Thor Against the World

Anyone in the 21st century has the technology to at least produce music where the fadeouts don’t cut off prematurely, and the fingers plucking the guitar strings aren’t audible; Thor himself is the lone exception. Seriously, this was recorded in 2005, and the guy’s been in the professional music business since the 1970’s. Audiophiles, please stop reading here.

Still reading? Okay, let’s get down to what matters. Thor is the rock god, and I have no qualms with his self-given title. This guy clearly grew up listening to everything from Elvis Presley, to David Bowie, to Judas Priest. Much like Lemmy, he fails to see any useful distinctions between the genres of rock and simply melds them all together. You can tell that when the 90’s rolled around he was the type who thought nothing odd of listening to Pearl Jam alongside Manowar. It’s all just rock and roll anyway.

This album is incredibly fun. It is optimistic, light-hearted, naïve, and most pivotally lawless. I can’t count how many genres are in this release. The central style is traditional metal, but he throws in so many saxophone solos, harmonicas, synthesizers, and pre-recorded “sha-la-la’s” and hand-clappings that you forget you’re listening to metal half the time. Nothing sounds out of place, though. Thor’s not some pretentious sophisticate who throws in unusual instruments for the sake of being artistic; everything is there because it is genuinely necessary for the song to reach its potential.

“Turn to Blue” is an acoustic ballad that would have been deemed too light for Bret Michaels to write, while the title-track sounds like late-80’s Manowar, even having the phrase “Heart of Steel” in the lyrics. Oh yeah, and then it mentions burning bridges, which is almost a little too suspicious.

Don’t think the versatility stops there. There’s this one awesome song called “Megaton Man” which is about extra terrestrials descending from outer space to Prometheus-esquely aid mankind. The synthesizer in the verses is ridiculously catchy and dance-worthy. I’ve never, ever felt this way listening to metal music before.

The subjective problem with this release is that Thor’s tastes are too vast to be entirely congenial with my own. “Hard to Cry” is country rock, and I’m just not into country music. I think there’s some new wave going on in “Long Time,” and there are also a lot of alternative rock and grungy tones throughout various points of the CD. Oh well, if you happen to enjoy these styles of music you’ll probably like this more than I do.

This is honest and genuine: the epitome of true metal. The lyrics are cliché-ridden and sometimes embarrassing, especially hickish tunes about making love to easy women, but you can’t possibly hate this. I’d recommend ordering a used copy of this off Amazon for a couple bucks. I know I’ve spent 20 dollars on albums I listen to less-than-half-as-often as this. My recommendation: enjoy.

Now, first off, let me say that this is the only Thor album I've ever heard. I wasn't even aware of him before this album unfortunately. Havign said that... lets continue.

The first time I listened to the album, I wasn't very enthused. It seemed pretty bare and thin. It definately wasn't what I was expecting with the cover art and the moniker of Thor. No screaming vocals, no dueling lead guitars... this is metal? But, I gave it another chance and I am very glad that I did.

Thor Against the World didn't sound like traditional metal because it doesn't sound like anything I've considered metal in the past. What it does sound like is one dude rocking out and playing extremely catchy hooks. Even though it's not the case, it really does seem like John Mikl Thor sat in a room by himself, borrowed someones drum machine, and just came up with ten grungy rock songs.

While that may sound boring, it is in fact what makes this album so great. The first and last tracks are the fist-pumpers and the simplicity of the tracks just make you want to stand in front of your mirror and sing along with them. (Not that I've done that or anything.)

Glimmer and Turn to Blue are slower but, dammit, just as good. Thats another plus. There are definately a variety of moods on the album.

I know that Thor has been around awhile and is considered a legend to many. I think that comes across in this album. The fact that it sounds like a demo tape with extremely high production value only adds to the raw power of the tracks. I highly recommend this album to the traditional metal rocker as well as the grungy power rocker. Think Iggy Pop meets.... Conan the Barbarian.