Thor
Metal Avenger
Deadline Music
2015
As much as I like Thor and I’ve found his late 00’s performances that I was able to catch after a certain point, I suppose sometime in the early to middle 90s, former Mr. USA Jon Mikl Thor, the band’s namesake and main personality, has seen his powers of singing as well as his once incredibly well built physique, somewhat decline. Granted that Thor was never a “great” singer, his stentorian voice backed by some simple yet effective metallic boogies, has worked well in the past, but these days the “roar” is a bit more trimmed down and affected by a deepening of the voice and somewhat diminished range…
While the music still works nicely, Thor’s voice sounds worse for wear and not as strong as it did back in the day. He still gives it all it has got, a man, who wants to entertain, no matter what… which does come across allowing us to judge him with some leniency…
The combination of some actually not so bad songs, plus a bunch of famous and semi-famous guests along with the thundergod’s valiant efforts actually seems to work and after you settle in you tend to enjoy the unapologetic and to the point heavy rock on offer here… you may be unable to kill the thought at the back of your head, of what if… but it’s useless asking that question, really.
Opener “Out of Control” features the man of more than 40 albums in 20 or so years, Finnish bassist Jussi Lehtisalo from Circle and besides a rather pronounced bass, it doesn’t really manage to really ignite the album properly, despite its driving riff and some screaming in the background...
“Metal Avenger” is somewhat better and even if its title brings to mind some former glories, it still works, nicely. Fast Eddie Clarke, formerly of Motorhead and Fastway, is the guest of honor here assisting, the might one...
Another bassist, Repulsion’s Scott Carlson (also in Cathedral and Death in the past) is featured on the OKish “Kings of Thunder and Lightning” that’s somewhat different, but still enjoyable...
Bigmouthed punk legend Henry Rollins of Black Flag, doubles up his Thundership on the rather mediocre “Master of Revenge” that tries to out-Manowar… Manowar of old. Unsuccessfully.
“Destruct” featuring Brian Forsythe (Kix!?) under different circumstances might have been pretty good, but it’s too rock ‘n rollish and despite a decent riff, it’s cringe-worthy at the very least.
“The Hammer”, which features Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French, is marginally better, but sounds too stoned and 70s like to actually make a big impact, like it tries to do. Another good riff and licks, not really living up to their potential.
“Taste of Victory” features the silicon uber-milf Betsy Bitch (Bitch) & Rikk Agnew (Christian Death among others) and despite again being a bit too hard rock oriented, in a 70s manner, it seems to work better than the previous attempts, largely because of Betsy’s ballsy delivery...
“Heavy Load” doesn’t mention any guests and driven by a heavy handed riff. It manages to not bore the listener, despite its slower pace. Its ending is some “faux Radio/TV programme” about aliens that is in fact interrupted by an invasion by the “Legions of the Psykon World”. Guitarist Jack Starr (ex-Virgin Steele) tries hard, but the song for the most part comes across as a Spinal Tap leftover, (which isn’t meant as an insult per se, because Tap Rocks Hard!)…
“Drive”, feat. Cheetah Chrome most famously of punk heroes The Dead Boys, is another little hard rock gem, but not entirely consistent with the tone of some other songs on the album, yet still not entirely out of touch with the bands overall sound.
“Stars Upon Stars” is a duet between Betsy Bitch (Bitch) and Thor and listening to them trying to do it, is a little painful, let’s say. Thor fares a tad better, because he’s not even trying… if it were done as comedy it would have been great, but I’m seriously doubting the tunefulness of this at various moments. It sounds quite dissonant with Thor singing considerably lower, but even Betsy’s effort is not among the best things she’s ever done.
“T.H.O.R.”, feat. Joey Shithead (D.O.A.), is somehow not that bad, even if it tries that space rock meets earthly metal thing… if it didn’t have an acronym/cheerleader sort of chorus, it might have been actually pretty great, since the vocals performance is somewhat better and more consistent on this one.
“Atomic Man”, feat. Peter Stjarnvind (Krux/Pest/Black Trip,) is a lot better, managing to bridge the Hammer-holding one,s primal style with some nice 70s styled rock in a way that sounds compatible enough to not sound like a bizarre marriage between 2 unrelated things.
“Wings of Destiny”, features Niklas Stalvind (Wolf), I would assume on both guitars and vocals, and while the gap between the vocal performances of the two could be made wide, they also seem able to bridge it, mid-way in a mid-tempo number that neither pleases nor disappoints...
Lastly there’s “Law of the Universe”, a slower spacey semi-ballad, quite blue in its core and probably an ideal way to close the album.
With a document about him and this new album, 2015 shapes up to be a good year for Thor, who might not have been awarded a big platinum album and is unlikely to do so, at this day and age, but still keep on going strong against all odds. That feat alone is worthy of admiration and respect.
I suppose I will stick to some earlier works of the godly one, but still longtime fans, in all likelihood will not be disappointed… and for a cult hero like Thor that is a small victory.
While the music still works nicely, Thor’s voice sounds worse for wear and not as strong as it did back in the day. He still gives it all it has got, a man, who wants to entertain, no matter what… which does come across allowing us to judge him with some leniency…
The combination of some actually not so bad songs, plus a bunch of famous and semi-famous guests along with the thundergod’s valiant efforts actually seems to work and after you settle in you tend to enjoy the unapologetic and to the point heavy rock on offer here… you may be unable to kill the thought at the back of your head, of what if… but it’s useless asking that question, really.
Opener “Out of Control” features the man of more than 40 albums in 20 or so years, Finnish bassist Jussi Lehtisalo from Circle and besides a rather pronounced bass, it doesn’t really manage to really ignite the album properly, despite its driving riff and some screaming in the background...
“Metal Avenger” is somewhat better and even if its title brings to mind some former glories, it still works, nicely. Fast Eddie Clarke, formerly of Motorhead and Fastway, is the guest of honor here assisting, the might one...
Another bassist, Repulsion’s Scott Carlson (also in Cathedral and Death in the past) is featured on the OKish “Kings of Thunder and Lightning” that’s somewhat different, but still enjoyable...
Bigmouthed punk legend Henry Rollins of Black Flag, doubles up his Thundership on the rather mediocre “Master of Revenge” that tries to out-Manowar… Manowar of old. Unsuccessfully.
“Destruct” featuring Brian Forsythe (Kix!?) under different circumstances might have been pretty good, but it’s too rock ‘n rollish and despite a decent riff, it’s cringe-worthy at the very least.
“The Hammer”, which features Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French, is marginally better, but sounds too stoned and 70s like to actually make a big impact, like it tries to do. Another good riff and licks, not really living up to their potential.
“Taste of Victory” features the silicon uber-milf Betsy Bitch (Bitch) & Rikk Agnew (Christian Death among others) and despite again being a bit too hard rock oriented, in a 70s manner, it seems to work better than the previous attempts, largely because of Betsy’s ballsy delivery...
“Heavy Load” doesn’t mention any guests and driven by a heavy handed riff. It manages to not bore the listener, despite its slower pace. Its ending is some “faux Radio/TV programme” about aliens that is in fact interrupted by an invasion by the “Legions of the Psykon World”. Guitarist Jack Starr (ex-Virgin Steele) tries hard, but the song for the most part comes across as a Spinal Tap leftover, (which isn’t meant as an insult per se, because Tap Rocks Hard!)…
“Drive”, feat. Cheetah Chrome most famously of punk heroes The Dead Boys, is another little hard rock gem, but not entirely consistent with the tone of some other songs on the album, yet still not entirely out of touch with the bands overall sound.
“Stars Upon Stars” is a duet between Betsy Bitch (Bitch) and Thor and listening to them trying to do it, is a little painful, let’s say. Thor fares a tad better, because he’s not even trying… if it were done as comedy it would have been great, but I’m seriously doubting the tunefulness of this at various moments. It sounds quite dissonant with Thor singing considerably lower, but even Betsy’s effort is not among the best things she’s ever done.
“T.H.O.R.”, feat. Joey Shithead (D.O.A.), is somehow not that bad, even if it tries that space rock meets earthly metal thing… if it didn’t have an acronym/cheerleader sort of chorus, it might have been actually pretty great, since the vocals performance is somewhat better and more consistent on this one.
“Atomic Man”, feat. Peter Stjarnvind (Krux/Pest/Black Trip,) is a lot better, managing to bridge the Hammer-holding one,s primal style with some nice 70s styled rock in a way that sounds compatible enough to not sound like a bizarre marriage between 2 unrelated things.
“Wings of Destiny”, features Niklas Stalvind (Wolf), I would assume on both guitars and vocals, and while the gap between the vocal performances of the two could be made wide, they also seem able to bridge it, mid-way in a mid-tempo number that neither pleases nor disappoints...
Lastly there’s “Law of the Universe”, a slower spacey semi-ballad, quite blue in its core and probably an ideal way to close the album.
With a document about him and this new album, 2015 shapes up to be a good year for Thor, who might not have been awarded a big platinum album and is unlikely to do so, at this day and age, but still keep on going strong against all odds. That feat alone is worthy of admiration and respect.
I suppose I will stick to some earlier works of the godly one, but still longtime fans, in all likelihood will not be disappointed… and for a cult hero like Thor that is a small victory.