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THORIUM
Empires In The Sun

Freya (2021)
Rating: 5/10

It’s been three years since their 2018 self-titled debut full-length album, but Belgian metallers Thorium (who feature former members of Ostrogoth) are certainly back with a bang if you like straight-up rattling metal.

Yes, it does all feel rather squeaky clean – glossy almost – and at times sickly melodic, I guess, but maybe I’m just being critical? Then again, that’s what I’m meant to do.

But take a step back to a time when the likes of Helloween, Scanner, et al were out in full force and you’ll see where Thorium is coming from with their racy, rollicking anthems in the form of ‘Exquisite’, the frosty ‘Winterfall’ with its nice chugging melody, and the brooding 13-minute ‘1302: The Golden Shadow’. So here’s a band then that likes a plot and a concept, although admittedly I find some of it a bit cringe worthy, but then again I’m the guy often bored by Iron Maiden’s history lessons.

Even so, Thorium’s new album borders on power metal, although without too much “power”. The production at times feels thin and that does affect things when the band opts for the epic, as with the aforementioned ‘1302: The Golden Shadow’. The solos throughout the record are crisp, but the percussion needs more depth and booming. Instead, due to production, they feel too crisp and too tepid.

However, all can be forgiven when you hear an anthemic bellow such as ‘Powder And Arms II’ (another history lesion) and ‘Where Do We Go’ with its spiralling axe work and steady drum thuds.

Thorium is a very good band, they play blazing metal riddled with stories and passion, but it’s often a style that leaves me cold as ‘The Old Generation’ gallops in with a rattling bass. It’s probably the band’s fastest track, a real powersurge of a tune full of descriptive lyrics and all propelled by the bolshy, soaring vocals, but it’s rarely enough as Thorium becomes just another overblown metal act dripping in more gloss than the skirting boards I’ve just painted.

At times there’s something Teutonic about the compositions, but the whole thing lacks oomph and meat. Only ‘Winterfall’ delivers, especially with that dark, booming Gothic chorus that reeks of Candlemas, but as bass and drum rattle and toil I’m crying out for some extra layers to pad the record out.

The title track feels grandiose and recalls something akin to old Running Wild as again the axe flexes its muscles, but once the song fully spreads its wings I’m left unfulfilled by what is essentially a tepid opera or lukewarm play.

If you like your metal bombastic, sprawling and apt at storytelling, then you can throw this one alongside the likes of Visigoth. But for me, Empires In The Sun is just not heavy enough, too polished and generic. Sorry guys, it’s just not for me.

Neil Arnold

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