We all know some metal isn't meant to be taken seriously, while some extreme metal can actually be a matter of life and death. But when the latest album from massive bodybuilder Thor, with the smug third-person title Thor Against the World, landed on my desk, I didn't know just how seriously I should be about spending time with it. The song titles certainly didn't look promising: "Creature Feature," "Megaton Man," "Turn to Blue," "The Coming of Thor." Yikes.
But, hey, if Henry Rollins endorses this big blonde guy - which apparently he does - who am I to argue? So I popped in Thor Against the World, wondering why I've never heard the music of John Mikl Thor (a.k.a. "Thor the Rock Warrior"), who has been releasing songs for more than a quarter of a century. Although I'm not knocked out by anything I hear - including the seemingly out-of-key gang vocals on the title-track opener - I must give Thor credit for failing to kowtow to current trends. Think a bizarro blur of Alice Cooper, Manowar, Sweet, David Bowie and KISS backed by more than a dozen musicians and backing vocalists. The album gets more fun as it progresses, and Thor embraces enough styles to keep listeners wondering what will come next. Which brings us back to "Megaton Man." Turns out that sucker is a prog-rock monster, complete with kitschy synths, cheesy spoken-word passages and a crazy sci-fi plot.
By the way, if you're intrigued enough, don't forget to look for the new An-THOR-logy DVD, featuring videos, rare television appearances and live clips.
Track Listing:
1) Thor Against the World
2) Creature Feature
3) Easy Woman
4) Serpents Kiss
5) Glimmer
6) Gonna Have A Hard Time
7) Hard to Cry
8) Long Time
9) Megaton Man
10) Turn to Blue
11) The Coming of Thor
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
