Florida Metal Trio Thunderclap Makes Auspicious Debut With ‘Inebriocean’ (album stream) (premiere)

Inebriocean, the debut LP from Gainesville, Florida-based Thunderclap arrives Friday, 29 March via the Financial Ruin imprint. Guitarist and vocalist Ale Gasso explains that “the whole album plays on a theme, the Inebriocean. The ocean represents the darkness and despair of an inebriated life, nearly drowning yet thriving in a dangerous place where one has lost control.”

She continues, “What begins as an invitation to debauchery on the title track, ‘What are you waiting for? Come to the edge. Dive in’, quickly turns to darker times as drowning, shipwrecks and being lost out at sea come into play. The stories ebb and flow until ultimately ending with a touch of optimism with the last track ‘Breach’ which hints at brighter days ahead.”

In the end, says Gasso, “The ocean works as a metaphor for a dark and dangerous life where one minute you can be enjoying yourself at the safety of shore and the next you’re fighting your way out of a volatile sea.”

The music contained on the album gives hints at the outfit’s punk rock origins but departs into deeper territory with flashes of Minus the Bear-style prog rock with weights tied to its ankles, southern rock, Black Sabbath-influenced doom while dealing up vocal hooks and catharsis-inducing riffs that beg to be heard live. If you don’t find yourself alternately scared and ready to raise your fist in victory at least twice a minute while listening to Inebriocean,there’s a good chance you’re not really living.

The LP was recorded, mixed and mastered by Ryan Williams at Black Bear Studios in Gainesville and completed with cover art by Ted Lincoln.

The group’s origins can be traced to 2012 when Gainesville offered a paucity of heavy acts. Friends Todd Rockhill and Danny Welsh formed Thunderclap as a duo based on a shared love of Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and Floor. Soon after poet Gasso came into the fold and for a time the unit expanded to a four-piece with bassist Jerome Goodman. When Goodman left the fold, the three moved on without bass resulting, somewhat ironically, in an incredibly bottom-heavy sound.

TOUR DATES

4/04/2019 Loosey’s – Gainesville, FL *record release show w/ Iron Buddha, Heavy On The Ish

4/19/2019 The Atlantic – Gainesville, FL @ 352 Fest w/ Party Time, Horsewhip, Wørsen