Friday March 28, 2025
Torrential Thrill’s You May Be Right is a cover that doesn’t feel like a cover. It feels like a reclamation, a reassertion of the wild, untamed spirit that rock and roll was always meant to embody.
The Melbourne band takes Billy Joel’s classic—a song that, in its original form, was a polished, radio-friendly anthem—and strips it down to its raw, beating heart. What emerges is something far more primal, far more urgent, and far more alive. The track opens with a thunderous crash of drums, a declaration of intent that sets the tone for everything that follows.
The guitars are loud and unrelenting, a wall of sound that feels less like an instrument and more like a force of nature. Chris Malcher’s vocals are a revelation, imbuing the song with a kind of raw, unvarnished emotion that feels both timeless and utterly contemporary. And then there’s Steven Morrell’s guitar solo, a searing, incendiary moment that feels like the song catching fire. They’ve taken a song that had become comfortable, familiar, and safe, and they’ve injected it with a kind of wild, untamed energy that feels dangerous and exhilarating.
Since their formation in 2014, Torrential Thrill have been one of Australia’s most exciting hard rock bands, carving out a space for themselves in a musical landscape that often favours the polished and predictable over the raw and real. Their journey—from the gritty, independent release of their debut album MARS to sharing stages with heavyweights like Fozzy and Dead City Ruins—has been one of relentless energy and unyielding passion.
You May Be Right is a testament to their enduring power, a track that doesn’t just demand to be heard; it demands to be felt. It’s a sonic gut-punch, a reminder that rock and roll, at its core, is about rebellion, about refusing to be tamed or sanitized. In a world that often feels increasingly safe, where edges are smoothed and risks are calculated, Torrential Thrill’s music is a defiant roar, a middle finger to the mundane. You May Be Right isn’t just a song; it’s a statement, a declaration that rock and roll is alive and kicking, and Torrential Thrill are its loud, unapologetic champions. And in a time when authenticity feels like a dwindling resource, that’s a rare and precious thing.
