THOR: 'Only The Strong' 25th-Anniversary Re-Release Detailed

Asgardian thunder is shaking the very foundations of Midgard in celebration of the 25th anniversary of THOR's "Only The Strong"! This anniversary is marked with the release of the album, remastered and including bonus surprises. THOR is also getting the magical goats — Tanngrisni and Tanngnost — harnessed to his Thunder Chariot for a World Tour!

Thor said, "We thought it was important to put this one out because it's the 25th anniversary of 'Only The Strong', which is one of our most successful albums ever in our career. A lot of people thought it was 'Keep The Dogs Away', but actually 'Only The Strong' was our biggest seller. It's got some of our most memorable hits, like 'Thunder In The Tundra' and 'Let The Blood Run Red', which did well on the charts in the U.K. at that time, then crossed over into the U.S. as one of the cult hits."

As befitting a Thunder God, the album shot like lightning up the U.K. chart when it was originally released in 1985 on the strength of such anthems as the title track, "Thunder In The Tundra" and "Let The Blood Run Red", still audience favorites to this very day! The original release was on vinyl, however, and ravenous fans have hungered for the album to be released in CD form. Not only have their prayers reached Asgard itself, they're treated to these favorite songs remastered with the strength and polish of a well-honed sword.

"We totally remastered and enhanced everything, remixed it," said Thor. " I give all the credit to Steve Price and his studio Stepco Sound in Boca Raton, Florida, for doing that. Steve really worked hard in the re-mastering."

Guitarist Steve Price was also on the original (and many other) THOR albums, and was part of the now-signature stage show following the album's original release, where Thor not only excels on vocal abilities, but also showcases his incredible strength, bending steel, blowing up and bursting water bottles, and battling formidable foes. (The original "Only The Strong" lineup also featured Mike Favata on drums, Keith Zazzi on bass, and Cherry Bomb with backing vocals.)

Thor is planning a video in support of the album's re-release as well.

"Right now we're looking at a remake of 'Let The Blood Run Red'," Thor revealed. "We might also do 'Warriors of the Universe' and take cuts that we have from the live footage from Sweden. We're going to do that. There's another one I want to do — 'Lady of the Night' — which we added onto the album, which was one that was not originally not on the 'Only The Strong' album. The video for 'Let The Blood Run Red' is going to be very much like 'Clash of the Titans'."

Die-hard collectors, take note: there will be three versions unleashed of "Only The Strong" — the North American version (Vulcan Sky Records),the European version (Ektro Records),and an iTunes version. What's the difference between them?

"They sound exactly the same," Thor explains. "Just the cover is different. The iTunes one that is coming out, the cover is also different, and there will be a different bonus track. But the album is exactly the same. There are bonus tracks on there, like there's a live version from the Sweden Rock Festival of 'Warriors of the Universe'! We're really excited about that. It's got really good crowd response singing along with the song."

"Only The Strong" track listing:

01. 2045
02. Only The Strong
03. Start Raising Hell
04. Knock 'em Down
05. Let The Blood Run Red
06. When Gods Collide
07. Rock The City
08. Now Comes The Storm
09. Thunder On The Tundra
10. Hot Flames
11. Ride Of The Chariots
12. Lady Of The Night

Bonus Track:

13. Warriors Of The Universe (Live from the Sweden Rock Festival)

THOR has plenty of other irons in the fire now as well: a documentary on THOR's career has been in the works for awhile and is soon to be released; he's starring in a new movie, "Thor Vs. Hercules", and his Vancouver Millionaires sportswear line is doing extremely well, especially during the Winter Olympics recently held in Vancouver.

"It was the rage of the Olympics," Thor enthuses! "As you know, I had Wayne Gretzky wear a jacket. We had a Vancouver Millionaires store downtown, one in North Vancouver. On CBC Television, Shane Foxman, who's the major newscaster there, said it was the 'unofficial 'official' logo of the Olympics.. Of course, Bannock and the Olympic committee were very worked up about that, but nonetheless it sold really well. It was a rage! If you go to VancouverMillionaires.com, you'll see all these people wearing them: Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille, which, of course, are huge icons in Canada! I know hockey is a Canadian sport and not as popular in the United States, but up here it's a way of life. Hockey IS life in Canada. To have Wayne Gretzky wearing the Vancouver Millionaires is absolutely amazing for me. It got us huge publicity. So Vancouver Millionaires are doing phenomenal right now — greater than I could have ever imagined."