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THORIUM
Extraordinary Journeys Pt. I

Freya (2023)
Rating: 8/10

Become enriched by the sonic waves of Belgian combo Thorium who are now into their third platter. For those unaware of this power metal act, you may need to have a brief history lesson by looking up Ostrogoth who, from the late 70s, marched into heavy metal folklore. In 2015 Ostrogoth released their Last Tribe Standing EP which featured guitarist Dario Frodo and bass player Stripe, who both now appear for Thorium alongside another former Ostrogoth member, guitarist Tom Tee. To complete the Thorium line-up we have skinsman Kjell De Raes and lead screamer David Marcelis.

‘Age Of Adventure’ gallops like a fine stallion; muscular, graceful and pounding as Marcelis hammers his chest and sends commands across the horizon. ‘Across The Nations’ sends bass line ripples down the spine; it’s striding metal for the macho and the fully armoured, and it’s the constant quality which drives this saga on.

‘Nightfall’ glints with steel as the solos melt the iron into rivers of molten lava and is bombastic, grandiose and proud. But ‘Gladiator’ is different, almost thrashy, as is the excellent ‘To Sleep Neath Mountainous Waves’ where Thorium becomes more fierce and gritty. However, the epic and, dare I say it, doomy nature comes to the fore with the brilliant album closer ‘Echoes Of Lost Souls’, a ravishing and colossal trudge before the loping power metal.

This is good stuff if you like a mix of strong metal variations within a masculine framework.

Neil Arnold

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