THUMPER – Delusions Of Grandeur

THUMPER are set to light the touch paper with this their debut album, ‘Delusions Of Grandeur’ comes in after 3 EP tapes and a whirlwind of interest from the media, this huge interest itself can sometimes be enough to steer my ears away from a band, here at the Punksite we pride ourselves in championing the independent & DIY scene, veering away from the world of stadium bands and commercially hot potatoes, but every now and then a band/artist comes along that bucks the trend, bands that just deserve every precious second of your time, regardless of stature, the likes of Weezer, Green Day, Linkin Park and Foo Fighters fit this bill.  So where do THUMPER stand here, well on the edge of a precipice, just about to be launched off into the stratosphere.

Two drummers, three Guitars and a Bass is plenty enough to make a racket big enough to lift the roof of any stadium and this album fits exactly that bill, yet it would be a crime to not see this band up close and personal, a fact that may elude the majority of us (sad but inevitable).  Delusions Of Grandeur comes in with ten tracks that range between just over 2 mins long, to an eye watering 8 mins 19 secs, but what is truly brilliant about this fact, is the total lack of switch off time you feel yourself getting, every moment of what is much referred to with other bands as self indulgent meandering, is filled by THUMPER with so much interest, that minutes feel like seconds.

‘Fear Of Art’ is the explosion that kicks off this album, a banger that has overtones of Weezer, every corner of this song is taken up with melody, riffs and licks that are relentlessly pushed along by the juggernaut that is that huge double drum set up.  The wall of sound and musical trickery that knits this album together is nothing less than a firework display going off in your ears, ‘Ad Nauseam’ and ‘The Loser’ throw down an epicness that may not have been heard since the likes of Jim Steinman and Meatloaf graced the studio, yet this isn’t a monsters of rock opera, its still has a punk edge to it that is merely scraped along the ground every now and then.  ‘Greedy Guts’ shows this aplenty, a Nirvana esque heart and soul moment.  ’Strychnine’ on the other hand, strips everything back to the bone, although this still has its very own darkness, a darkness that rears its head in the especially brilliant ‘Down In Heaven’ another stripped back introspective song.

’25’ takes the crown as diamond among diamonds, somehow it just can’t get any better than this, can it?, a relentless forward motion of a song that breaks every bone in your body as it slams you to the floor with its pile driver of a chorus and slammin beat! 

Throughout every track in this eclectic rock/punk/pop/indie album you get delivered a breadth and depth of musical experiences that range from the stratosphere to the subterranean, its a ride you never want to get off.

Not for a long time have you heard an album that can be self indulgent to a point, yet makes you feel like you’ve been strapped to a firework!  A no holds barred Rock n Roll fest of riffage, melody and well kept chaos.

Head on Over to the following for Pre-orders, Official Site and everything else THUMPER. Out 18th March.

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