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JOE STUMP'S TOWER OF BABEL
Days Of Thunder
2025 Silver Lining Music

Over the past eight years, I've been looking forward to the follow-up to the debut album by TOWER OF BABEL more than any other album. It's been a long wait, and to be honest, I kind of gave up there for a while. But that album was just too damn good to not record a sophomore effort. Apparently, some strange things happened with the band since 2017. Purportedly, there was an attempt to re-record the debut album with different players under the same name. It seems guitarist Joe Stump formed a new version of the band and added his sobriquet to the band name, thus creating JOE STUMP'S TOWER OF BABEL -- now the official name of the band. The online information isn't clear and I don't know if any of that is true or not, but I do know this: the debut album Lake of Fire was an absolute masterpiece of the genre, (that genre being: guitar-heavy, neo-classical hard rock and heavy metal drenched with inspiration from DEEP PURPLE, DIO, and especially RAINBOW). Lake of Fire featured Joe Stump (guitar and guitar synth), Csaba Zvekan (vocals), Nic Angileri (bass), Mistheria (keyboards) and Mark Cross (drums). Finally, on July 4th, the follow-up album Days of Thunder will be released-- and after all is said and done, the only difference in the band lineup is the lead singer. Well, it's sort of a big deal, right? The band's new frontman is former NIGHTMARE and current KINGCROWN vocalist, Frenchman Jo Amore. While obviously not exactly the same as Csaba's voice, his voice is similar enough that he is able to strengthen this band's material, both old and new. Jo's blues-soaked, yet high-pitched voice certainly lends itself to the convictions in these new songs admirably. He is a solid choice for lead vocalist, so while I would have preferred the original band remain intact, I have no complaints. Joe Stump is a legendary guitarist who has been in many bands over the years. HOLYHELL and REIGN OF TERROR come to mind. He has also guested on countless albums and released 13 instrumental studio albums since 1993. He is currently the guitarist for the reignited ALCATRAZZ. And he's also an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, so he's in very high demand. Regarding his influences on this new album of material, Joe commented, "All of my influences are the classic European hard rock masters, whether it's Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, Uli Jon Roth when he was with the SCORPIONS, and of course the early Yngwie Malmsteen stuff...this record gives a modern take on those classic sounds." I'm a huge fan of all these artists, so I couldn't wait to hear more from this band.

The Songs:

The album opens with the brief instrumental intro "Dominum", which was composed by Mistheria. This intro is ominous and foreboding, yet doesn't give away what is coming. Immediately, the band launches into "Rules of Silence", a great opening salvo, which features a catchy chorus, a nice solo from Stump, and Mistheria laying down the organ in the background. Angileri propels the song with his bass and the legendary Mark Cross provides powerful, dynamic drumming. I love that he eventually kicks in the double bass near the end of the song. The next song is the cold war-themed title track, "Days of Thunder" (video on KNAC.COM HERE) which begins with the sound of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine cranking, and blasts off at a high tempo and upbeat shout-along chorus. The solo here is fantastic, as is the entire band's performance. This song reminds me of the glory days of '80s metal a lot, and seems to have a lot of DIO influence. Jo's vocals sound fantastic as well. Things slow down to a mid-tempo on "Blind Are Your Eyes", which offers a completely different flavor than the other tracks on the album. Jo is definitely the hero in this song, as his voice drives it completely. A radio DJ introduces the next track, and this segues the real heart of the album, (which I regard as the centerpiece cut), "Alone In The Desert". This epic allows the entire band to show off. I would consider this bluesy track to be in the wheelhouse of RAINBOW's "Gates of Babylon" or "Stargazer" and is one of my favorites of the year. It's immediately followed by another of my favorites, "In The Heat of The Night". This slinky rocker has all the right ingredients for a hard rock classic: great riffs and solo, rock solid rhythm section, killer bridge (leading to a killer chorus) and loads of commercial appeal. This song needs to be a single in my humble opinion. "Sacrifice" feels like Joe Lynn Turner-era RAINBOW for sure. This one rocks and rolls along, and is propelled by Stump's riffing and Mark's driving beat and occasional double bass drums. Mistheria channels some Jon Lord (RIP) moments in the album, and occasionally has a solo duel with Joe Stump, such as in this song. "Black Knight's Prelude" is Stump's atmospheric guitar intro for the longest song on the album, "Trust Me", (which clocks in at 7:23) and features the most grinding, bluesy moments on the album. Between Stump's guitar riffs and solo, and Jo's snarling vocal, this song is a real masterstroke of a deep cut, and feels like a nod to DEEP PURPLE's "Mistreated". The final track is "The Princess", possibly a tribute to the sword and sorcery era of early RAINBOW, and a good song to conclude the album with.

Conclusion:

Days of Thunder is not as lengthy a platter as Lake of Fire was, and is a tighter package overall. It also features a better cover artwork. It clocks in at a respectable 49 minutes and wastes none of the listener's time. The production (by drummer Mark Cross) is well done, and highlights each instrument well. Overall, this album is absolutely worth your time and attention if you like music of power and class influenced by RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, MALMSTEEN and DIO. This album was a blind buy for me! Welcome back, Joe Stump and TOWER OF BABEL! Days of Thunder will be released on July 4th through Silver Lining Music.

Pre-order now at this LINK

4.8 Out Of 5.0