Thunder Rider from Montreal, Canada, have been active as a band since early 1980. They play epic US metal, not unlike Cirith Ungol and Lordian Guard. So far the band have released only 2 albums.

TALES OF DARKNESS & LIGHT (1987, 1997) INDEPENDENT

Always on the hunt for Christian metal bands I haven't heard yet, I stumbled across Thunder Rider from Canada. Fronted by vocalist/guitar-player John Blackwing, these guys first released their debut album in 1987. Ten years later this independent effort saw a re-release on CD. Two more songs, recorded at 2 different session, were added. The music of Thunder Rider can best be described as epic heavy metal. This seems to be quite an American based genre, with other bands like Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road and Warlord being other proficient acts herein. Common for all these bands are a fascination with fantasy lyrics, and "Conan" imagery. Thunder Rider has the sound and the image, but one thing sets them apart from the mass, they have lyrics based on their Christian beliefs. The music features heavy guitars, layered with haunting keyboards, and thunderous drums. Epic metal has also much in common with the early doom scene, especially the band Trouble. That doomy sound is reminiscent, but the more epic bands don't play as slow as the doom bands. 'Tales Of Darkness & Light' is a solid release within it's genre, and is hailed by many fans of the stlye. There are some fillers on the CD, but for the most part, I find it quite enjoyable. "Death To Death" is an awesome song, that'll get you humming the chorus for hours.

Killer tracks: Death To Death, Executioner, For Christ's Sake

TALES OF DARKNESS & LIGHT - CHAPTER II (2002) INDEPENDENT

Thunder Rider returns after 15 years of silence! The band never broke up, as far as I can tell, they just didn't release any new music, save for the reissue on the first album on CD in 1997. Still the second chapter in the 'Tales Of Darkness & Light' saga sounds as though it was recorded at the heel of the first one, independently released, and self produced as their both are. This is another slab of epic US metal, with loads of doom influences. Strange titles such as "Lucky Devil" and "Heavy Metal Wizzard" shows us that the Christian lyrical approach is not your average white metal band effort either. Rather the lyrics fits nicely into their mid-evil image and sound. The production is not something you'd hear from Peter Tägtgren or Andy Sneap, but this is they way it should be. That is what gives this music it's unique charm and charisma. And 'Chapter II' has 10 times better production than 'Chapter I'. 16 tracks might not be much considering that the band have had 15 years to write this material. But I still think the album would have been even better if 3 or 4 songs had been left unreleased. The booklet is very nice, with each track having a unique peace of art representing it. The CD also came with a guitar-pick (pictured above), a sticker and a tattoo. But the cover art itself leaves a little bit to be desired. I've read that the band sees it as representing life, as all life as we know it comes from water. Whatever, it's the music that is the main focus for me. And the music slays!

Killer tracks: Thy Kingdom Come, New Born, Lucky Devil, Heavy Metal Wizzard, Evil Slayer, Day Of The Damned