INTERVIEW: THORIUM (BELGIUM)

Hailing from Belgium, Thorium are a band who know how to tell a great story and take you on one epic adventure! We couldn’t resist the opportunity to interview and talk about beginnings and of course their most recent album “Extraordinary Journeys Pt 1!”

TheNwothm: Greetings Thorium! I hope you are well! Can you start by introducing the band and where you are from?

Jeroen: We are Thorium, a heavy/speed (some dare to call it power) metal band, mainly hailing from Belgium, and a fifth from the Netherlands.

TheNwothm: Can you share some insights into the formation of Thorium in 2016? What motivated the members to come together and create music? 

Tom: We were playing in Ostrogoth at that time – Stripe (bass), Dario (guitars) and myself. Ostrogoth are kind of a cult-legend in Belgium, as they were a pretty big deal back in the 1980’s, and we were gearing up to make a huge come-back with a brand new album; the first Ostrogoth record since the late 1980’s (not counting the EP-release from 2015). Unfortunately, opinions and motivation toward the idea of a new album differed greatly within the band, and in the end we were forced to split from the group in order to make the album we had in mind. This became the Thorium debut album. 

TheNwothm: And what is the metal scene like where you are?

Jeroen: The scene in Belgium is not the biggest due to the small area and population, but it’s generally speaking very much alive, albeit a bit more underground in some more ‘rural’ parts. At local concerts you will almost always spot someone from every generation, which kinda speaks for itself.
Not to toot our own horn, but there actually are a tremendous amount of quality bands out here, going from heavy metal to thrash, death and the even more extreme genres. A lot of younger bands/inspired musicians are still taking on the flame of metal, which is a great thing!

TheNwothm: Can you describe the musical style and influences that shaped Thorium’s debut full-length album in 2018? 

Tom: I would say mainly the classic kind(s) of Metal; something we’ve been moving slightly away from on the subsequent records, as we wanted to veer more toward modern production values and incorporate progressive influences and such. During the time of the debut record, however, we were essentially writing these songs for the aforementioned new Ostrogoth album, so we mainly had to stay within the boundaries of classic Heavy Metal. 

TheNwothm: And how did the first album come together? Do you remember much from the writing and recording process of your debut?

Tom: It all went very smoothly, really. We were really motivated and excited at the time to put out this album and these songs, so we worked hard and put all that energy into getting out the record as best and as quickly as we could! 

TheNwothm: Moving on, “Where Do We Go,” released as a single in 2021, carries a distinct message or theme. Could you elaborate on what inspired this track?

Tom: Oh yes, really proud of that one; and the music video too! This one has a personal theme for me, indeed: it’s about the age-old life question – where to go in life, and how to know (if ever?) whether your choices and decisions put you on the right track or not. Can we find a sense of direction, and were the choices we made ultimately for better or for worse? The song sounds very upbeat and fairly happy, but deep down in the lyrics, there’s some serious pondering going on, haha 😉 

TheNwothm: Stepping away from music a little can you tell us a little bit about your backgrounds and are there any interesting facts about each of the members?

Jeroen: I studied history and have a day job in the geography field, when I have time I practice Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA for short) at my local club.

Tom: Overall, I think it’s safe to say we’re all big huge nerds in this band, haha ;P. I’m massively into science fiction, especially in literature, literature in general, history, classic PC gaming, and so on… These are interests that most of us in the band have in common; Jeroen (bass) and David (vocals) in particular 🙂 

TheNwothm: Are there any collaborations with other artists or bands on the horizon for Thorium, or is that something the band is open to exploring?

Tom: For the near future not necessarily – though for the previous album ‘Empires In The Sun’, we had a few really renowned guests; no less than ARJEN LUCASSEN, Evil Joe from EVIL INVADERS, and Blind Guardian’s narrator Norman Eshley. 

Furthermore, I have my other band too, called ENTERING POLARIS, which incidentally features most of the other (and former) Thorium members as well. This is mainly a huge studio endeavour, with loads of vocalists from all over the scene, such as Roy Khan, Thomas Vikstrom, Ripper Owens, Damian Wilson, Georg Neuhauser, Lance King, and so on… We’re releasing no less than four albums (!) check it out, I’d say! 

TheNwothm: When you think back to the “Empires in the Sun” record, how do you feel the band had evolved and developed musically by that time?

Tom: I think we were coming off the debut release with high spirits at that time, and were eager to follow it up with an even greater record as soon as we could. Interestingly (and sadly) enough, the album was actually finished within one year of the debut album; mixed and mastered and everything – but then Covid came, and we had to postpone the record by a full year… That was certainly a huge blow, and I still dare not think about how much momentum we lost because of that… Still, we’re so damn proud of that album; it also contains one of the finest things I think I’ll probably ever write in the form of the ‘1302’ saga – the 17,5 -minute long trilogy that closes off the album. I still feel that everything that could have been improved compared to the debut album, in terms of songwriting, production values, playing, etc, was made even bigger and better. 

TheNwothm: And with so many great tracks that the band have put out, could you pick any you would point people to if it was their first time listening to you?

Tom: Hmmm…that’s a tough one… I would say definitely the singles off each album – Godspeed, Where Do We Go, and now the brand new Nightfall. Be sure to check out the music videos for those songs as well, I’d say, as they’re very ambitious and there’s lots of cool stuff happening throughout those videos! Other than that, if you’re up for hearing something epic that really has everything in it that’s part of Thorium’s style and sound, check out the aforementioned ‘1302’ (all three parts). It’s a wild ride! 

TheNwothm: If Thorium members were to be characters in a fantasy RPG, what classes or roles would each member choose, and what would be your quest?

Jeroen: Hmm, maybe a class mix of a barbarian and a bard (to be very cliché).

Tom: I’d say a wizard; a mage…definitely…long, grey beard and everything, haha ;P

TheNwothm: Let’s talk about your most recent album! Can you tell us about the primary inspiration behind your latest album “Extraordinary Journeys Pt. I” and how it came to fruition?

Tom: The album is all about classic adventure stories; tales of travel, exploration and discovery. The title is actually taken from the master of classic adventure literature, namely Jules Verne – his novels are collected nowadays under the moniker ‘Extraordinary Journeys’. Perhaps partly inspired by the whole Covid lockdown–period, the idea of heading out into the world on grand adventure seemed like a fantastic thing 😉 

It felt very inspiring to tackle this kind of theme, and the songs just flowed from there. 

TheNwothm: And how did the songwriting and recording process for this album differ from your previous projects?

Tom: Not that much, really. As always, the drums were the only instrument that was tracked externally, but all the rest was done at home, which is the way most bands record nowadays. Also as always, the re-amping, mixing and mastering were done by Simone Mularoni in Italy. The songwriting process itself, I think that’s definitely the one thing that never changes; for me, it means sitting in my home studio and spending countless hours writing, recording, fine-tuning, and basically just having endless amounts of fun creating new music and lyrics 🙂 

TheNwothm: Are there any tracks on the new album that you feel particularly connected to or proud of? If so, can you share the story behind them?

Tom: It’s hard to choose, but for me, I’d say ‘Nightfall’ and ‘Gladiator’ (including its opening piece ‘Morituri Te Salutant’). Both are heavy, modern yet classic, complex yet catchy, and most of all I’m truly proud of the storytelling and the atmosphere of these tunes. They’re also a joy to play live, as there’s constantly interesting stuff happening. 

Nightfall is about the short story of the same name by Isaac Asimov; about a scientist on a world that knows no night, who discovers that night does in fact fall on his planet, once every few thousand years; with all due consequences… Gladiator is of course about ancient Rome, and the gladiatorial games in particular. 

TheNwothm: With the recent release of “Extraordinary Journeys Pt. I” in 2023, can we anticipate a continuation or follow-up to this project in the form of “Extraordinary Journeys Pt. II” or something similar?

Jeroen: A “Pt. I” is for sure a clear giveaway, a “Pt II” is most certainly on its way!
Who knows, even a “Pt. III” in the future?

TheNwothm: How did signing with Freya Records impact the development and distribution of Thorium’s music?  

Tom: we will forever be thankful to Peter and his team at Freya Records, for giving both the music of THORIUM and ENTERING POLARIS a home… In the past, other releases I was a part of, from awesome bands like 23 ACEZ, NEO PROPHET and OFFWORLD, were put out by Freya, and we can always count on them to get the most out of every release. Not only that, it gives us creative freedom, in a way – to know that we can create music the way we want to, and are not dependent on searching for a label each time, or having to make music the way a label might want us to. 

TheNwothm: Are there any upcoming tours or live performances planned for Thorium, and do you have any specific venues or locations in mind?

Jeroen: For the moment there are some very cool stops planned for the 2024 leg of the ‘Extraordinary destinations tour”, with some very some cool festivals in Europe. Some are already announced, but the majority are still a secret at the moment of writing..

TheNwothm: In a hypothetical scenario where Thorium could perform a concert on any unique or unusual stage, where would it be, and what kind of setting would they imagine for this special performance?

Tom: Hmmm…I’d say we would already be immensely thankful to be able to play larger venues and festivals on a regular basis; the way you see most bands doing that are just that little bit bigger than we are… For that, though, you need management or a booking office and such, ‘cause it’s practically impossible to get that foot in the door on your own. It remains a really tough nut to crack – the fight to get your music heard and to try and get that break, where you grow beyond the confines of what a “small” band can do and move into the big leagues. 

TheNwothm: Where can fans buy your music and merch?

Jeroen: check out our bandcamp page, or (even better) meet us at one of our gigs! We always have our merch with us! We can even share a laugh and a beer as well!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThoriumBand

Bandcamp: https://thoriumband.bandcamp.com/

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

Tom: We’d like to thank you guys for the awesome interview, first of all! =)
It’s our pleasure to talk about our music and our albums.