Hard rock quintet Joe Stump’s Tower Of Babel bring the finest European ingredients to their no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll and will release Days Of Thunder on Silver Lining Music come the fourth of July.
Stump’s six-string shredding skills are known throughout the rock and metal scenes, both as the lead guitarist of Alcatrazz and as the shred specialist associate professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Having torn new earholes with their 2017 debut Lake of Fire, his Tower Of Babel band take it a step further and higher with ten solid slices of riff-driven, Rainbow/Deep Purple styled anthems.
Featuring Stump on guitars and guitar synthesiser, vocalist Jo Amore, Mark Cross on drums and backing vocals, keyboardist Mistheria, and bass player Nic Angileri, the band’s intent was to bring heavy, energetic, yet gloriously melodic music to the table with a style and panache rarely seen in 2025.
“All of my influences are the classic European hard rock masters, whether it’s Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker or Gary Moore.” offered Stump. “Naturally, the record gives a modern take on those classic sounds. I also love classical music of course, like Bach, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, and I wear all those influences on my sleeve. I do have more of a metal background, and my touch is quite a bit more aggressive, but this Days Of Thunder record is more of a hard rock album than it is a metal record.”
Title track ‘Days Of Thunder’ is out now as a single and the guitarist commented: “It’s a badass tune that has a Rainbow vibe to it but heavier and reminiscent of early classic Dio, something you could hear on the Dream Evil or Holy Diver albums. The band just went for it and the track immediately took on a life of its own… Jo’s great vocals, Mark’s killer playing and of course The Maestro destroying on the keys, it all matches up perfectly!”
Featuring a video by Very Metal Art, you can check out the single here at RAMzine.
On Days of Thunder, songs such as ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘The Princess’ dance the edge of speed and classic fireball rocking, the latter allowing some outrageous solos to unfold from both Mistheria and, of course, Stump, who proudly re-establishes his pedigree. The mysterious and hazy groove of hip-swinger ‘Alone In The Desert’ is a smoky backbeat dragging you into its soulful swagger. All in all, taking a ride with Days Of Thunder is a Jedi mind trick of vintage sounds with ultra-fresh and vibrant sensibilities that will transport you back to the Hammersmith Odeon and the days when unabashed hard rockin’ talent, power, colour, and flare were celebrated and venerated.
Days Of Thunder’s full track-listing is: ‘Dominum’, ‘Rules Of Silence’, ‘Days Of Thunder’, ‘Blind Are Your Eyes’, ‘Alone In The Desert’, ‘In The Heat Of The Night’, ‘Sacrifice’, ‘Black Knight’s Prelude’, ‘Trust Me’ and ‘The Princess’ – It is available on CD and digital formats here.
