A Sound of Thunder Presents Queen of Hell: Initium
Created by A Sound of Thunder
Born to serve in Hell, manipulated by Heaven, neither side reckoned on Cecilia's will to forge her own path of destruction!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Live stream party this weekend! Plus: a second guitarist?!
9 months ago
– Thu, Jul 10, 2025 at 12:43:43 PM
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
As per ASoT Kickstarter regulations, here's a video update from Josh followed by a summary!
ASoT with a 2nd guitarist?!
It's true, for one special show on July 25th we'll be joined by Sebastian Ochoa on second guitar, melting your faces live with a twin-axe attack! This is a special one-off performance, so get there if you can! And we're selling tickets for this one so please get them directly from us HERE! This show is at The Recher in Towson, Maryland, and we're opening for Plush!
We have some new shirts and patches only available at shows! Be one of the first ten people to buy a ticket for our show with Plush to get this patch free!
We're also going to be playing Brooklyn, New York at the Luck 13 Saloon on Saturday, July 26th!
LIVE STREAM RELEASE PARTIES & DIGITAL RELEASE THIS SUNDAY!
Look for your digital rewards including Initium, all bonus tracks & covers, the standard & layered versions of the comics, and the digital discographies this weekend! They should be hitting your inboxes by Sunday morning. Make sure you are receiving e-mails from BackerKit so you don't miss them!
Sunday July 13th 5pm EST: Private Pre-Game! (If you got the private online listening party reward on the comic campaign, this is for you! Check your messages or message us for the link!)
Then at 6pm we start a public stream for all Kickstarter backers and anyone else who wants to join in! We'll be doing a casual VH1 Storytellers-style jam through the Initium songs, talking about the project, taking your questions, and probably drinking and doing some stupid human tricks!
Shipping of all rewards is proceeding slowly but steadily. Some of you should be receiving tracking numbers every day. We will have a more accurate idea of where we are in the process next week after checking off the digital rewards delivery!
We're recording a new album this fall! Artwork for the next chapter of the Queen of Hell comic will be underway but we're not going to present that project until the comic is DONE, so you all know you won't end up waiting for it again. So we're doing a separate and totally awesome new studio album instead!
Juan Jose Ryp is scheduled to draw the first issue of the next chapter of Queen of Hell this August! Issues 2-4 should be started later in the year and completing in 2026. The music is written, demoed, and drums have been recorded, but we'll wait until the comic is nearly done before finishing the music and presenting anything to you!
We have gigs booked in August, September, and October, and even one in 2026 that we can't announce yet. We'll announce them all soon, but just know WE'RE BACK!
That's it for today, Legion! As always, thank you for your support, your patience, and most of all for making the thunder happen! It truly wouldn't be possible without you!
Cheers,
Nina, Josh, Jesse & Justin
Live release party & digital release! Richmond, VA this weekend!
10 months ago
– Fri, Jun 06, 2025 at 11:50:55 AM
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
Just a short update today because we're getting ready for our concert in Richmond, VA tomorrow!
You know the protocol! Here's an update from Josh, and we'll summarize below!
DIGITAL RELEASE AND ONLINE RELEASE PARTY SCHEDULED FOR JULY 13TH!
Digital music and comics will be sent out via BackerKit on July 13th!
A public live stream release party will be held for all Kickstarter backers on Youtube at 6:15pm EST on Youtube:
Note you will have to subscribe to the channel ahead of time if you want to participate in the live chat. (We do this to prevent spam in the live chat.)
Backers of the comic campaign who are getting the Private Listening Party reward will get a private link for a separate "pre-game" live stream taking place at 5pm EST on July 13th (immediately before the public stream).
Shipping Update
Josh has been shipping out physical rewards at a slow but steady clip!
The current goal is to get all physical rewards shipped before the digital release on July 13th.
You will receive a tracking link automatically from our postage service PirateShip when your package is shipped. But feel free to message us at any point for an update or to have us check on your package. (Giggity.)
Thunder X-Mas Photos
Don't forget to please post photos and tag us when your Kickstarter goodies arrive! This helps spread the gospel of Thunder and brings in new fans which helps get us back on the road and in the studio!
Demons Songs
Don't forget Demons contains our roadmap for a lot of the music for the rest of the Queen of Hell project. The idea is that you all can let us know which ones you like and which ones you don't! Think one of them sucks?! Let us know and we'll write another! If you all agree one of them rules, we'll definitely keep it!
The Road Ahead
We've noticed an uptick in show requests from regional promoters. It seems like word is getting out that we're back. We have more shows on the calendar currently than we've had in a few years. Want to see us in your town? Have your local venue our metal promoter contact us!
We're in pre-production discussions with our producer Kevin '131' Gutierrez for recording this fall! New music is on the way!
Richmond Tomorrow! (Saturday June 7th)
We're playing The Canal Club in Richmond, VA tomorrow, Saturday, June 7th. Come see us if you're in the area! You might even find some metal folk at Oak & Apple BBQ earlier in the afternoon... ;) If you happen to stop in around 3pm, come say hi!
That's it for today, Legion! Stay strong, stay Thunderous!
Cheers,
Nina, Josh, Jesse & Chris
Shipping & Band Update!
10 months ago
– Wed, May 21, 2025 at 06:35:52 PM
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
Here's a video update from Josh. As usual we'll summarize in bullet points below in case you don't want to stare at this GDILF for four minutes:
Campaign info:
Shipping is underway (and has been for several weeks). All items are now in stock!
Please post pics and tag us when you get your stuff! It helps spread the word, which helps us make more stuff for you and hopefully come play in your area!
An e-mail shipping notification with tracking link will be sent when your items go out! (You can message us directly if you think you may have missed yours!)
That shiny Queen of Hell symbol thingy in your physical goodies is a metallic sticker! Curl one of the points to get the backing to come off!
We do not use a fulfillment company. Josh hand packs everything himself. We estimate it will take at least another four weeks to get everything shipped. You are way more likely to receive the correct, undamaged items this way, so please bear with us!
We are eyeing late June for a release of the digital music and comics for all backers. (This is still not a public release date. We're not sure about that yet. Right now Queen of Hell: Initium is just for you backers!)
Band info:
Nina is starring in the metal opera Lempira: Oro y Sangre in Baltimore, Maryland through the end of May. This is a live stage production with a classic heavy metal soundtrack and epic story of courage and resistance! Go see it in person if you can or watch the one and only streaming show on May 30th!GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
Nina and castmates in Lempira. She savagely murders someone shortly after this scene. All her dreams are coming true.
Our next show is JUNE 7TH at The Canal Club in RICHMOND, VA! This is our first time in Richmond since before the pandemic! Get there if you can! GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
Writing is well underway for our first full-length studio album with Justin on drums. Justin sent us an incredible melody which we are now developing into an epic-length album closer. With the addition of that song we have nearly a full album's worth of material already. This album may come out between Queen of Hell chapters or after all of them are out. But either way, we are feeling creative and very excited about the new music!
Ok, here's a pic of Nina with her latest sketch cover as a reward for reading this whole update!
Now everyone sing "Nina on Nina" to the tune of "Metal on Metal" by Anvil. You're welcome...
OK, that's it for tonight, Legion! As always THANK YOU for your support and for keeping the dream alive! Watch those mailboxes!
Cheers,
Nina, Josh, Jesse & Justin
Finally, all items are here! New BTS songwriting video!
12 months ago
– Fri, Apr 18, 2025 at 12:49:04 PM
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
Today was a big day at Thunder HQ! We received both the Queen of Hell raglan t-shirts from the comic campaign, and the Demons bonus CDs! These were the last two items we were waiting for, so we are officially changing the status of this campaign to "all rewards made" and "fulfilling all rewards"!
Before we show of the goods, we want to let you know that Josh made an in-depth video about our songwriting process. It takes you from writing the first riff for a new song and shows you how and why we add additional parts to get to a full instrumental song that can then go to rehearsal to be worked up by the band. We'd like to know if you want us to make this a series and continue on documenting the rest of the process from rehearsal through to the studio!
Alright, here's what came in today:
We'll begin shipping batches of rewards next week. Keep in mind that we have no fulfillment partners, employees, or helpers. Josh will be hand-packing every single package on both campaigns. It will take a while to get through all the packages. (We're guessing at least a month.) But we will continue posting updates and let you know which groups and tiers are shipping out. So hang in there just a little bit longer and your stuff will be in your hands before you know it!
We'll also be letting you know about a digital delivery date for music & comics, as well as the backers-only listening party from the comic campaign, and a few other special rewards and events that need to be planned.
Queen of Hell: Initium is still only for you backers. It's not for sale or pre-sale anywhere else. So when your stuff arrives we'd still love it if you share photos online, but please don't send files to friends and especially don't upload anything to the internet. We'll have a pre-launch page up for Queen of Hell Act II shortly, and prefer you direct anyone who missed out on Act I to that page!
Also don't forget our next live shows:
June 7th - Richmond, VA - The Canal Club
July 25th - Towson, MD- The Recher (opening for Plush)
That's it for today, Legion! Expect an update next week, hopefully showing off our big-ass fulfillment assembly line and a giant tower of packages ready to ship!
Cheers,
Nina, Josh, Jesse & Justin
Shirts are here! Nina featured in rock opera!
12 months ago
– Mon, Apr 07, 2025 at 03:06:10 PM
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
Our main order of t-shirts has arrived! This includes all the purple, classic black, and 3/4-sleeve raglans from the main music campaign!
We're currently quality checking the order, making sure we received the correct quantity, etc., and interestingly we seem to have gotten some misprinted negative variants of the purple t-shirt!
The printer was aware of these before shipping so we believe that these are extra shirts in addition to what we ordered. We'll confirm that and make them available if they are indeed extra stock.
Next to arrive in 1-3 weeks will be the short-sleeve raglans from the comic campaign and finally the Demons bonus CDs. Then we'll officially be in shipping mode!
The above paragraph should have said "1-2 weeks" but unfortunately the completion date for Demons slipped at the factory again since last week. We'll start sharing screenshots to document this in case it slips again. Last Friday these dates were April 13-20, and now they have moved back to April 21-29. Hopefully they won't slip again! These are being manufactured in the US so once they ship they should reach us in ~2 days.
We are also waiting on the last t-shirt style, the short-sleeve raglans from the comic campaign. But those only affect about 30-40 people.
We'll keep you posted on a digital release date and the date for the private listening party. Those will both be coming up shortly. We have decided that - at least for now - Queen of Hell: Initium will remain a backer-exclusive!
The main thing is that regardless of when we actually receive these last shirts and CDs, we are setting up our assembly line and pre-packing some items and orders now! We'll be ready to start blasting out packages as soon as these final items arrive!
Demons: The Queen of Hell Demos
Speaking of the Demons CD, it is jam packed with 15 songs and a run time of 78+ minutes! Normally we leave our demos pretty rough and basic. After this many years we can use our imaginations and know if a song is going to be good before adding all the bells & whistles. But since we're sharing these with all of you we went the extra mile to polish them up. Even though they are just demos we think you all will really enjoy the CD. It's a peek into our creative process, and also happens to be the home of "Lord Shiteater" and "The Power of the Frog", two sure-fire Legion of Thunder favorites! ;)
The concept behind this bonus CD was that we would share all of the Queen of Hell saga songs in progress with you now so you can give us your feedback before we record the next two chapters of the Queen of Hell saga!
Nina Featured in Lempira Rock Opera this May! Live stream May 30th!
Lempira is presented by the Baltimore Rock Opera Society and features Nina in one of the lead roles! And if that weren't awesome enough, the composer of this show is our long time friend and member of the Legion of Thunder, Sebastian Ochoa Arguijo!
Sebastian is a backer on this very campaign, so drop a comment and congratulate him on this massive achievement!
Performances of Lempira will take place in Baltimore every weekend from May 9th through May 31st. Nina has been informed by Baltimore Rock Opera Society veterans that their performances usually all sell out, so if you can make it to Baltimore be sure to grab your tickets A.S.A.P.! Get in-person tickets here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=bros
Deep in the jungles of what is modern day Honduras and El Salvador, home of warring Lenca factions, Lempira's conquest is interrupted by an arrival of a dangerous new threat. Faced with the inevitability of colonial imperialism, Lempira must overcome his own pride, embrace a cause greater than himself, and unite the people he was once fighting against.
LEMPIRA is the massive mytho-historic tale of the invincible Lord of the Mountain, condensing a decades-long resistance against Spanish imperialism into one night of theatrical spectacle. Based on true events of Mesoamerican history & mythology, this heavily stylized retelling is filled with Latin-inspired metal music, epic storytelling, and arresting visuals that capture the rich, awe-inspiring spirit of indigenous Latin American culture.
With characters who use both English and Spanish, we invite the audience to look past the barrier of language and identify with characters through their actions and song. Rest assured, there will be projected translations in both languages during the show.
OK, Legion! That's it for today. We'll be back with another update soon. Until then, stay metal and don't take any shit from Udoroth!
