Palace In Thunderland - Stars, Dreams, Seas EP

[Dylan Thomas]

First review, courtesy of Jay Snyder at Hellride!

Palace In Thunderland – Stars, Dreams, Seas EP (Reverse Feed Records)
By Jay Snyder
December 15, 2012

Palace in Thunderland made some waves on their first run in the underground hard rock circuit, and then vanished in a puff of spritely vapor. Andy Beresky went on to form the hieroglyphic, cartouche crushers Black Pyramid...Monte Newman served time in Hydro-Electric, and Adam Abrams helms the wholly killer atmosphere illusionists Blue Aside (along with Matt Netto who is on duty for percussion pulverization on this brief and brilliant EP)... It's interesting to note how everyone in PIT fractured off into different bands, and then decide to reignite this psychedelically inclined, meteor shower machine. If Sabbath, Hawkwind, Soundgarden (Badmotorfinger/Superunknown era), Trouble, Spirit Caravan, and Kyuss had an orgy, this would be the resulting money shot. A no frills, no nonsense throw down of heavy 70s rock as interpreted through the breathing walls of psilocybin psychosis and metallic, 6-string workouts. Hopefully that sounds good to your ears; otherwise you're shit outta luck!

Opener "Beyond the Stars" relies on spacious guitar riffs pumped full of Sabbath and the golden days of 90s thud (from Seattle to Maryland) as it constructs a massive, rock n' roll black hole; the grooves and rhythms worshipping the annals of timelessly heavy riff-o-logy, as the band's heady sound and thick tonalities dabble in astral projection visa vie the incisive lead playing that walks a fine line between old school metal and total psychedelic trip-outs. The lead-work is purely vintage 70s soul from blood to bone, Beresky and Newman weaving their instruments together magically (as well as their vocal cards), creating a time-shifting vortex that shrouds the rhythm section's dense particle blanket. It's clear to me that Abrams and Netto have really morphed their playing styles together from the time spent in Blue Aside; Adam's terse, low-end vacuums swallowing up Matt's satellite array of bone-crunching, locked-on snare fills and classic rock, pocket pressure with all of the power of a Mayan vortex. There's not a goddamn negative thing I can say about this stuff...the chorus delivers the hook, the hefty riffage keeps the head banging, and all throughout the psychedelic touches bring my mind into a state of mental teleportation that only occurs when I'm getting the much needed satisfaction of visceral sound waves entering my earholes. Right the fuck on!

"Awakened Dream" really stings of Maryland magic in its doozy of a kick-off riff punctuated by open, melodic chords and the use of busy progressions that call to mind Wino and Flood, though Beresky and Newman are definitely their own thing. The way these guys compose is what takes the cake for me. Over the course of this 6 minute jam the instrumentation changes up frequently...one minute a doomed out riff is the equivalent of a dying in scream in space...the very last thing you'll fuckin' hear before you're crushed like a sardine can, but then the next the uplifting harmonies and supple leads transport you to an altogether different spiritual realm. Netto sneaks in busy little rolls on the toms and snares to buttress Abram's impenetrable, bottom-end hull, and a slick solo pops up right after the 3:30 mark, managing to be both shredding and compelling in the very same breath. Vocally, this one knocks it out of the park...spot-on delivery with just the right amount of rise and fall. The boys cap off the song with that beautiful beginning bit, but not before turning your ass into space chow with a walloping 1-2 punch that begins with a superb Sabbath nod and calls the curtain with a wah-drenched lead lick. Closer, "The Distant Shore" is the EP's "and now for something completely different track," a slice of smoldering, relatively clean space-rock that strips the distortion down to a buzzing hum that's vibrantly shaded by the lush bass runs and wickedly intricate licks. There's nary a traditional riff in view until the very end and select sections of the tune's bulk (this is lead and lick oriented), making for a delightfully rift-tripping, atmospheric slow-burner of a number... Couldn't think of a better ending to this flawlessly executed EP if I tried!

Bearers of the Palace in Thunderland banner have a glorious reason to rejoice, as Stars, Dreams, Seas is one hell of a return to the frontlines. Fans of the "classic" 70s sounds are going to want to scoop this up posthaste. To my knowledge it's available on Band Camp now, and will hopefully get a physical release sometime in the future. No matter what format your poison is...get on this shit...download it and burn it onto a disc...do whatever you got to do...just get it! Highly recommended.


http://www.hellridemusicforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26347

[Dylan Thomas]

Another review, from Musikreviews.de!
This one is in German...thanks Andreas!
http://www.musikreviews.de/reviews/2012/Palace-In-Thunderland/Stars-Dreams-Seas/


Artist:   Palace In Thunderland   
Album:   Stars, Dreams, Seas
Medium:   CD
Stil:   Hardrock
Label:   Reverse Feed Records
Spieldauer:   16:49
Erschienen:    07.12.2012
Website:    [Link]
Mal was Neues: Den Terminus Supergroup meiden alle, doch PALACE IN THUNDERLAND bezeichnen sich (wohl Augenzwinkernd) so, indem sie auf Andy Bereskys Mitgliedschaft bei BLACK PYRAMID verweisen. Während die anderen Musiker weniger bekannten Combos angehörten, war zumindest Matt Netto schon auf diesen Seiten vertreten, nämlich mit BLUE ASIDE.

Die drei aktuellen Songs der aus Springfield stammenden Gruppe wurden nach fünfjähriger Pause ausbaldowert und orientieren sich an den frühen BLACK SABBATH, was die nasalen Vocals zwangsläufig bedingen, und handfestem Space Rock, so es um Texte und Atmosphäre geht. Rhythmisch ist Schmalhans Küchenmeister, denn PALACE IN THUNDERLAND fokussieren Melodien, gerne auch gedoppelt und verdreifacht wie in der ausgedehnten Bridge des Openers. ,,Awakened Dream" kehrt eine melancholische Note hervor und gefällt vor schleppendem Hintergrund mit mäandernden Leads, wohingegen das große Hook fehlt.

,,The Distant Shore" indes klingt unverhofft nach Shoegaze mit stoischem HAWKWIND-Beat und traditionellen Metal-Gitarren, womit PALACE IN THUNDERLAND hoffentlich auf zukünftige Taten verweisen, denn die Verschränkung von Proto-Doom beziehungsweise Stoner Rock mit Indie-Hauch steht ihnen hervorragend.

FAZIT: Im Dreieck Weltraum, Fuzz und Classic Rock siedelt dieses Songtrio an, dessen Urheber PALACE IN THUNDERLAND angesichts der bewusst unauffälligen Inszenierung mit ihrem Einstandsalbum entweder dick überraschen oder im Durchschnittsbrei untergehen werden. Die originellen Ansätze und das Ozzy-Organ (geht eigentlich immer) deuten auf ersteres hin.

Andreas Schiffmann

[Dylan Thomas]

New review from Paranoid Hitsophrenic:
http://theparanoidmusicblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/palace-in-thunderland-stars-dreams-seas.html

Sunday, 30 December 2012
Palace In Thunderland - Stars, Dreams, Seas (album review)


Palace in Thunderland started out life as Skyball, the main band of four young musicians.  Skyball was a garage rock band that morphed into Palace in Thunderland in 1998.  The band recorded a couple of EPs and an album that was never released and in 2007 the guys in the band decided to call it quits.

Each of the four musicians went on to form other, more successful, bands.  They are Monte Newman (Hydro-Electric, guitar); Andy Beresky (Black Pyramid, guitar); Adam Abrams and Matt Netto (Blue Aside, bass and drums respectively, (Abrams is also in Space Mushroom Fuzz)).  Now, they have returned from travels that must have included stops in spaceports unknown and re-formed a high school garage band as a stoner rock supergroup.  Four youngsters who split, return as conquering heroes.  There's seemingly no shortage of musical talent in the New England area and so, it was destined to be.

The three songs on this demo EP are the first new sounds from this collective band of musicians together in over five years.

"Beyond the Stars" shakes off the rust with a Sabbath-like riff and crash combo that launches the goodship Thunderland out of orbit.  The slabs of Sabbath-ized riffage and chunks of crunching rhythms perfectly frame the super catchy chorus, "Come ... with ... us ... Beyond the Stars!".  "Awakened Dream" carries on the Sabbath feel and doesn't have as memorable a chorus, but makes up for it with more of a melodic flavor..  "The Distant Shore" is a different beast altogether and if I had to guess I would hazard that this is more of a Monte Newman song, which then breaks down towards the end into an Andy Beresky flavored melancholic riff to close out the short, 16 minute demo EP.

It's interesting to be able to hear each individual's unique contribution to the band, it truly is an amalgamation of sounds.  You can hear a Beresky lead, you can hear the power of Monte Newman, you can hear Blue Aside's unique rhythm section at work on the groove.  The vocals are in the Ozzy sound-alike vein which really comes across in "Awakened Dream".  The Sabbath feel is very present overall in the first two tracks, not just in the vocals and guitars but also in the Bill Wardian drumming of Matt Netto.  It seems as though Beresky provides the bulk of the vocals on this disc, though not in the way that most listeners familiar with his work in Black Pyramid would recognize, as they are sung melodically rather than shouted, though it can be hard to tell who is singing as all four are credited with vocals, and it could just as easily be Abrams or Newman singing for all I know.

Though this teaser of what's to come consists of a mere three songs and 16 minutes, it's a satisfying listening experience in and of itself, and it carries within it the seeds of a very substantial release when a full length album eventually emerges.

Highlights include: "Beyond the Stars" and "Awakened Dream"

Rating: 4.5/5

[sludgelord3000]

Listening on the bandcamps now. I dig it a lot. Good work, man!

[Dylan Thomas]

Listening on the bandcamps now. I dig it a lot. Good work, man!

Thanks man, we really didn't have any expectations going in, however we're certainly happy some people seem to be digging on it.

Liked your latest tunes you had up as well, good to hear Mundell playing that kind of material again and backed by a very capable and equally impressive rhythm section.

[Demon Lung]

Has your palace in wonderland twitter account been verified yet?

[Dylan Thomas]

Has your palace in wonderland twitter account been verified yet?

Do what now?

https://twitter.com/PalaceThunder

That's the Twitter page if you really want to follow it.  It just reposts the Facebook statuses as far as I know.