Royal Thunder on Facebook | Royal Thunder on Bandcamp | Royal Thunder on Instagram

ROYAL THUNDER are a four-piece rock band based out of Atlanta, Georgia that seamlessly blend the elements of heavy classic rock, 90’s grunge, and forward-thinking progressive rock. Propelled by the powerfully emotional voice of frontwoman Mlny Parsonz, the guitar heroics of Josh Weaver, and the dynamic drums of Evan Diprima, ROYAL THUNDER have been described by NPR as “a revved-up Southern hard-rock that howls like Led Zeppelin astride a psychedelic unicorn” and as “magnificently compelling rock music” by Decibel Magazine. Formed in 2004 by Weaver, his brother, and his best friend, the band went through several lineup changes over the years before settling on their current lineup, which also incorporated second guitarist Will Fiore as of 2015.

In 2007, ROYAL THUNDER self-released their debut EP and started touring with Jesse Stuber on drums. By 2010, Relapse Records took notice and signed the band, beginning with an official re-release of their self-titled EP then later releasing their 2012 full-length debut, CVI. Stuber left the band after CVI was complete, replaced by drummer Lee Smith. The band toured with Lee Smith and Josh Coleman (who also joined during the making of CVI on second guitar) for a few US tours. CVI was widely praised by critics, including Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, who said that Weaver’s playing has “the meaty, base elements of early-Seventies British blues” and Metal Hammer Magazine, who stated, “through the powerhouse vocals of Mlny Parsonz and a refusal to keep their sound boxed, Royal Thunder look set to be the underground’s next big breakout stars”. Other publications such as SPIN called the album “stunning” while Revolver Magazine described it as “essential” and The Guardian called the band “elegantly powerful,” and compared them to prime Led Zeppelin.

Since current drummer Diprima joined in October 2012, the band have been heavily touring the world, including full North American and European Tours with Baroness as well as prominent US tours alongside Monster Magnet, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Pallbearer, Enslaved, Corrosion of Conformity, O’Brother and many more. The group have also played high-profile festivals including SXSW, Bonnaroo, Scion Rock Fest, Bragg Jam, Roadburn, and numerous others. In a gap in their heavy touring schedule in 2013, the band recorded CVI: A, a set of acoustic renditions of three songs from CVI. ROYAL THUNDER then entered the studio once more in January of 2014 to begin their sophomore LP, Crooked Doors which was once again recorded, produced, and engineered by Joey Jones of Aria Recording Studio, with whom the band has a long standing working and personal relationship. Crooked Doors was released worldwide in April of 2015 via Relapse Records and has been praised by dozens of high-profile publications including Stereogum, The Guardian, and NPR, the latter of which called the Atlanta band “a modern master of hard-rock.” Though they’ve been around for ten years, ROYAL THUNDER seem to have only just hit their stride – the future stands to be even more uproarious than the band’s exciting early development.