Thunderbird Divine - The Hand of Man

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"The Hand of Man" is the new music release by Salt of the Earth Records recording artist THUNDERBIRD DIVINE (2017) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the USA. At 3 songs, this short and sweet sampler follows their 2019 release ‘MAGNASONIC’.

‘The Hand of Man’ roars to life and it takes about 5 seconds to acknowledge that yea verily, the lads are into the MONSTER MAGNET. Well, that makes 5 of us – the 4 dudes in the band and me. I was in a group that used ‘THE SPINE OF GOD’ as our Magna Carta as we moved into the brave new world of 90’s rock, leaving the safe zone of Metalnam in search of Stonerlandia. I shit you not, you should have heard some of the life and death experiences people related to me while digging that album, most of them past the statute of limitations by now.

‘The Hand of Man’ is not burdened by a lot of lyrics, so you get more cheesesteak and less hoagie, not a bad thing at all. THUNDERBIRD DIVINE’S psychedelic palette is a bit wider with a few more colors where with MONSTER MAGNET it is heavier, both bands relying on ponderous fortitude to carry the moment. Drummer Mike Stuart is a metal lord here, giving it up while guitar players Erik and Flynn drone on for crazy diamonds. Evac ode ‘Boote’s Void’ carries on with the same patient vibe making rock music the old fashioned way. Additional vocals by Brittany Marie and Avalicious get a special mention.

Their deee-lite-ful backing vocals are rapturous and remind me of Dorona Alberti’s work with german krautmeisters KMFDM. ‘ ‘88 Testadoon’ nails a triple by tagging 3 bases – banjo, theremin and lap steel guitar - in a pleasing little interlude to close it down, letting us know that we don’t have to go home but we can’t stay here. Last call - Mates, we can haz more songs? To fathom hell or soar angelic, just take a pinch of the dani bandolier Spotify playlist of reviewed bands…

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/272H3UBARsuksY3BqU0CzP?si=lEkc6zLxSZKqBhjmQWbOVA

Songwriting: 7
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 7
Production: 8