adg211288 Metal Renaissance (2011) is the debut full-length album by US heavy metal act A Sound of Thunder. It was self-released by the band and follows a self-titled EP (2009) and a non-album single, Justice at Last (2010). Metal Renaissance is the first release to feature the line-up of Nina Osegueda (vocals), Josh Schwartz (guitars), Jesse Keen (bass, keyboards) and Chris Haren (drums) which is the line-up the band has stuck with to date (February 2015), though some bass on the album is played by former member Ben Washburn while opening track Wee Beastie is actually performed by the Celtic group Painted Trillium.

Given that I'm reviewing Metal Renaissance from the perspective of someone who heard all three of the following A Sound of Thunder albums first (I started with second album Out of the Darkness (2012)) it actually comes as a bit of a shock how much the band progressed between albums one and two. Metal Renaissance isn't a bad record per se but it is much more bland and generic sounding traditional heavy metal compared to what would follow. That's forgivable for a debut record but it does also mean that Metal Renaissance is far from the best starting point for any newcomer to A Sound of Thunder and it's not an album that even I as a big fan of the group can see myself putting on for a spin too much. This one is pretty much the sound of a band still finding their feet.

That's not to say that it doesn't have its moments that push more towards the quality of the following releases. A particular favourite of mine from this record is My Name is Doom (The Doctor Is In) which better captures the aggression of the music I know the band is capable of, though it does seem a little overlong at over the ten minute mark. The rest of the album usually seems like the group is struggling to find the power to really belt the songs out with the best of them and that's true of both the musicianship and Nina's vocals, both things that, as I said, greatly improved on Out of the Darkness and have continued to do so with Time's Arrow (2013) and The Lesser Key of Solomon (2014).

Metal Renaissance is a good album, it's just not a great one. I'm glad I heard it last out of the four A Sound of Thunder records released so far as I think that if I had heard this one first I might have been tempted to write the band off, which would have been a big mistake. Worth owning then if you are a fan of the following albums, but safely skippable otherwise. 3 Stars.