There are numerous streaming services competing to claim your hard-earned money, including specialty ones. You can get every channel on cable and still not be able to enjoy certain things, and specialty services can fill that void. Take AMC’s Shudder as an example, a service devoted to horror content that’s grown to the point where they now create their own content and license some of the best horror films and shows for their subscribers to enjoy. Until recently, being a fan of music (or, more specifically, metal music), there really wasn’t much out there until now. Thunderflix is an app/service devoted to bringing some of the best content to home screens from some of heavy metal’s biggest names.
The service aims to bring documentaries, concerts, and feature films on a subscription-based platform, catering to heavy metal fans of the genre and sub-genres. They also promise to deliver higher payouts to the actual content owners than wider available services. Is it worth forking over the extra cash? Let’s take a closer look.
The Thunderflix interface is simple and effective. It’s easy to navigate and not overly loaded with different categories; just straight to the point. You can add content to your library by searching for whatever you want, clicking on a little side menu (the three dots), then adding to your list to watch later. There’s even the option to download to certain devices for offline viewing.
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I watched content on four different devices to get an idea of how playback would be. I used a laptop, a television with Roku, an iPad, and iPhone. I’m happy to report that the playback on all devices was pretty flawless. There were no hang-ups, lock-ups, or buffering issues, just smooth viewing. There was some content I found lacking subtitles. Others did have subtitles, so I’m unsure why they were missing from the short documentary Cold Void.
Speaking of Cold Void, a mini-documentary on Niklas Kvarforth of the black metal band Shining, let’s look at the content. What’s great here is that the bands featured on the app are not all from the same ilk. You can view content from heavyweights like Kiss, Metallica, Scorpions, Slipknot, and Ozzy Osbourne, but there’s all stuff from Death, Obituary, Alter Bridge, and several other lesser-known bands. Thunderflix encompasses the entire spectrum of what can be classified as rock or metal. All the various subgenres are represented, so you can find hard rock, heavy metal, thrash, nu-metal, death metal, black metal, or whatever you’re in the mood for. Since the service is still in its infancy, it can do so much more as it grows and evolves.
You can subscribe to Thunderflix for $6.66 a month or $66.60 a year, which isn’t a bad price. My only concern for its growth lies in the content. It has grade-A entertainment, but you could go through it all in a month or two. I feel the rate at which new content is added could make or break it. Looking at other services at a similar price point, their libraries are pretty large. Paramount +, Shudder, and Discovery+ have more significant content and come in at around $6 a month, so the competition is fierce. As the word spreads, I’m sure they will find a solid audience of subscribers, but to retain them, they’ll need to continue adding diverse content on a regular basis and in a timely manner.
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I was given a trial to check the site out for this article, and I would subscribe to Thunderflix. I love metal in all its forms, heavy, melodic, noisy, etc., so to find a documentary like Murder in the Front Row and then move on to a Classics Album episode about Meatloaf and Bat Out of Hell makes for an interesting night. If Thunderflix keeps moving in this direction, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes the foremost destination for live shows, documentaries, and more.
My final thought on Thunderflix can be summed up in three simple words… Two Horns Up!
Thunderflix is available on all major streaming platforms like Roku, Apple, Amazon, Xbox, and more. Visit their official site to learn more about the service or get a subscription.
