Only the Strong

Thor are a wonderfully clichéd and OTT heavy metal band from Vancouver Canada, who have ex body builder and former Mr. Canada and Mr. USA Jon Mikl Thor as their front man. The band have being on and off since the late 70's, and have built up quite a cult following, one of theses followers is Circle's (the wonderful mixed genre and rocking Finnish band) bass player and Ektro label owner Jussi Lehtisalo who has reissued a few Thor albums over the last few years. "Only the Strong" was original released back in 1985, and it's prime muscle bound 80's metal- think Manowar but even more OTT and extremely cheesy too.

The album seems to have somewhat of a vague concept running through it as we start off with the intro track С2045Т which finds a rather hammy male Brit actor talking about "an ancient city of ruins where mutants, demons and demigods roam - the city stands in the year 2045 and only the strong survive there!" When we launch into 11 tracks of pure breed 80's metal which I guess you'd call a highbred of a lot of metal bands from the time - the tracks strut, chant, chug and sometimes brief drop into cheesy theatricals, but for the most part the tracks are mean lean metal cheese machines hitting between just under the three minutes mark and just over the four minute mark apiece.

I have to say I'm more taken with "Only the Strong" compared with the bands other output, which was decidedly mixed in musicianship and song quality. The tracks here are much more consistent, memorable and better put together. Sure none of it's re-inventing the wheel, but for 2nd grade 80's metal stomping this is an enjoyable ride. For the reissue we get one extra live track, and a nice glossy inlay booklet showing the band in all their cheesy loin cloth and stud wearing glory. So if you have a secret passion for 80's cheese and chant metal "Only the Strong" is very much worthy of your attention.

Originally posted at: www.musiquemachine.com

In my little discovery of the history of Canadian metal music, I lately heard about this band from British Columbia and gave a try to a couple of their albums. "Only the strong" is probably the most energizing record of the band and presents us ten great traditional heavy metal tracks that should please to anyone that liked the bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is nowadays missing the spirit of that time. The heavy metal genre has become a dinosaur destined to die but we have those legendary albums that will always remain and won't let this music and philosophy die. "Only the strong" delivers truly everything what traditional heavy metal stands for without being extremely innovating or outstanding.

After an interesting psychedelic dystopian introduction that is the only experiment of the whole album kicks off the title track that already delivers everything we might expect. Powerful vocals filled with passion, solid guitar riffs and enjoyable guitar solos while the pumping bass guitar and a standard drumming deliver the base and background to this song. It's a typical heavy metal track in the style of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and there are many of them on this record such as the catchy "Start raising hell" or the straight anthem "Knock'em down". With ordinary songs such as "Rock the city" or "Hot flames" you can also find two boring fillers on the record.

Let's point out the songs that stand out from the rest. "Let the blood run red" starts with a weird scream before a straight and rhythm orientated heavy metal hymn kicks off. The song is still a little bit softer than the other. The vocal performances are much smoother and more diversified. The drum work is very diversified on this track and tends to accelerate and change from time to time and I would have liked to hear more song of that style and at such a high level. This is definitely one of the highlights on the record. "When gods collide" is probably the most aggressive song on the album but sounds weirdly cacophonous at some points. "Now comes the storm" starts with strange vocal effects that come back in the chorus while the musical direction has a clear punk touch. "Thunder on the tundra" is another big highlight of the record and has a very short dark and atmospheric introduction before a catchy riff leads to the main corpse of the song. I must point out the energetic and highly melodic chorus that offers some energizing background chorals. The song is traditional and has yet the special something to be different from the rest of the album. The track is as catchy and addicting as the album closer "Ride of the chariot" that begins with a soft and haunting melody. The band proves quite quickly that they won't do any experiments in here though and a majestic riff leads to a up tempo heavy metal anthem. The only negative point is that the riff reminds a lot of Iron Maiden's "Transylvania" and copies the true kings of heavy metal a little bit.

In the end, we have many great heavy metal songs and with "Let blood run red" and "Thunder in the tundra" at least two high quality tracks that are worth listening to. This album can shortly be described as solid traditional heavy metal without big surprises or flaws. So if you purchase this album you really know what to expect. But then comes in a little unexpected surprise.

Let me now add something special. If you purchase a new release of the record, you might also happen to listen to two bonus tracks. "Invader" is a fast thrash metal song that rather remind sof Metallica than of Iron Maiden and adds something new and more to the value of the record. The lyrics are though rather similar to the world of Manowar with its Viking warriors. The other bonus song "Unchained" is more melodic and has a haunting and hypnotizing introduction. The song has a rather epic touch and the voice has a slight sleaze rock or punk touch once again and this mixture is truly interesting to listen to. There is also an interesting tribal drum solo in the middle part. One could almost say that the two bonus tracks experiment more than the other ten or eleven album tracks taken together. I would say that those two songs rate this album about at least five points up so that you should try to get a recent version of it.

Jon Mikl Thor was known for many things in the 80s but may be not for churning out quality metal for record after record. When entering the fray in 1977 Thor was much noise, hassle and bombastic overtures. With a debut album so shoddy and piss-taking that Keep The Dogs Away managed to be, it was no wonder that it was back to the sweaty gyms for Mr. Canada.

Roll around mid-80s, Thor had tensed enough muscle to make a worthy re-entrance to a raging metal scene going to through its finest hour. The tiny Finnish label, Ektro Records has been carrying on with their odd Thor-reissuing spree for two slabs already. Now, finally is the time to reissue the most worthwhile album this oiled giant ever had to offer.

Only the Strong is admittedly a balls-out package of some really tasty riffage and headbanging material, but it jumped in the fire while the kettle was hottest. In 1985 shit was literally flying all over the place, with the big names breaking glass roofs everywhere they could. At this point Manowar was already done with Hail to England and Sign of the Hammer, which are the two finest pieces of oiled-muscle heavy metal there ever was to be in my opinion.

Thor's major problem is the b-series mediocrity of it all. He isn't much of a singer, best when he gets down and dirty and employs some raspy growls. The songs follow a common pattern, crunchy, simple riffing backed by a monotonous bass line. Thor only employed one guitarist on this record and it's you can definitely hear it, there's absolutely no zeal of the battle axes you could hear on contemporary Priest and Maiden, nor any trace of Ross The Boss's epic perfection.

However, I don't wanna fall on my knees just dissing this record! In the murky sea of obscure North American metal, Thor's finest combines the killer-rate cheese factor of early Anvil to Manowar's bombastic metal attack. It may not hit the center of the pan at all times, but who was asking for some prog rock shit anyway?

Long before the days of modern 'Frodo and the Ring' Power Metal, the genre was ruled by leather-clad muscle men who wrote about crushing skulls and destroying their enemies. Thor is one of the most prolific examples of early Power Metal, and 'Only the Strong' perfectly exemplifies all that he and his band stood for. As per usual, guitarist Steven Price solidifies his position as one of the most underrated guitarist / songwriters in Metal history, kicking the album off with a bang once the title track begins, and never once stopping the Metal assault until the album stops. "All Killer - No Filler" seems to be Thor's mantra on this album. Ballads - like faint-hearted wimps - are scorned, and even with this record's slightly more commercial approach when compared to Thor's previous work, the production quality is still subdued enough to keep things heavy.

Highlights of the record - Knock 'em Down, Thunder on the Tundra, Let the Blood Run Red, Ride of the Chariots, and the title track - are not weighed down by vapid formulaic rock songs. To even pick highlights among such great song-writing does the album a bit of a disservice, actually, but these particular song stand out as particularly stellar. Even the intro track, which is a simple spoken-word narration that sets the theme for the album, is every bit as good as the spoken intros done for Manowar's 'Dark Avenger' or even Iron Maiden's 'Number of the Beast.'

It's a shame that much of Thor's discography is out of print. This album truly is a lost treasure of early Power Metal. Highly recommended for the Metal faithful.