THUNDERMAKER is a Swedish man called Marty Gummesson, who's written all the music and the lyrics, plus he played almost all of the instruments. His right-hand man is drummer Eddie Juneskär. For vocals he acquired some of the most impressive power metal singers on the globe. Ronny Munroe is best known for his past in METAL CHURCH, Tim Ripper Owens used to manhandle the microphone in a quintet called JUDAS PRIEST, and L-G Petrov is the very impressive growler of ENTOMBED and ENTOMBED A.D.. The last one on the list is the unknown entity called Rille Larsson, and he fits right in with the crowd mentioned.

This is old fashioned power metal down to a T, and the songs themselves are quite impressive. Opening title track "The Road" is the benchmark for the whole album, as it is quite impressive. Ronny Munroe was quite the powerhouse with METAL CHURCH, and he's just as formidable here as he was in those days. To be honest, the songs he sings I find the best ones on the album. "Broken Promises" is different through the guitar breaks used. They just fit, and the voice fits like the proverbial glove. "Twin Flame Journey" on the other hand starts off like a military piece, but quickly turns into a very enticing semi ballad. "1111" is the quietest song on "The Road", and it is exactly what the album needs. A song that slows down the tempo, but more importantly the overpowering drive that is constantly used through the music.

You can't fault Tim Ripper Owens, as he is an outstanding singer. "Fire Burns Forever" is perfect for his voice, a powerful song that wouldn't be out of place with his old band. "The Runner & The Chaser" on the other hand is a bit more difficult to appreciate, as it has an obvious BLACK SABBATH vibe. His voice doesn't come out as strong as you'd expect. Such a pity.

L-G Petrov sings the song called "Fake". Well, you can call him a lot, but fake isn't one of them. Unfortunately the music doesn't fit his voice as I would have hoped. It's just too clean for his vocals. "Fake" should have had a much rougher edge, a little more Death 'n' Roll injected. That would have made more sense.

When you start listening to "Symbiosis" you don't know what to expect, but then Rille Larsson pitches in and you know that his mid to high voice is not for everyone. I kind of like it, but it is not his best song on "The Road". That honour goes to "When Sorrow Dwells", which suits his singing style a lot more. This is like a suspense movie in music style.

Lastly, we have the impressive instrumental "Mi-Ya". It's quite a reprieve from the powerful performances of the singers, who have done their best to make the music sound better. What does surprise me is that I just can't seem to make this album sound impressive to me, however good the vocalists are. The music is just too simple at times, too repetitive. You'll hear the same riff repeat itself in several songs. I just think that's too poor for a band with a name like THUNDERMAKER, as to me they just snap, crackle and pop. Not only that, but the power just keeps coming. If only they had injected the last two songs somewhere earlier into the track listing. The diversity would have given the listener's ears some respite from time to time. That would have made "The Road" a tad easier to digest. If you want to hear how it should be done, just listen to the latest THE THREE TREMORS album. That's how it's supposed to be done.