THORIUM

Score another point for Denmark's Mighty Music. THORIUM's "Feral Creation" is not quite as monstrous as VICIOUS ART's "Pick up this Sick Child", but it is a fine death metal album in its own right. The new long player is actually the band's third and the boys formed in 1997, facts of which I had not been aware until now. Needless to say, it's a shame I'd not caught up with THORIUM earlier, as this barreling, yet groovy and memorable, brand of death metal almost always rings my bell. And yes, that is Dan Seagrave's artwork.

Stylistically, consider something along the lines of VOMITORY (most recent work) crossed with PYREXIA, the former indicative of the Swedish death metal power grooves, the latter the unmitigated violence (and some of the guitar riffs) inherent in the approach. Once the boiling hot intro "Int(r)o the Abyss" warms us up, the title track hits with the kind of immediacy that one hears in the more tuneful work of MALEVOLENT CREATION, the type of vibe that makes one thrust a fist into the air and sing right along. "Gates of Utomno" follows a similar course, this time with a bit of that train-about-to-derail DISMEMBER style. There is no let-up at any point either. Everything from Berno Paulsson's crisp recording and Jacob Hansen's mix/mastering to the white-hot (and to the point) solos are pure aggression. If heat had a sound, "Feral Creation" is what you'd be hearing.

Each track offers something worthwhile, but "Unbound" should be noted for its groovy refrain and "Ravishing and Possessed" for the speeding thrash riff stuck in the middle of the DM pummel. Vocalist MHA does a grand job of delivering his vocals in a way that is rife with rage and intimidation, while enunciating just enough so that the inclusion of lyrics are only marginally necessary.

Sure, there is nothing new under the sun, as "Feral Creation" exemplifies, but boy does THORIUM know how to make a barbarous death metal disc with several songs that you'll remember. Violence is necessary and continues to be the answer, points that seem so obvious when one absorbs "Feral Creation".