I believe most of the metalheads in Belgium know Ostrogoth of which guitarists Dario Frodo and Tom Tee and also bassist Kurk ‘Stripe’ Lawless left in 2017. They found themselves overwhelmed by massive amounts of inspiration for new material, but they couldn’t realise them with Ostrogoth so they decided to start a new band. Drummer Louis Van der Linden and Dutch singer David Marcelis completed the line-up of Thorium. I met this new band during their try-out in April 2018 and I was overwhelmed by their performance. Tom also told me that they were working on an album and that we could expect its release at the earliest in September. Eventually their first album ‘Thorium‘ came out on October 5th. The album cover only reveals the band logo and the album is available as a CD and an LP. Thorium signed a partnership with Rock N Growl Records at the end of October for the release of their digital album, which was released on November 9th.

‘Thorium‘ starts with an intro in which the wind accompanies us to the first song ‘Ostrogoth‘. David‘s powerful voice hits like lightning. He has a wide vocal range and his clean voice sounds slightly raw sometimes, which makes him a great singer within the speed and power metal genre. The title clearly refers to the previous band of Dario, Stripe and Tom and definitely in a positive way when you listen to the song. It is a powerful song where they show that they had a good time with the band.

The first part of the album is a combination of speed metal, where the emphasis is on the drums and the rhythm supported by the guitars, and power metal. The emphasis is on the guitar work there. David’s voice is supported by the background vocals that the other band members bring in which creates beautiful vocal combinations. As a fan of power metal my personal favourites are ‘Court Of Blood‘, with a short and powerful intro with a choir, and ‘Godspeed‘.

Halfway the album there’s a notable change in the music. ‘Icons Fall’ is a slightly softer song with a moderate pace, which is very nice to listen to. After that, they drive the rhythm song per song, just like horse riding with the galloping rhythm they use, until they’re back on full speed in ‘Return To The Clouds’, which starts with polyphonic guitar riffs.

The last song ‘Four By Number, Four By Fate’ is what some people might call a fifteen-minute rock opera. It starts with calm guitar work which sounds a bit latin. These little guitar parts returns as some kind of intermezzos between the four parts and also at the end to eventually fade out gently. The four parts that make up this song are a nice combination of al the genres they brought in this album, which makes a nice ending to this album.

The guys from Thorium are are definitely no musical rookies with years of experience within different bands. This debut album is very strong both vocally and musically and is very promising for the band’s future.

Release Date: October 5th, 2018
Record Label: Empire Records
Tracklist:
1. March Of The Eastern Tribe
2. Ostrogoth
3. Court Of Blood
4. Godspeed
5. Icons Fall
6. Powder And Arms
7. All Manner Of Light
8. Return To The Clouds
9. Four By Number, Four By Fate