A Night in Valhalla: The magic of THOR

I stake my claim as NR92’s foremost metalhead. I will also gladly tell you that I don’t believe in the supernatural, aliens, or luck.

On Saturday night, I stood before a god and witnessed magic.

This is, at its heart, a live show review. It is also a tale of swords, and heroes, and heavy metal thunder.

Let me set the scene: On Saturday, the smaller of the two stages at the Starlite Room (Colloquially known as “The Temple”) hosted a modestly-priced 5-header. The night’s acts were rising stars in Edmonton’s heavy metal scene: Malicious Intent, Kill Witch, and Tower Hill (you can hear those 3 regularly on NR92’s Metal Injection!), plus the veteran hardcore outfit Bogue Brigade and, most importantly for our tale, the legendary Thor.

In a time long past, spoken of in whispers and legends, the year 1974, Jon Mikl Thor turned from his  bodybuilding career and began playing rock ‘n roll. After years of combining feats of strength with blaring guitars,  Thor never soared to the same heights of his contemporaries; Kiss, Iron Maiden, Metallica. He expanded his reach again, pursuing acting and writing. Cult horror fans may remember 1987’s Rock ‘n Roll Nightmare, but this path also failed to find commercial success.

On Saturday night, I arrived at the famously sketchy-looking entrance to The Temple. The night followed the usual routine. Show ID, scan ticket, get wristband, hunt down the familiar faces, chat until the first set starts.

Set 1: Malicious Intent

The show began as expected. Malicious Intent opened for a sparse crowd, since the show was 15 minutes earlier than usual and metalheads prefer to be fashionably late. They remained unfazed and banged out a raucous yet polished set. By the time they stepped off stage, the crowd was electrified.

Set 2: Kill Witch

Kill Witch was next, their first performance since lead singer Ronnie Caron’s recovery from strep throat. She certainly made up for lost time! The crowd must have been glad to have Kill Witch back; they got moving in record time and kept going for the whole set.

Set 3: Bogue Brigade

Third was Bogue Brigade, a prolific hardcore band that I somehow hadn’t seeing until this show. They had the hallmarks of punks who grew up: the embers of the fire of youth and well-worn anger. They played well, but in my honest opinion they just weren’t as thrilling as the rest.

Set 4: Tower Hill

The last of the openers was Tower Hill, a personal favorite. Front man R.F. Traynor has been practicing his falsetto and he sure took the time to show it off! Tower hill’s old-school musical styling and lyrics filled with epic tales were the perfect lead-in to the headliner.

The room felt uncertain as Thor’s kit was set up. I took the opportunity to get some fresh air and cool off.

Set 5: Thor

When I returned, Thor was on stage. Compared to the muscular adonis on the poster, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the wizened grandpa on stage. He sported his iconic helmet and a suspiciously MCU-looking hammer. As the band struck up, something happened. I spoke after the show to several fellow concert-goers, and we all agreed: we had expected camp. What we got was a powerful presence on stage, a roaring crowd, and an unforgettable night. The years fell away from Thor as the magic of heavy metal took hold. I did not know the songs we sang. I sang along anyways.

Maybe the magic I felt was the finely-honed crowdwork skills of a 50-year veteran of heavy metal. Maybe it was the unique high brought on by a long night of headbanging. Maybe the dehydration headache combined with subwoofers that register on the Richter scale had me feeling loopy. There are many ways to explain what I experienced that night, and I choose to believe the simplest explanation. Hundreds of faithful gathered in a temple and fell under the sway of a god.

If you want to hear more of the magic of heavy metal, or hear me spin more yarns like this, look no further than Metal Injection! Listen in, Wednesdays 5:00 to 7:00.

All photos by Thomas McPhee.

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