Being that Thor seems bent on partying like it's 1979, the album is rife with classic drum sounds, shouted choruses ("Creature! Feature! I wanna meetcha! Meetcha!") heroic guitar solos, and the occasional soaring synth (on "Megaton Man"). The lyrical content mainly dwells on tough love, universal battles, and the glory and power of Thor. As it turns out, all those years of bodybuilding and bursting hot water bottles have given Thor quite a set of pipes. While he's no Ronnie James Dio, he sings the hell out of his eleven sword-sorcery-and-sex tales in a leathery baritone in the finest tradition of the Alice Cooper/Paul Stanley school of bombastic frontmen. And really… how can one not like a record that features a legion of warriors shouting "Thor! Thor! Thor!" and includes songs called "Creature Feature," "Easy Woman," "Serpents Kiss" and "The Coming of Thor?" The cherry on top is a surprisingly affecting ballad ("Turn To Blue") in the finest SWOBHM* tradition.
Thor has dedicated himself to stoking the flame of that primal, stooped, over-the-top school of rock that went out about the time Gene Simmons took off his makeup. If you long for the days of Trans Ams, pop-top beer, and WASP, KISS, and Alice Cooper, there is no possible way to do better than Thor Against The World. As long as you have a taste for the dumb side of metal (and what red-blooded American doesn't?), I can't recommend this highly enough.
*(That's "Second Wave of British Heavy Metal." Dweeb.)
(This review also appears at The Ministry of Minor Perfidy. Thank you for your cooperation.)
Article comments
1 - foad
"Metal is dumb." You obviously don't understand what metal is all about and therefore shouldnt be reviewing anything dealing with a subject you are so clueless about. Fuck off and die.
2 - Johno
Q.E.D.
How adorable.
3 - Mike 'Y Di' Cole
YOU'RE RIGHT !!I haven't heard THOR
AGAINST the WORLD yet (Im waiting to get it)..BUT I've been following THOR
for many years and he always delivers.
THOR's been very prolific in the past few years and its some of the BEST
HARD ROCK coming out ON THE PLANET !!
great review..I can't wait to get mine!
4 - Tan The Man
Where's the Black Sabbath love?
5 - Laura
I have the new Thor CD and it is great! We saw them recently south of Orlando as they kick of their new tour. The show was great, the music sounded nice and crunchy, next time I go I am buying one of those G-Strings he is selling!
6 - Bob A. Booey
Now THIS is a review.
Johno, I'm sure I would hate this band and I hate metal, but I like this piece.
You had me at the opening:
"Let's face it. Metal is dumb. Metal has always been dumb. And hopefully, metal will always be dumb."
I can't relate to your bad taste in music, but I can relate to your writing and it made me want to read about a stupid band named after a Norse god (something that's a no-no for any self-respecting rock critic).
I officially nominate Johno to be the new music reviewer rather than Senator Al Barger.
Olsen: what ever happened to the old search function where you could search comments by the commenter's name? I wanted to go back and read some of my old schtick :)
7 - Damien
THOR is back with a work of art.I would recommend this to any fan of 80's type metal.Every song on the CD grabs you and pulls you in.