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''Wonder Days'' is the tenth studio album by English
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
band
Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
. Recorded in late 2014 at
Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...
in
Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, it was produced by the band's lead guitarist
Luke Morley Luke Morley (born 19 June 1960 in Camberwell, London, England) is the guitarist, chief songwriter and producer for the hard rock band Thunder from 1989 to present (with a break from 1999–2002, and 2009–2011). Previous to that he was a memb ...
and released internationally by
earMusic Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...
in February 2015. ''Wonder Days'' was the first Thunder studio album to be released since '' Bang!'' in 2008, as well as the band's first release on earMusic with whom they signed after returning from their second breakup in 2014. After breaking up for a second time in 2009, Thunder returned occasionally for a number of shows between 2011 and 2014, before recording a tenth studio album later in the year. Morley wrote all of the material for the album, with the exception of "Black Water" which was co-written by
Saint Jude Jude the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ translit. Yahwada) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Tha ...
vocalist Lynne Jackaman. Much of the album does not feature guitarist and keyboardist Ben Matthews, who spent most of 2014 recovering from
head and neck cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips (oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophary ...
. ''Wonder Days'' debuted at number 9 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, marking the band's first top ten album since ''
Behind Closed Doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...
'' reached number 5 in 1995. The album also charted in Germany and Sweden for the first time in 20 years, and topped the
UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...
. "Wonder Days", "When the Music Played" and "Resurrection Day" were released as singles, while the
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP) ''Killer'' was made available as part of various album bundles.


Recording and production

Despite claiming on multiple occasions since returning from their 2009 breakup that they would not record a tenth studio album, Thunder announced in May 2014 that they would return to the studio to work on new material later in the year. Responding to the question over the band's "change of heart" regarding the possibility of new material, the band's vocalist
Danny Bowes Daniel John 'Danny' Bowes (born 14 April 1960, West Ham, Essex, England) is a British singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Thunder. Education Bowes was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College. Life and career B ...
commented that they decided to record a new album after receiving an "overwhelming response" from fans when they supported Journey and
Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...
the previous year. In the band's 2016 biography ''Giving the Game Away: The Thunder Story'', the band's lead guitarist
Luke Morley Luke Morley (born 19 June 1960 in Camberwell, London, England) is the guitarist, chief songwriter and producer for the hard rock band Thunder from 1989 to present (with a break from 1999–2002, and 2009–2011). Previous to that he was a memb ...
added that "We hadn't anticipated that reaction at all, so I said to Danny, "We should make a record, because we may not get this kind of opportunity again"." Recording for ''Wonder Days'' took place at
Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...
in
Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, with Morley once again producing the album. Much of the recording took place without the involvement of second guitarist and keyboardist Ben Matthews, who was diagnosed with
head and neck cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips (oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophary ...
at the beginning of the year and was unable to take part in sessions and shows throughout the year. Speaking about Matthews's absence, bassist Chris Childs reflected that "It was different in the studio without Ben – not just musically but also with his personality. He brings a lot to everything we do." Standing in for Matthews at the group's 2014 shows was Peter Shoulder, a bandmate of Morley's in The Union. By November 2014, it was announced that Matthews's treatment had worked and he was given the "all-clear".


Promotion and release

Thunder released a music video for "Wonder Days", which was filmed during the song's debut performance at
Loud Park Festival The is a heavy metal festival held annually at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City or Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, Japan. It's one of the biggest heavy metal festivals in Japan. The festival has featured both Japanese and international perfor ...
in Tokyo, Japan on 19 October, as the first song from ''Wonder Days'' on 25 November 2014. Days later the album was announced for release on
earMusic Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...
on 16 February 2015. Several editions of ''Wonder Days'' were released, including a physical deluxe edition including a bonus disc recorded live at
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...
in 2013 and a "super deluxe bundle" which also included a
7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
single for the album's title track and an
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
called ''Killer'' featuring four new tracks. "When the Music Played" was released on 10" vinyl as a
Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
exclusive single on 18 April 2015, before "Resurrection Day" was released as the third and final single from the album the following day. In promotion of ''Wonder Days'', Thunder announced their first three UK arena headline shows for March 2015, with support bands
Reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
and Tax the Heat. Bowes explained that while the band "would have preferred to do more" shows, they did not want to "put undue pressure" on Matthews, who was still recovering from cancer at the time. The band later played a number of shows in Europe between June and August, including at
Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...
and a
ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
support slot at
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...
, toured Europe again in November, played a pair of dates in Japan at the end of the year, and returned to the UK in February 2016.


Reception


Commercial

''Wonder Days'' debuted at number 9 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, marking the first time Thunder had reached the UK top ten since 1995's ''
Behind Closed Doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...
'' peaked at number 5. It also topped the
UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...
, and reached number 5 on the UK Physical Albums Chart, number 9 on the
Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
, number 31 on the
UK Album Downloads Chart The UK Album Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts on behalf of the British music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The chart was introduced i ...
, and number 40 on the UK Album Sales Chart. Outside of the UK, the album also registered on album charts in Germany (at number 47), Switzerland (at number 52), Japan (at number 54), and the Wallonia region of Belgium (at number 180).


Critical

Reviewing the album for ''
Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
'' magazine, Malcolm Dome awarded ''Wonder Days'' a rating of four out of five stars, describing it as "Classy, fresh and memorable". Praising the "rigorous, blues-tinged melodic hard rock elements which established the band's reputation in the first place", Dome highlighted the performances of guitarist Luke Morley and vocalist Danny Bowes, and hailed the album as "a massive reminder that class is both timeless and incandescent". ''
The Yorkshire Times ''The Yorkshire Times'' is an online newspaper founded in 2011 by Richard Trinder, and the sole online-only paper in Yorkshire. Rather than employing journalists, ''The Yorkshire Times'' focuses instead on citizen journalism, with opinion, com ...
'' writer Graham Clark dubbed ''Wonder Days'' a "fine return to form", highlighting songs including "Wonder Days", "When the Music Played", "The Thing I Want" and "Serpentine". Chris Chantler of TeamRock selected "The Thing I Want" as one of six "tracks of the week" on 6 March 2015, ''Classic Rock'' highlighted "Resurrection Day" in a similar feature later in the month, and at the end of the year ''Wonder Days'' was selected by the magazine as the 11th best album of the year.


Track listing


Personnel


Chart positions


References


Bibliography

*


External links


''Wonder Days''
on Thunder's official website * {{Authority control 2015 albums Thunder (band) albums Edel AG albums Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios