"I was born on these streets, years ago/I was the king of the neighborhood," sings vocalist Tony Moore during "Bloodstreets." Such a line probably revealed the sentiment of guitarist Mark Reale perfectly, and it also encapsulates the mood of Thundersteel.
A comeback album after several years of inactivity, this 1988 album is an unheralded classic.
The disc takes cues from everything that was metal at the time, combining classic European styles reminiscent of Judas Priest's heavier moments (a premonition for Painkiller), thrashing guitars and pounding percussion indicative of the then-burgeoning underground thrash movement (it's got more riffs than Anthrax ever had), and undertones of the hair metal that was riding the charts at the time (especially in appearance) into a cohesive moment of refined ferocity.
Perhaps it was this diversity that doomed the record to commercial failure at the time of its release, or even the abundance of dexterous musical histrionics that at times overwhelm Thundersteel (it was well-received in Japan and other areas where techno-metal always had a sizable audience).
Regardless, Thundersteel has everything that makes metal great in all its overstated glory, making the disc an unappreciated classic.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ThundersteelMark Reale, Don Van Stavern | Riot | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | Fight or FallDon Van Stavern | Riot | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 3 | Sign of the Crimson StormMark Reale | Riot | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 4 | Flight of the WarriorTony Moore, Mark Reale, Don Van Stavern | Riot | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 32 MB |
| 5 | On Wings of EaglesTony Moore, Mark Reale, Don Van Stavern | Riot | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 42 MB |
| 6 | Johnny's BackTony Moore, Mark Reale, Don Van Stavern | Riot | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 7 | BloodstreetsTony Moore, Mark Reale | Riot | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | Run for Your LifeTony Moore, Mark Reale, Don Van Stavern | Riot | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Buried Alive (Tell Tale Heart)Bob Held, Bobby Jarzombek, Steve Loeb, Tony Moore, Mark Reale, Don Van Stavern | Riot | Play | 08:55 | 20 MB | 54 MB |
| 46 mins | 105 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 321 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Edwards | Drums |
| 2 | Bob Held | Composer |
| 3 | Rod Hui | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 4 | Bobby Jarzombek | Composer, Drums |
| 5 | Ada Lee | Hair Stylist, Make-Up |
| 6 | Steve Loeb | Composer, Producer |
| 7 | Tom Moore | Vocals |
| 8 | Tony Moore | Composer, Vocals |
| 9 | Mark Reale | Composer, Guitar, Producer |
| 10 | Riot | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 11 | Riot | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 12 | Nick Sansano | Engineer |
| 13 | Christopher Shaw | Assistant Engineer |
| 14 | Matt Tritto | Assistant Engineer |
| 15 | Don Van Stavern | Bass, Composer |
| 16 | Howie Weinberg | Mastering, Mastering Engineer |
| 17 | Mark Weiss | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |