Munroe’s Thunder – The Black Watch
RFL Records
Release Date: 11/11/22
Running Time: 52:16
Review by Simon Black
9/10
Ronny Munroe’s contribution to the US Power Metal scene in my humble opinion goes somewhat and criminally underrated. I guess part of the problem is that he has so often stepped into the lead vocal role for a number of established acts that have seen a decline in their fortunes before he got there, and therefore has the toughest job of all – that of bearing the front man’s burden as they endeavour to get back to where they once (when the vocalists’ the fans are expecting to see are no longer around). It’s a thankless job, and so far he’s done that for both Metal Church and Vicious Rumors most notably, but the reality is that he’s been rather prolific since the early 1980’s, contributing to numerous other acts and a plethora of work under his own name in recent years. I had the Frontiers Between Worlds project come across my desk last year, but that was less than satisfactory as it fell into the sausage factory category that much of that label’s output can tip into when the guest artists are treated like visiting session musicians in a high-volume factory model, rather than being front and centre when it comes to conceptualising, writing and delivery.
That personal element is what makes a massive difference here on “The Black Watch”. On the surface this might appear like yet another historical conceptual Power Metal album, of which let’s face it, there are too many to count, but this story (and it’s all about the somewhat gruesome 16th century period of Scottish history surrounding Mary Queen of Scot’s) has family tree links to Munroe’s own origins and consequently he’s thrown a lot of effort into making this feel a little more real and personal than so many of the endless cookie cutter Power concepts bother to do.
The other factor that helps massively is that this kind of endlessly repetitive Power output is very much the norm in Europe, and America’s take on Power Metal is a very different beast indeed. That historical contribution to Metal Church and Vicious Rumors stands front and centre at this point, because despite having a deep love for the Euro / Power variant, I’ve always found the USA variant far more interesting – as it’s closer in source to the NWOBHM root, whilst incorporating the harder Speed / proto-Thrash edge that was super important to the movement in the 80’s in America. That and a focus on writing accessible and commercially acceptable songs has always given this variant the edge for me, even if they’ve never been huge in the native lands, and all those strengths are brought to bear with this record.
Monroe is such a charismatic and powerful front man, that it’s an absolute joy to hear him throwing his enthusiasm and energy into this record. He’s still got one hell of a range on him, and I always prefer it when clean vocal delivery has that powerful and throatier Rock’n’roll edge to it, and this is what Munroe absolutely does best. ‘Thirty Years War’ stands head and shoulders above much of the material on here for that reason – as it’s all about his voice and delivery, and a song that as it slowly builds from its balladic and soft introduction just what a stylistic range he has. Not that the fist pumping rollercoaster style of the bulk of the rest of the album doesn’t deliver the goods too, and in spades.
Musically this is very much all about Munroe, and despite a very robust instrumental delivery from the rest of the band, they do take a back seat in the mix to allow him to do what he does best. But to be fair, I can’t really fault the song-writing of anything on here, as the precise construction allows for that storytelling to actually step forward, accentuated by Munroe’s controlled and emphatic delivery – something so many Power concepts completely miss. For once the story has a chance to grab you and make you want to keep listening, as opposed to being something buried so deep in the crafting that it takes hours of repeated listening to even begin to unpick this.
Accessible, powerful and with a rich and charismatic delivery, finally something that allows the world to see what this vastly underrated frontman can deliver when the shackles of being a hired hand for other people’s projects are lifted.
‘Echoes Of The Dead’ Official Audio
TRACKLISTING:
01. Battle Cry
02. The Black Watch
03. Awaken The Fire
04. Gray Hall
05. Babbington Mary
06. Brace For The Night
07. Dead Man’s War
08. Falkirk
09. Thirty Years War
10. Echoes Of The Dead
11. The Executioner
LINE-UP:
Ronny Munroe – Vocals
David Mark Pearce – Guitars, bass
BJ Zampa – Drums
Justin Zych – Guitar
Oliver Wakeman – Keyboards
LINKS:
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