Thorium
Blasphemy Awakes

You who call yourself a fan of the band Thorium have probably been waiting for this new effort since their latest album that was released in 2008, that’s a ten year hiatus for those who wonder. This is the fourth album in their music career that started back in 1997 and the debut album was released in 2000. This fourth album has a pretty unexciting artwork and the same can certainly be said about the title as well. But artworks and titles are one thing, how about the album? Is it any good?

A death metal album is what it is; Scandinavian Death Metal is how the press material says we should file it. According to the press material the band’s aim is to mix the American styled death metal with Swedish death metal, something like that is how the album sounds. Growly vocals, kind of in line with many of the American bands I think, some melodies but quite generic death metal – it is an album without surprises. Decent production though and not much in terms of variation, and even though the album is only 40 minutes long I think it may be a little bit on the long side.

While it may be a pretty decent production and not a poor album in that it makes you sick and things like that it isn’t exactly what I would describe as an amazing album. The songs are quite generic and nothing really stands out, it feels like an album we have heard before and not just once. Sure it isn’t bad but I grow tired with it very quickly and never really feels like playing the album, it doesn’t impress me much at all. But perhaps those who enjoy the death metal genre will find this album more impressive than I do, and perhaps even more so for those who have enjoyed the band’s earlier works.

Not really my cup of tea, I guess that is a good way to summarise my impression of this album. You could check it out if you like what the band did before and if you like the death metal genre. Not the most creative or great album that I have heard this year, but not the worst either. I think that Thorium has managed to put together one of the more generic death metal albums I have heard this year. Check it at your own peril.

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