Thrash guitarist Tiago James de Souza from Hand of Fire unveils his new side project Through the Clouds, putting together a collection of hard rock tracks carrying his signature guitar work.

Brazilian musician Tiago James de Souza is certainly known within thrash fans for his work as part of Hand of Fire (Rottweiler Records).  For those who really know a bit more about him, you also know that he is guitarist and producer of the album The Reapers by Perpetual Paranoia, a band featuring legendary vocalist Dale Thompson (Bride).  For this project, de Souza worked with Paulo Lima in Brazil while he recorded the music parts in California, making this a truly inter-continental project.  Paulo and Tiago met around three years ago through a mutual friend and the project began.  After a chat with Roxx Records CEO, they agreed to be part of the project and things began in earnest.

So, the tie to Hand of Fire certainly intrigued me when I received this album as their Nuclear Sunrise album made my Top 10, the year it came out.  I’ve always loved thrash, probably because of its close ties to punk, so I was hoping for more of that.  The opening track “Crossfire” put things in a different light as once the long intro with blistering solo ended, the song became a 90’s –influenced hard rock track.   Ever present in the songs is de Souza’s incredible guitar work.  Paulo Lima’s vocals are a bit too loud in the mix for my taste and the rhythm section a bit too quiet but everything is still very listenable and much of the complaints I have might just be my taste, so keep that in mind.  Lima’s vocals even have that 90’s era feel to them, specifically like some of the Seattle bands like Alice in Chains and others of the later Seattle scene. Continue reading »