by Steve Patrick
– Senior Columnist —
Atlanta’s own Royal Thunder are shattering expectations with their new album Crooked Doors which is the follow up to 2012’s magnum opus CVI. The band has been through a lot in the last 3 years and it shows on this record. Anyone familiar with the band will know that the guitarist Josh Weaver and bassist/vocalist MIny Parsonz were married and split up while making the new album. The emotion that can only come from a situation like that is permanently etched all over Crooked Doors. Miraculously, Royal Thunder sounds even tighter musically for having gone through the experience.
During the CVI tour, drummer Evan Diprima was the rookie in the band. Now 3 years on, he’s become an essential element to the band’s sound by providing the bedrock for Parsonz’s thunderous assaults. He also gave up the title of “new guy” to Will Fiore (Zoroaster) who recently joined the band. Fiore’s guitar work is now adding a new depth to Royal Thunder’s music that just wasn’t possible as a three-piece.
Diprima took some time while out on tour to speak with us at Hardrock Haven about the creation of Crooked Doors, his fondness for John Tempesta’s drumming, and what he thinks about going out on tour soon alongside Halestorm …
Crooked Doors is now available wherever records are sold. For more information, please visit https://royalthunder.bandcamp.com.
