The new single release from The Black Country’s act The Bad Flowers features guitar man Tom Leighton, bassist Dale Tonks and drummer Karl Selickis, session helmed by producer Adam Beddow. Lead cut Thunder Child has the trio plunging into the number like an amphetamined Cactus but with the unmistakable Brit Metal vocal declamatory vocal style.

The lyric centres on a stimulating female – I deduce – with mythological features. Pleasingly the guitar break nods to axe god Rory Gallagher and is effectively flanged. No let up from the drums, pounding away with the bass as a legato note is held on the guitar. Sounds to this listener more like sophisticated hard rock than cliched metal.

Supporting track Lions Blood is all aggression and staccato beat, the vocal a little closer to early Purple. The rhythm sections handles the  odd touches of stop and stagger in the arrangement well, if a touch too intensely. One point – the singing keys selected sound about right and the diction is crisp so the lyric can be heard.