Thunder and Lightning

Thunder and Lightning is Thin Lizzy's twelfth album, on which they carved a heavy tension into their final studio record with sharp guitars and heavy drive. John Sykes, the young guitarist from Tygers of Pan Tang, joined, and the band plays their heaviest sound yet. Phil Lynott's renewed creative drive surges throughout. Sykes's flashy playing made the band sound reborn, and Wharton contributed on the writing side. A more modern metal sharpness was added to their old twin-guitar sound. Aggressive songs line up, from the title track "Thunder and Lightning" to the urgent single "Cold Sweat." At the same time, the ballad "The Sun Goes Down" holds a melancholy that hints at farewell. The album reached No. 4 in the UK. But with concert attendance falling short, Lynott announced the band's breakup. A powerful yet poignant final record crowning their career. Late in the farewell tour, former guitarists including Bell, Moore and Robertson were welcomed onstage, and the band bowed out at the Reading Festival in August 1983. Lynott passed away in 1986, and this lineup would never reunite.