Year : 2025
Style : Heavy Metal , Hard Rock
Country : Canada
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 97 mb
Bio:
Thor started out as a concept band in 1973.They used the names "Thor", "Centaur" and "Mikl Body Rock". These entities were the brainchild of Jon Mikl Thor, a vocalist, musician and body building champion who won titles such as Mr. USA and Mr. World Canada.He decided to combine muscle with music. In every show Jon Mikl Thor would appear as "Thor The Rock Warrior". Mikl Body Rock aka "Thor" toured throughout North America seeking fame and to garner enough attention to secure a record deal. The press dubbed them "Kings of Muscle Rock" or "Warriors of Gladiator Rock".In 1976, Jon Mikl met guitarist Frank Soda while touring Canada. Frank Soda joined "Thor" who also became known as "Thor and The Imps".The band toured constantly in the Eastern USA and Canada region building a large following. The first album was recorded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada under the name Thor and was called Muscle Rock. Released by the independent label God Of Thunder Records, the record became a success, and gained the attention of various managers and producers who wanted to sign the act. Jon Mikl Thor was offered a large deal to star in a production at the Aladdin Resort & Casino in Las Vegas called 'Red Hot and Blue'. Frank Soda wanted to keep touring with the band, so Frank Soda and The Imps were formed. Jon Mikl Thor went on to star in Las Vegas and was discovered by Merv Griffin, who had Thor perform live on the Merv Griffin Show from Caesars Palace on national television. Thor's performance was a hit, and offers came in from various major labels. Thor decided to sign with RCA Records in late 1976.This new incarnation of Thor was formed in 1977 by Jon Mikl Thor and released their debut album Keep the Dogs Away.After much touring, Jon Mikl Thor resided in New York City. He formed a new band with backing members Rusty Hamilton aka Queen Pantera, Mike Favata, Jimmy Ambrose, James Whang and Keith Zazzi in 1983 and released the Unchained EP.The record, which was on Mongel Horde Records in the USA got picked up for distribution in England through Albion Records. The band travelled to London, England to perform at the Marquee Club and signed with Motörhead's manager Douglas Smith. In 1984, the band decided to live in the UK. Most of the time was spent at studios in London, writing and recording new material. The songs "Let the Blood Run Red" and "Thunder on the Tundra" became instant chart toppers with "Thunder on the Tundra" reaching number one on the British rock chart.The success of the singles soon led to 1985's album Only the Strong. Thor's stage performances involved antics such as Jon Mikl Thor breathing into hot water bottles until they burst, breaking bricks over his chest and head and bending steel bars and microphone stands.In 1986, Thor released Recruits – Wild in the Streets on GWR Records. The band would break up in 1987 and Jon Mikl entered the world of acting, starring in such movies as Recruits (1986, as Thunderhead), Zombie Nightmare (1987, as Tony Washington), and Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987, as John Triton).Ten years later in 1997, the band released the compilation album Ride of the Chariots (An-Thor-Logy). Following this release the band returned with new material and in 1998 they released Thunderstruck (Tales from the Equinox),and have since released five additional albums.In 1999, a selection of songs from Keeping the Dogs Away were re-released on a split CD with Ontario metalcore band Coalition Against Shane through 13th Day Recordings.From 2000-2011, Thor continued to record, release albums and tour, building a larger following and connecting with a new generation. Albums released have been Dogz II (2000), Triumphant (2002), Beastwomen from the Centre of the Earth (2003), Are U Ready (2004), Thor Against the World (2005), Devastation of Musculation (2006), Into the Noise (2007), Steam Clock (2008) Sign of the V (2009), The Guardian (2010) and Soundtrack from the movie THOR - The Rock Opera (2011). Thor wrote the music for and were starring in the movie Thor - The Rock Opera. In 2009 Thor performed at the Sweden Rock Festival, Sauna Open Air Metal Festival in Tampere, Finland and the Muskelrock Festival (named after Thor and The Imps first EP Muscle Rock) in Alvesta, Sweden.
Album:
Hear thoroughly metal-ified versions of songs by The Kinks, The Doors, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, Montrose and many more!Will be heavily promoted with a concept video for the album's first single, a cover of Sweet's "Action," that harkens back to Thor's early performance on Merv Griffin in 1976!Thor's new album, Rock the Universe, has covers of a few such guilty pleasures, including, indeed, "Mama Let Him Play," which Thor and Frank Soda (also on the album!) did at the Robert Dayton booklaunch the other day (I videotaped a minute of that here). I am genuinely grateful to now have that song represented on record SOMEWHERE on my shelves - never gonna have to get the Doucette version NOW. They also did "Action," which kicks off side one; anything by (the?) Sweet counts as a guilty pleasure, by me, as it's almost pure potato chip, if you see what I mean, all crunch and mouthfeel and carb-high but close to zero nutritional value. Even "Love Me Two Times" has guilt associated with whatever pleasure I take from it, because I recognize it objectively as one of the very least of the Doors tracks -- some Doors stuff I actually like and have around in some form or other, but -- sorry, Robby, they weren't written by you! It's still enjoyable enough that I wouldn't turn it off if it came on, but TBH -- I'd say Thor's version may actually be the superior one here, has a bit more bite to it, with less of that unwelcome "cabaret" element that lurks in the background of the original version... I always imagine Vegas dancers in my mind's eye, high-kicking their way through that song...I do not have that problem with Thor's version...Not all of the album counts as a guilty pleasure, mind you. I have no guilt at all about liking Eric Burdon's "Sky Pilot" or the Yardbirds' "Heart Full of Soul" or the Beatles' "Back in the USSR." I also don't especially need to hear them covered, but Thor does the songs no violence, and "Heart Full of Soul" in particular works very well for what it is. There is also one perfect deep dive that befits Thor's reputation as a bit of an eccentric: "I'm Not Like Everybody Else," originally done by the Kinks, which doesn't really require that much re-working to become Thor-worthy; the original was already more muscular than your average Kinks song, and while Thor does ADD some muscle to it -- how could he not, being Thor? -- it's still remarkably faithful and effective.There are some songs I like better than others, mind you. Side one of the record is the side I will tend to gravitate to, because I don't really care one way or another about Ronnie Montrose's "Rock the Nation," James Taylor's "Steamroller Blues," or Muddy Waters' "I'm Ready" (with the aforementioned killer Soda solo) - not because they're bad songs, but because I don't know or have an investment in the original."Steamroller Blues," in fact, we gather was originally intended as a parody of cheesy 70s blues, which maybe is not something that comes across in Thor's delivery (the only parodic element is that it is being done by Thor at all; I am sure James Taylor would wince at the thought, if he was really trying to make fun of hyperbolic blues-rock, which is how the song here presents). But you know what, I can't really hear the parody in the James Taylor version of it, either: he does "bad 70s blues bombast" so convincingly it can be mistaken for the same. Some might say that that is not the stuff of effective parody; they might have a point.I'd still rather hear Thor do it than James Taylor. In fact, there's not a song on the album I don't enjoy. It's at Neptoon. They might even have some signed copies kicking around? I actually went to the in-store feeling a bit sheepish to be asking Thor to sign his first record, because my copy of it was pretty beat-up -- not really signature-worthy, scrounged out of a cheap bin, mostly because I have some fondness for "Sleeping Giant." I'm pretty glad to have been able to do Thor right and get this record, and very happy that my investment has paid off. I've listened to it three times through since Saturday, which is two more times than any of the other records I bought at the launch.
Line-Up:
Thor - Vocals (lead) - See also: ex-Centaur, ex-Iron Falcon, ex-Mikl Body Rock, ex-The Ticks, ex-Thor and the Imps
Ted Jedlicki - Bass (2017-present) - See also: Chamber Mage, Dawn of Valor
Matt McNallie - Guitars (2017-present) - See also: ex-Risingfall
John Leibel - Guitars (lead) (2017-present) - See also: Dawn of Valor
Tom Croxton - Drums (2017-present) - See also: Domidium, Gallowglass Scourge, Seventh Calling, ex-Acheron, ex-Eldergaad, ex-Hex Vortices, ex-Impaler, ex-The Unholy, ex-Torok, ex-3's Eve, ex-Eden in Ruins, ex-Krepitus, ex-Rough House
Tracklist:
01. Action (The Sweet cover) 03:56
02. Mama Let Him Play (Jerry Doucette cover) 04:25
03. I'm Not Like Everybody Else (The Kinks cover) 03:53
04. Sky Pilot (The Animals cover) 04:00
05. Heart Full of Soul (The Yardbirds cover) 02:46
06. Highway Star / Black Night (Deep Purple cover) 05:31
07. Rock the Nation (Montrose cover) 03:18
08. Steamroller Blues (James Taylor cover) 03:01
09. Love Me Two Times (The Doors cover) 03:12
10. I'm Ready (Muddy Waters cover) 02:25
11. Back in the U.S.S.R. (The Beatles cover) 02:37
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