Guitarist Joe Stump, currently lending his prodigious skills to Alcatrazz, has another project by the name of Joe Stump's Tower of Babel. Reviewed here is their 2025 album, Days of Thunder, and before you write this off as a shred album and stop reading, it is most definitely not that (not that there is anything wrong with a little shred in the mix every now and then). On Days of Thunder, Stump and crew lay out their love for the work of European guitar heroes like Ritchie Blackmore and Michael Schenker and their classic work in the late '70s and early '80s. The Middle Eastern vibes of Rainbow's "Stargaze," the neoclassical wizardry of Deep Purple's "Burn" and the direct, driving rock of UFO's "Lights Out" are all represented and, while the influences are impossible to ignore, the songwriting on Days of Thunder is homage, not imitation. The songs are hugely catchy and the playing throughout is tight. There is a decidedly hard rock streak to be sure, but the album is plenty heavy for those that enjoy melodic metal along with the heavy rock from the pioneers that laid the groundwork for heavy metal. Days of Thunder should do nicely for the aforementioned fans, along with those who like Alcatrazz, Fifth Angel, Axel Rudi Pell, etc.