### Thorium: Unleashing the demons

#### 09/08/03 || Lord K Philipson

Thorium’s another Danish fuck-bunch. Thorium can wear as many “Consuming Impulse” -shirts they want on the back-sleeve of this album. Thorium are old-scool, or so they claim.

I met and interviewed Martin Van Drunen of Pestilence/Asphyx a few times back in the early 90´s. I met and interviewed Trey Azagthotentothsomething back in the early 90´s for an hour while he was jacked up on something not very legal. I met and had a chat with David Vincent and he gave me a blue bass-pick back in the early 90´s. I met and interviewed Glen Benton of Deicide back in the early 90´s.

I KNOW I am old-school, or lemme rephrase that, I know I´m old, that´s better. I never liked the Autopsy-crap, therefore I don´t like tribute-bands like Murder Squad. What kind of old-scool bands Thorium listens to beats me, coz this sounds like any American death metal band around today, with some neat Swedish influences thrown in.

Does it sound like I´m going to bash Thorium senseless with this review?

I´m not, but I´m not going to praise the living fucklights out of it either. This doesn´t strike me the way f.e Vader does, or Internecine. Or Hate Eternal. Or.. bla bla… you get the point. So, let them claim themselves old-school, to me it´s regular death-muzak with a muddy production.

They definitely have their moments, “Mark of wrath” ( a song with a chorus that has four “666”-screams in it can´t be bad) is one of those moments. The problem is that the songs aren´t anything special, it´s not very catchy. I´m not thinking “Fuck me sideways 666 ways from X-mas eve, I wanna listen to this again” as soon as the disc has ended. There´s so much better death metal out there nowadays, Thorium just dissapears in the competition.

I don´t think that´s completely their own fault, they sure try their hardest, but when a million other bands can do the same thing, only more memorable and more catchy as well as with a killer-production, they just don´t cut it to belong with the elite.

I´m with Thorium every step on the way with the lyrics, a daily dose of christ-bashing is what The Lord craves, and this they supply without flaws. The label-mates of 2 Ton Predator once played me some older material from these guys, and I remember I wasn´t very impressed.

I just crave more with my death metal tampoon, a little more blood if you get my drift. It´s not bad, absolutely not, it´s just not impressing me and shit. There are worse bands out there for sure (‘cough’ Aurora Borealis ‘cough’), but there´s also so much more better stuff (‘cough’ Morbid Angel ‘cough’).

5/10

- Information
- Released: 2003
- Label: DieHard
- Website: www.thorium666.dk
- Band
- Morten Ryberg: 6-string devil
- Allan Tvedebrink: 6 entrails meat-axe
- Michael H. Andersen: vokills
- Jesper Frost Jensen: battery

- Tracklist
- 01. Unleashing the Demons
- 02. Nocturnal Prophet of Destruction
- 03. Mark of Wrath
- 04. Hateful Vegeance
- 05. Infestation of Salvation
- 06. Throne of Infernal Fire
- 07. Warlust
- 08. Altars of Blood
- 09. Constructor of Chaos
- 10. Mangled Screams
- 11. Cancer Fucking Cancer