Märvel– Thunderblood Heart
When your global league of super heroes look to wind down from a long night of good-doing, this is the rock that they produce…
Based out of Sweden, this hard-working and hard-rocking trio burn the candle at both end without abandon. Their nights are spent hunting down criminals the world over, occasionally running into a super-villain needing capture. Vocalo, Animalizer and the Ambassador share a loose association with John Steen, Ulrik Bostedt and Tony Samuelsson. These are the names they are forced to use when they don their instruments to protect their super-identities (I know, shhh). They have given honor to their most recent fallen super-villain by naming this installment after him. Thunder Heart was once a diver who was unfortunately stung in the heart by an eelpike (not quite sure if this was meant as a tribute to Steve Irwin or not but the parallel is there). While he lost his former life, Thunder Heart gained the ability to shoot electric charges from his fingers.
Once Märvel had finished with one of their nemeses, they settled in to document this series of chronicles in musical form. What we receive is the gift of rock. Thunder Heart is the second full-length put out by this trio.
John Steen provides us with vocals and guitar with only the fervor a superhero could produce. His vocals are amped and energetic throughout, sometimes venturing into areas that his vocal chords are not necessarily ready to reach, but who are we to criticize? The guitars are chunky and awesome giving a thick, solid sound and some great leads and riffs. The bass is provided by cognac connoisseur, Ulrik Bostedt. His work is jointed by the percussion of Tony Samuelsson. The sound that we get when these three reproduce is a raw sound comparable to the great sounds of the ‘70s (pardon me) “Super” groups sans stretchpants and glitter. These guys add some balls and drive to the sound. When I was listening through, I caught glimpses and strong odors of bands such as Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, Turbonegro and Jet. For a good impression of what you will hear on this album, I recommend you give a listen to the track “I Wanna Know You (a little bit better)”. For more information, you can visit their website at www.marvel.nu (apparently the internet does not allow umlauts) or their myspace page at www.myspace.com/marveltheband
I’ll have to give these guys three Ikea franchises for their musical and heroic efforts.