(Outlaw Recordings)

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Ever since Thor the Rock Warrior came out of retirement in the late ‘90s, he has been cranking out a steady stream of albums for his metalhead fans to salivate over. Well, let the spit fly because Mutant is a cool-as-shit collection of career spanning rarities from the inventor of gladiator rock (take that, Manowar!)

Mutant assembles recently unearthed metal chestnuts as far back as Thor’s Body Rock days in 1974 and as recent as the last few years. The most fun stuff is the really early stuff, of course, because it gives fans a glimpse into the early days of this hard rock vet. “Into The Beyond” finds him in Black Sabbath/Judas Priest mode, while “Gotta Eat” gives us a taste of his hungry (literally) New York L’Amour days. “Battle Street” is classic Thor thunder and “Sweet Love” finds the mighty one getting a tad sexy on us. The styles he covers through these tracks ranges from ‘70s glam and hard rock to ‘80s heavy metal to speed metal lite, but he attacks each song with the same vigor and zest he did in his prime and does today.

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The sound quality varies throughout, as these recordings were never meant for release per se, but Thor fans won’t mind as the coolness-rarities factor overrides the desire for top-notch production.

Yes, for the elite, fighting few, this is the treasure of the ice kingdom we have all been waiting for. So where are you possibly going to find Thor home demos and outtakes? Go to www.outlawrecordings.net to order this or www.thorcentral.com to pick up his the re-release of his latest studio effort, Triumphant and his upcoming career spanning DVD (another treat for us Thor-a-holics).

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