By Terry Marland, Rock At Night Manchester, UK
Review: The Georgia Thunderbolts’ album Rise Above It All – Release date August 23, 2024
The Georgia Thunderbolts announced themselves to the Southern Rock scene in 2021 with their debut album Can We Get A Witness and rightly received critical acclaim from the rock press for an album that shamelessly drew influence from the genre’s heavyweights, most notably, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their new album continues to plunder their Southern heritage while exploring new terrain on the wider rock landscape.
Hailing from Athens Georgia, the band comprises T.J. Lyle – Vocals and keyboards, Zach Everett – Bass and Classical Guitar, Bristol Perry – Drums, Logan Tolbart – guitar and Riley Couzzourt – guitar. Over the last couple of years they have honed their talents whilst working with an impressive roster of premiere artists including Black Stone Cherry, Deep Purple, Blackberry Smoke, The Outlaws and Molly Hatchet.
The opening track, the upbeat “Gonna Shine”, showcases the honeyed vocals of T. J. Lyle, with an infectious chorus laid on a backdrop of shimmering guitar. This is a significant statement of intent for what is to follow. Subdued piano alternates with a gritty riff for the forceful rock and roll record cataloguing band life in the studio and on the road.
Rise Above It All evokes a classic rock sound with shades of Sabbath and Rush while the pulsating cover of Ron Davies’ “It Ain’t Easy” (probably best known for David Bowie’s version on the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars) moves boldly into Gospel.
Midway through the album two songs, the poignant “Wait” and “Crawling My Way Back To You” slow things down. The latter is a Stax infused soul number delivered with a passion indicative of a band that is coming of age.
Elsewhere the Southern Rock flame continues to burn brightly on the likes of “Stand Up”, with tenacious guitar riffs interspersed with rock solid harmonies and the bar room blues of “Whiskey Talkin’” before closing off the album with a blistering “Pricetag.”
Rise Above It All is a captivating collection of thirteen songs, that sees the band blossoming as a creative force while remaining true to their roots. Quality rock and roll by any standards.
The Georgia Thunderbolts are:
Riley Couzzourt [guitar]
Zach Everett [bass, classical guitar, harmony vocals]
TJ Lyle [vocals, harmonica, keyboards]
Bristol Perry [drums]
Logan Tolbert [guitar]
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