The smooth acoustic guitar that evoked feelings of sitting in a firelit tavern after a great adventure. In this song, I actually felt that the vocals were a standout, while the production was still a bit too lo-fi for my tastes, they felt more like they belonged here. The way the song flows like a proper bardic hymn had me thinking of Blackmore’s Night, and Candace Night’s vocals in particular.

A nice piece of ambient keys set the mood for “Evil Sorcery”, before a slick bass groove soon erupted into a proper headbanging riff. Can’t quite explain it, but this one reminded me of Warlord. This one was solid all throughout, but nothing in particular that really stood out either. Just a fine middle-of-the-road track.

“Through The Fires Of Hell” reminded me of Heavy Load’s comeback record almost right out of the gate. And once more, this one had the riffs, but if the vocals were just a touch more hi-fi, then I think this one would’ve been something special. As of press time however, it was just fine, with some occasional glimmers to show the potential.

“Anvils Of War” was another where I felt that the vocals were a real standout, the instruments didn’t overpower the vocals to such a degree as in other tracks. When that was coupled with some gnarly riffs (and stealthily stellar basslines) and I thought this one was a worthy track on the album. If I had one gripe with this track, it’s that I’d have liked to hear it a bit longer.

The slow opening build for “Last Flight Of The Eagle” was a real standout. Similarly, the overall melody and flow of the song itself was very… medieval sounding (if that makes any sort of sense). The slower tempo tracks are the ones that I feel benefit most from the approach to production that BSTA takes, that way Mareike’s vocals are still able to be heard without the cacophony of instruments rendering them to a whisper.

Holy hell, do I love the opening for “Master Of Hell”! After some ambient storms to set the mood, we get an incredible riff that was almost dissonant but at just the right amount. Yet again, I felt like the production came together much more here than on other tracks, particularly the first half of the album. Here, Mareike’s vocals worked almost to perfection in tandem with the music itself.

“Song In The Night” was a total 180 from the previous few songs. While I don’t think this was a bad song, in fact it did have some nice vocals and good lyric writing, but I could hardly hear them. Ultimately I found this one to just be a bit forgettable, despite BSTA’s efforts to the contrary.

“Gates Of Fire” had another great opening to it, reminding me a bit of that brief theme that plays in RPGs when you win a battle (complimentary). This was also the longest track on the album, and going into it, I was expecting something a bit different or unique to set it apart from the others (More on that below). The overall main theme, as mentioned above, is nice though and hearing it reprise to end the track and album was cool.

Conclusion

This one was… frustrating, to say the least. While the instrumentation was all solid throughout, there wasn’t a really standout moment from any instrument in particular (besides the keyboards and occasional guitar flourish). The production will be the main sticking point here for a lot of people, myself included. If the more “lo-fi” production is your thing, then this might be your jam, but it wasn’t mine. Adding on to that, another flaw persists throughout, the better songs are simply far too short. Ultimately, the songs felt a bit too repetitive and samey for me, to the point that it actually became difficult to finish the review. As a non-musician, who has no idea of music theory or any of that jargon, I will never score an album below a 5, and that’s the score I’ll award Black Sword Thunder Attack.

TheNwothm Score: 5/10

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