Thor (band)

Thor (stylized as THOR) is a heavy metal band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Thor
From left to right: John Liebel (guitar), Jon Mikl Thor (vocals), and Ted Andre Jedlicki (bass).
Background information
OriginVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenresHeavy metal
Years active1976–1986, 1997–present
LabelsCleopatra Records,[1] Deadline Music
Associated actsCentaur, Mikl Body Rock, Thor and The Imps, Frank Soda and The Imps, Tritonz, Thor & the Ass Boys
WebsiteThorcentral.com
MembersJon Mikl Thor
John Leibel, Ted Jedlicki, Will Maravelas, Richard Fabio, Kevin Stuart Swain, Frank Soda, Frank Meyer, Bruce Duff, Joseph Turner
Past membersSteve Price, Frank Boehm, John Tonin, Mike Favata,
Pantera (Rusty Hamilton)
Keith Zazzi
Ani Kyd

Biography
Thor performing at the 2018 South Park festival in Tampere, Finland.

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.[2] 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 garnish 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.[2] 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.[2] 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. They were sensations over night 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.[2] Thor's stage performances involved antics such as Jon Mikl Thor breathing into hot water bottles until they burst,[2] breaking bricks over his chest and head and bending steel bars and microphone stands.[3] 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).[3]

Little is known of the band's doings from 1987 to 1997.

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),[2] and have since released five additional albums.[4]

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.

On April 30, 2011, Thor headlined the Shock Stock Festival in London, Ontario, Canada. The band consisted of original guitar player Frank Soda as well as new additions Joel "Savage" Watts on drums and Sean "Killer" Kilby on bass. Then Thor embarked on a tour of Scandinavia from May 31 to June 7 playing at DOM (The Dome) in Helsinki, Finland on June 1, performing their live rock opera and showcasing film Thor - The Rock Opera; then revisiting the Muskelrock Festival in Alvesta, Sweden from June 2 to June 4.

In January, 2012, a special edition vinyl album called Thor's Teeth was released through the Baltimore-based label A389 Recordings. It was later launched digitally through Chicago based Smog Veil Records in April 2012. Thor signed a multi album deal with Rock Saviour/Pegasus Records in Germany and Frank Soda returned to the studio with Thor to write songs and lay down vocal tracks for albums Thor – Thunderstryke (2012) and Thor – Thunderstryke II (2013). On July 20, 2012 Thor headlined the Armstrong MetalFest at Hassen Arena.

In 2014, Thor re-released their 1985 album as Only the Strong Deluxe Edition distributed by Deadline Records.

The documentary film, I Am Thor, directed by Ryan Wise and produced by Ryan Wise and Al Higbee had a world premiere in 2015 and featurered Thor. In 2015, the movie I Am Thor toured film festivals throughout the world winning audience and critical acclaim. The movie got picked up for distribution in the USA through Dark Sky Films / MPI Media Group. The film won Best Documentary at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2015 in Montreal. Thor led by Jon Mikl Thor embarked on a sold out major city tour throughout the USA in November, 2015 screening the movie I Am Thor followed by a live Thor concert. In March 2016, Jon Mikl Thor took Thor on a North American tour presenting both the screening of the film and a live concert.

On May 13, 2016, the official reissue of Thor's 1977 Keep the Dogs Away album was released on Deadline Records. 'Thor a Rock Odyssey', a live three part rock concert spectacular, will be presented on stage at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on May 14 in celebration of the 1977 Keep the Dogs Away album and to launch the release.

On August 4, 2017, the full-length album Beyond the Pain Barrier was released. The album was co-written by Jon Mikl, John Leibel and Ted Jedlicki.[5] Prior to the album's release the single and video for The Calling was released. Also in 2017, drummer Tom Croxton was added to the lineup. Croxton is a veteran of the music scene, notably for his long tenure in shock rock legends, Impaler. In September 2019, Matt Hamilton, a member of Croxton's other band, Hex Vortices, joined to help solidify the space left by McNallie's departure earlier this year.[6]

Line-up

Discography

Albums
  • Thor-Body Rock (1973)
  • Keep the Dogs Away (1977, 30th anniversary re-release 2009)
  • Electric Eyes (1979, release 2017)
  • Only the Strong (1985)
  • Live in Detroit (1985, re-release 2009)
  • Recruits – Wild in the Streets (1986)
  • The Edge of Hell (1986) (credited as Tritonz)
  • Thunderstruck: Tales from the Equinox (1998)
  • Dogz II (2000)
  • Triumphant (2002)
  • Mutant (2003)
  • Beastwomen from the Center of the Earth (2004)
  • Thor Against the World (2005)
  • Devastation of Musculation (2006)
  • Into the Noise (2008)
  • Steam Clock (2009)
  • Sign of the V (2009)
  • The Guardian (2010)
  • Soundtrack from the movie THOR - The Rock Opera (2011)
  • Thor's Teeth (2012, Special edition vinyl)
  • Thor – Thunderstryke (2012)
  • Thor – Thunderstryke II (2013)
  • Metal Avenger (2015, compilation)
  • Aristocrat of Victory (2013)
  • Bugs Bunny Dressed as a Girl (2013)
  • Only the Strong Deluxe Edition (2014)
  • Metal Avenger (2015)
  • Beyond the Pain Barrier (2017)
  • Christmas in Valhalla (2018)
  • Hammer of Justice (2019)
  • Rising (2020)

EPs
  • Muscle Rock (1977) (credited as Thor & the Imps)
  • Gladiator (1979)
  • Striking Viking (1980)
  • Unchained (1983)
  • Odin Speaks (2001) (split with Thor & the Ass Boys)
gollark: I guess so. If you need, say, ten changes to an enzyme to bring it from one state to a much better one, but it works much worse/totally breaks while it's in the middle of both, it's hard for it to evolve to the better version.
gollark: If one what is stuck?
gollark: I was going to say, though: with human eyes - the light-sensitive bit is behind some other stuff, and while a goal-directed human engineer would probably go "I'll just rotate this thing then", if you don't have a convenient series of changes which still leave everything working in each intermediate state, you can't really get it evolving into the new version.
gollark: I... don't really know a massive amount about this, to be honest.
gollark: Or it got stuck in a local maximum, which happens a lot.

References
  1. "Thor | Album Discography". AllMusic.
  2. Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 462. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
  4. "Thor | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  5. "Metal Legend THOR to Release New Album ?Beyond The Pain Barrier? on August 4th'". Cleorecs.com.
  6. "Metal Legend THOR To Release Beyond The Pain Barrier Album In August; BraveWords Premiers "The Calling" Music Video". Bravewords.com.
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