Theia are a three-piece from Burton on Trent, UK, whose brand of Rock n Roll is influenced by AC/DC, Black Stone Cherry and a touch of 90s era Metallica (hey, come back!). The Ghost Light (WDFD) is the British trios third album and it continues in the same vein as the previous two; Hard Rock with big riffs, big choruses and the occasional bit of filler.

Things start off pretty well with ‘What You Want’, a three and a half-minute nugget of rock with a satisfyingly thick bass line and an empathic chorus. The following track ‘Mask of the Day’ is of the same ilk; a riff-centric rocker sung with plenty of gusto. ‘Children of Change’ is the best of this bunch, short and sweet heavy rock with a distorted punch and a harmonic chorus. Alas, not all is swell, numbers like the ‘The Ghost Light’ and ‘No Crisis’ are not bad by any stretch of the imagination just unremarkable like they were churned out on autopilot. Same goes for the album ending ‘Throw Me A Bone’, whilst it could do with a change of pace or a solo, it does at least have a music video starring Kim Jong Un, Putin and Trump to its name.

Fortunately, things do perk up, with some experimentation rearing its head. ‘The Revelator’ is a toe-tapping number with a welcome helping of blues to it, with Aerosmith like bursts of harmonica and saxophone and an unexpectedly jazzy piano ending. At the halfway point comes the ballad ‘Over the City’, sounding like Guns n’ Roses doing an impromptu cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, with singer Kyle Lamley doing his best Axl Rose impression to boot. This makes a refreshing, if slightly corny, change of pace in amongst the barrage of riffs.

Theia’s third album The Ghost Light is a decent, if unremarkable, offering of big ‘n riffy hard rock livened up by the occasional bit of experimentation.

5.5/10

THOMAS THROWER