Thin Lizzy
Thunder And Lightning

THE REVIEW

I dedicate this dereview to...

If you want, you can read the whole text, or you can skip directly to the end to find out to whom. After two albums that were still good, the style of Thin Lizzy seemed to have slightly faded because it sounded too "soft." Therefore, at that time (we are in 1983) Phil Lynott (half Brazilian and half Irish), the leader of the group, decided to recruit the dazzling guitarist J.Sykes, star of the new British heavy metal, and to replace S.White.

The result proved particularly successful because the album was undeniably the best work of T. Lizzy of the '80s. Also, because during that period, musical tastes had decisively shifted towards metal and Lizzy's hard rock seemed to be outdated. Therefore, the present album is undoubtedly the most "metal" of the entire Lizzy production. For the album review, I find myself at 51.0 repeating (%) for the track by track, and at 49.0 repeating (%) for the highlighting of the most indicative tracks. So... I will only mention a few pieces, even though they are all excellent. "Thunder And Lightning", an extremely intense song with fast and metallic solos. "The Sun Goes Down" a splendid electric ballad featuring Lynott's bass. Unquestionably another Lizzy classic, which could easily be used as a soundtrack for a hypothetical apocalyptic sci-fi film. "The Holy War" a compelling track with characteristic T. Lizzy guitar "riffs." It must be said that the use of two harmonies derived from two lead guitars was invented and introduced years earlier by another group, but that's another story... Surely Lizzy developed this idea a lot, which would later be widely adopted by many other bands of the '80s. "Baby Please Don't Go" another excellent track with dizzying progressive solos. The track "Heart Attack" which concludes the album, strongly recalls the Lizzy style of the '70s. In my opinion, this is also another classic.

In conclusion, a truly valuable album that noticeably gets closer to the wonderful works of the '70s. Let's not forget P.Lynott, who was endowed with charisma and an uncommon emotional charge. His voice is not particularly powerful like that of other colleagues, but certainly warmer and deeper. Often underestimated is his excellent use of the bass. Unfortunately, the adventure does not continue, and after a series of memorable concerts, including the Hammersmith show with all the guitarists who played in Lizzy, the band disbands. Lynott, with already two albums published under his name, will try to form a band "Grand Slam" which, however, will not record. Before concluding, I want to highlight the excellent heavy metal style cover (rating 3.8 repeating).

PS: "I dedicate this review to P.Lynott, who passed away in 1986 after a few days in a coma due to drug abuse"