The Roar of Thunder

"I heard the shot strike the sides of our ship; the whole scene grew indescribably confused and horrible; it was like some awfully tremendous thunder-storm, whose deafening roar is attended by incessant streaks of lightning, carrying death in every flash and strewing the ground with the victims of its wrath: only, in our case, the scene was rendered more horrible than that, by the presence of torrents of blood which dyed our decks."

Never judge an album by its title. That parallel to the book-and-cover adage is worth remembering, as you can never truly know what sits beyond a name or an idea until you give something a listen. Take Lionsong, for example. The roar and thunder that one might associate with the most majestic of wildcats is a far cry from much of the music that greets the ears on this protean production from drummer-composer Shawn Baltazor. Everything from dream sequences with strings to loping swing with attitude to glazed-over tales of yearning manages to appear at one time or another on this most fascinating of albums.

Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band from Long Island, New York, whose most successful work includes the hard rock and heavy metal songs "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla" and "Burnin' for You". The band has sold over 24 million records worldwide, including 7 million records in the United States alone. Because of their unique sound and diversity, Blue Öyster Cult has been influential to many modern bands that span many genres, and are often viewed as important pioneers of several different styles of rock music that came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s.