September 14, 2006 The Barbarian Is Back :: THOR / All Access Magazine
By Maya Dawn Henderson
 |
No one rocks like the mighty THOR. He's been going strong for decades. Let the blood run red, motherf#*kers!" ...Henry Rollins
When I was first turned on to THOR, I put the CD on, with one raised eyebrow, not knowing what to expect. Going on the word of my trusted metal friend, rock publicist, Ilka of Fly PR, who swore I'd love it ~ she was right. THOR rocks and he will kick your ass, plain and simple. If there is a THOR-Army, enlist me! This is “beyond Spinal Tap”. Nigel Tufnel would be proud. Track 6, on the self-titled CD, was an instant new favorite of mine upon first listen. "You’re Gonna Have A Hard Time”, (Gettin' Over Me). Such blatant self-righteousness ~ what’s not to love? Although this particular tune was lighter in structure, something on the lines of Alice Cooper’s “Got You Under My Wheels,” on the whole, the music is dark power metal while remaining exhilarating and uplifting. THOR is glitter rock-meets-power-metal.
Curious about this Canadian Conan, I tapped into the phenomenon known as THOR. For starters, the discography spans over 25 years. (i.e. This guy never got over his heavy metal phase?!) THOR is known as an original showman of rock, an enduring icon and the father of glam rock meets metal, not to mention one of the true originators of rock theatre. The band's leader, Jon Mikl Thor, resembling something between Hulk Hogan and Rob Halford dressed up as a Viking, has gained an outrageous amount of underground notoriety and respect, unlike so many low-flying metal acts. THOR was also notorious as being one of the fiercest live acts around, with muscle-man theatrics like the bending of the microphone stand with the Mighty THOR’s bare hands and cinderblocks being crushed on his chest with a sledgehammer.
I quickly came to the conclusion that Jon Mikl Thor was one of those non-sell-out phenomenon’s that has lived his life to his own, without doubt and without question. Growing up in Vancouver, he learned from the comic adventures of Superman, Batman, and other superheroes that the world is black and white and that evil and good are indeed, real. Not surprisingly, he was a dreamer as a kid, worshipping comic super heroes to the point of wearing a Superman outfit under his school clothes! He began weight-training before he was ten and by nineteen he became the only Canadian to be both Mr. Canada and Mr. USA. He went on to become Mr. Universe. However, he didn't make this worldwide body-building notoriety his claim to fame. His focus became his music. He kept his childlike beliefs and integrity and created his own warrior-like image. Early on in his bodybuilding career, he thought it would be mad to mix the imagery of muscle-bound men to the over-the-top antics of a hardcore metal show. His mission ~ to channel his power through music. It was at that point that THOR went platinum blonde, threw on a loin-cloth, donned some armor and crafted a rock act filled with Norse mythology imagery that bands like, DIO, Iron Maiden and WASP would inadvertently emulate shortly afterwards. Without realizing, he was setting the tone for the theatrical metal era to come.
 |
His latest release, Devastation of Musculation, from Smog Veil Records (a Chicago based Indie label), is deep and dark and more powerful than any album he’s done. The inspiration of the title came from a bizarre story Jon had seen on the news about a guy whose arms literally exploded from extreme steroid use! This person wanted to have the biggest arms in the world so he injected himself with steroids and oils until arms swelled up until to 50 inches. He actually had to have his biceps cut off. That summed it up! Devastation of Musculation is the world we¹re living in, he thought. How epic. Some of the song titles on Devastation: Lords Of Steel, Queen Of The Damned, The Return Of Odin's Son and Release The Beast will surely be empowering both old and new fans.
Today the band THOR is: Jon Mikl Thor ~ lead vocals, Mike Kischnick ~ guitars, Ogron ~ bass and Panthar ~ drums. They’re currently in the process of doing 100 tour dates. I had the chance to see them at the Key Club recently. They were not only volcanic and hypnotic, I loved how THOR changed monster masks almost as often as Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick switches guitars! I couldn’t help but be impressed by the hosted bar for their guests as well. A class act all the way.
Clearly influenced by a plethora of rock acts, makes this band impossible to categorize. At it's base, it's very much like early 80's metal. Much of the time, they remind me of very early Accept. At other times I hear a bit of Motorhead running through the music. A few songs have an industrial edge to them, and a few songs are very reminiscent of David Bowie. I love older Bowie stuff, so it's kind of cool to hear music that sounds like what David Bowie may sound like, if he had gone metal! All these influences come out and they seem to come together brilliantly. With their brutal, simple riffs and aggressive, fast tempos, the music is molten fluid metal. It's interesting, melodic and well-produced. The production makes the disc sound very big. It will probably take me multiple listens to really absorb this disc, at which point I'm sure I will like it even more. It’s raw and righteous and uncompromising. So I say, raise your goblet to the outrageous Icelandic rocker and say “Aaazzzzaaaaaaa” to the Mighty THOR! www.thorcentral.com
~ Maya Dawn Henderson ~