The 40 Thieves – The White Album
Release Date: 21st October 2022
Label: Wormholedeath Worldwide
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Hard Rock
FFO: Creed, Linkin Park.
Review By: Scott Hudson
Europe has given us some of the finest, experimental and bold bands in the last 50 or so years. Technical wizardry, soaring vocals and sometimes unintentionally earnest anthems…
Stepping up is The 40 Thieves, hailing from Switzerland and hoping to both make their mark on our metal universe and join the likes of In Flames, Opeth and At The Gates into the stratosphere – have they achieved it? Yes and no.
There is no denying the bands desire, punch and ambition – to make a concept album set in a ‘fictional Western world’ is no mean task and the production values are tight and clean. Opener All We Bleed introduces you to a strong chug and excellent use of keys as The 40 Thieves produce a heavy chorus; a good earworm. They double down on the heavy with Stonedead as Dillon vocals soar, and we even get a chant of the bands name, a’la ‘Soulfly’ in Deftones ‘Headup.’
My Lunatic is a mid-tempo burner and probably the strongest cut on the album, which leads into The Lonely One, which explore similar themes lyrically and in terms of pacing. It’s a strong start by a band that has clearly got a lot of ideas and eager to show off their technical prowess.
Unconditionally, the mid-album ballad, has touches of Alter Bridge and Creed which, by their own admission, are an influence to them. If We Die Tonight, a touching tribute to the late Chester Bennington, and you can hear strong splashes of Linkin Park in the bellowing chorus.
Towards the end of the album, highlights like More Than I Can Say (a fist bumper if I ever heard one) and Kill Me To Love You (the second ballad of the album, which does bring a healthy dose of saccharine.) Before tying together with a solid cover of My Sacrfrice by the aforementioned Creed.
The 40 Thieves check the technical wizardry box and have oodles of soaring vocals, along with a couple of earnest ballads, and it’s a decent album, without ever really catching fire.
Judging from the live cover, I am certain that the real gem is to see them live, and I am intrigued to see what the ‘difficult’ second album brings.
(3 / 5)
