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THOR “Ride of the Iron Horse”
THOR “Ride of the Iron Horse”
By Dark Starr
This new release from THOR (not to be confused with Wormwood’s own God of Thunder—Dr. M) includes a lot of new music, but it’s augmented with older, previously unreleased stuff. I know THOR is considered heavy metal, but overall, I only see that to a degree. Some of this fits. Other songs are closer to punk rock and general hard rock. Not everything is completely effective for me, but there is enough here that works well.
A measured hard rocking sound gets things underway on the title track. The music leans toward metal. The vocals seem closer to something like DOA. “Lightening Rod” is unusual and intriguing. It has more of a mysterious metal vibe at play. The vocals work better on this one than they did on the opener. Driving metal is on the menu on “5-0 Let's Go.” I’m not as taken with the vocals on this track, but there are better than those on the album opener. The guitar solo on this is purely incendiary.
The punky edge on “Peace By Piece” is prominent. The chorus gets it more into metal territory. With “Unlock The Power” we get more of a driving rocker. This has some punky angles, too. “No Time For Games” is so cool. It’s a dramatic power metal styled piece. It has a lot of style and charm. Meaner and more aggressive, “Bring It On” has both metal and punk elements. It’s a powerhouse that’s one of the highlights of the set.
“Flight Of The Striker” is a track from 1987 that was previously unreleased. It is a driving metal stomper. It has some killer riffs. An unreleased tune from 1986, “Had It Been Another Day” is next. Hard rock merged with punky textures is the order of business on it It’s one that doesn’t do a lot for me, really.
Now, “Watch Your Back” is more like it. There is a theatrical metal vibe built into this stomper. It’s a highlight of the disc, and includes some exceptional guitar soloing. It is a mean song. “Hit And Run” is a demo from 1979. The recording on it is rough, and the song feels sort of like something an amateurish band would do. Then again, it’s a demo. It’s got plenty of metal in the mix, but is also punky and hard-rock based. A 1979 demo titled “100%” comes next. A stripped back tune, it is basically an acoustic rocker that feels like a party recording. There are definitely punk angles on the hard rocker titled “Shields Up.” It’s a solid tune, but not a standout. The first of two bonus tracks, “Thunder On The Mountain” is next. Driving metal is the concept here. There are some rock and roll elements at play, too. The organ solo later brings almost a DEEP PURPLE sound to the table. Punk, hip hop and more seem to merge on the final track “To The Extreme.”.
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