AN NCS INTERVIEW: MICHAEL H. ANDERSEN (THORIUM)

(Following up on his review and premiere of a well-received new album by the Danish death metal band Thorium last month, our contributor Zoltar has conducted an in-depth interview with the band’s mainman Michael H. Andersen, which we present below.)

There are several kind of super-groups. These days, anything is possible, thanks to technology. You can be a nobody yet still grab a bunch of veterans who don’t even need to live in the same country, let alone the same continent, and convince them to record their parts on their own before assembling everything on your own, putting a nice attention-catching tag on your album ‘featuring members of blab la bla’ et voilà!

Thorium have never played that game though. Yes, when they first seemingly came out of nowhere, storming the gates in the spring of 2000 with their debut Ocean Of Blasphemy, the line-up felt pretty impressive, with Iniquity’s Jesper Frost Jensen, Withering Surface’s Allan Tvedebrink and Michael H. Andersen, and Taetre’s Jonas Lindblood. Yet while most were expecting this one quite good love-letter to classic death metal to be a one-off, Thorium have proven to be a far more long-term affair with five more albums, including the-just released The Bastard.

And while through the years the line-up has seen various people come and go, ultimately it is Andersen, who initiated the whole project in the first place, who still takes the final decision. Eager to keep the wheel turning, he vowed to try out an unusual method to give birth to The Bastard, first premiered on this very website on September 18th, and agreed to give us the details about the present and the future of Thorium.

 

 

First thing first: I was a bit surprised to see this album cropping up because you had done Danmark two years ago and you had just released a new Withering Surface album, so a part of me was thinking your artistic well to be a bit dry… So was that what happened? Was it like an accident, so to speak?

Sort of, yeah. The thing is that it just takes a very, very long time with the Danish tag team to come up with new material. Danmark is already two years old and, so far, we’ve only managed to write two new songs. Plus everybody has his say about what we come up with and there are various opinions to deal with…

Actually, I’m going to meet up with the lads tomorrow to sign the new album to give the fans something special, with all pre-order copies signed by the band. We’ll use that opportunity to talk about the future and stuff, but the thing is, if I continue waiting for those guys, we probably won’t have a new Thorium album out in this constellation before, maybe, 2026. And I didn’t want to wait that long, especially since I had a very clear idea on how The Bastard should sound like. This was triggered by the few gigs we did last year in South America with Thorium. I met up with some old Swedish friends there and we started talking and that sort of started something in me.

So I went back and had a communication back and forth with people and decided to make an album that would be quick and dirty, as I wanted to capture some of that youthful energy one has when you first start doing music, when everything was still new, fresh, and exciting. It was important to not overdo it, if you see what I mean…

Back then, you would rehearse all the time, in the same room with the other guys in your band while trying to learn your instrument. Everything was very spontaneous and we would do songs on the spot. We didn’t know anything about recording, we would just record it, and think about how to release it later (he smiles). Then maybe you would put it on tape, spread it among your friends. and see how it would go.

So this time around I didn’t want to think too much about it. I didn’t want to sit down, make a big marketing plan, decide when and what and blah blah blah. I just wanted to get it done, that’s it.

That’s why I did all the vocals in my home studio for instance: When we mixed the whole thing, my producer started to cringe over some of my lines as it was pretty rough and the quality wasn’t top-notch to say the least. But when he suggested to re-record them, I replied that it didn’t matter, what mattered was to keep it organic. It may not be perfect but it doesn’t matter. It didn’t back in the day, and so it doesn’t for this record as long as the performance and energy are at the right level. Some of my favorite early death metal records were done in just few days. And I wanted to capture that feeling with that album.

In comparison, with the last Withering Surface that took very, very long to finalize the various recording processes, various people mixing the album back and forth, and many opinions. So I needed a quick and dirty fix, if you will, this time around.

 

 

So you mean that The Bastard is some sort of a reaction spurred by the excruciating process leading to the last Withering Surface album and all the constraints that go with running a five-piece band?

It’s all about songwriting, being creative and writing songs. I had a very precise vision of what this album should sound like and the Danish team did not necessarily understand it nor wanted to be a part of it. Actually, my initial plan was to have an even rawer album, as if it was recorded in a cheap studio back in 1987! But the result is quite different as it does have a modern production, it does have songwriting skills, it does have melodies, it does have all the things that a death metal album I guess demands in these times we live in.

 

Why did you initially want to do a very primitive album?

 Believe it or not, but I got the idea last year while I was painting my house outside. I was listening to some old Michael Schenker and some old Rainbow stuff while doing it, and there were some bonus songs on Spotify, with rehearsal-like versions of the songs, and I really enjoyed the raw energy of those. So I got the idea to have the next Thorium sounding like a good rehearsal tape, almost like what Darkthrone sounded like around the Cromlech demo tape days you know?

At that point, I was tired of the overproduced albums, the tech death standards and all that. I was even plotting at some point to actually record the album in our rehearsal room on a cheap four-track machine and release it as such. In the end, that obviously didn’t happen but I still somehow kept in the back of my head this idea of recapturing the vibe we had on our very first album. I wanted the same spontaneity and the same youthful energy.

 

 

Was it a matter of skills?

 No, not at all. My Danish guys have all the skills required, it’s more a matter of attitude. It was about having the right state of mind and right approach to the whole thing. They weren’t into it at all, so I was like ‘okay, you know what guys? If we’re not going write those songs right now and get going, then I’m going do it with someone else’. Some had doubts about the whole situation, some liked the idea, others didn’t, but the main thing for me was to get the big picture and make sure Thorium kept releasing stuff.

I spoke yesterday on the phone with Jens Petter, my guitar player from Danmark, and he agreed that the whole thing made sense, as based on the way things work with the Danish line-up, the next album won’t probably be a reality before 2026 or even 2027, who knows? Yet if we want to keep playing some gigs here and there or festivals, we need to have some fresh material out.

Besides, it wasn’t like the Danish were totally out of the loop: Our bass player Jesper is playing on the whole album, our guitar player since 2018 José Cruz is doing some solos as well… So it’s not that they were totally absent; they’re kind of there, but kind of lurking in a corner, so you make sure that they’re still part of the team.

 

It’s like soccer innit? You have eleven players on the field but also eleven more on the bench, ready to jump in when needed…

Exactly, that’s one way to compare it. It’s just that Thorium is my band, and I know how I want it to sound, and basically this album ended up sounding like a Thorium album, also because of my vocals. There are the different players, the production, and so on, but still, there’s not any doubt when you listen to it, you know instantly it’s a Thorium album.

 

Wasn’t the album initially supposed to be called Sverige, ‘Swedish’ in Swedish, thus underlining its lineage?

 Sort of. The thing with Thorium is every album is a tad different from the previous. But they’re also all quite diverse: On our debut, you could already find some brutal stuff, others more old-school or melodic… It’s also a matter of vocal approach. It wouldn’t have worked if I was only doing low growling on top of all the songs. But on ‘Nightside Serenade’ for instance, I decided to use a more screamy style, to go along with the keyboards. On other songs on the album, I almost have this hardcore-like voice or even some clean parts as well, which are not exactly clean, but you know what I’m saying.

As for dropping the initial title, I did so because it was becoming a tad too obvious and easy. So I came up with The Bastard, because basically doing this album with Swedish guys, it was like having intercourse with Swedish guys instead of the Danish guys, and the outcome is The Bastard.

 

 

How did Rogga Johansson from Paganizer and a zillion others end up doing most of the songwriting on this album?

 We’ve known each other for many, many years, close to thirty years or something. And I’ve been working with him back and forth on some of his other projects, like Speckmann Project or Stass with Felix from Crematory on vocals. At one point, we just started talking about Thorium, and he said he really liked the first album. So I invited him to contribute to this new album.

It wasn’t the first time as he had already done a few songs for us, including ‘Penance’ from our 2018 album Blasphemy Awakes, which is one of our most-streamed songs on Spotify. It’s easier to work with professionals who know the game than work with the local death metal musicians who don’t. Rogga is a machine, he’s got tons of inspiration yet knows to deliver exactly what he’s asked. When he did the first Leper Colony album with Marc Grewe from Morgoth, he knew he was looking to achieve this Death Leprosy-period and early Morgoth vibe and he totally nailed it. He’s not looking to be the next Gojira and reinventing the wheel you know? But he knows what he’s doing. So once I had a tag team with him and the drummer, it just came very, very easy.

You know, I haven’t thought about this before, but Rogga is probably the invention before AI. It’s like you tell Rogga, let’s make the perfect whatever album and he does!

 

Would you say that, as a matter of fact, it will be this album that will be a good entry for those who’ve maybe heard the name Thorium, but never dared to start off? Or is it too different from the rest of the discography?

No, no, I would definitely say this is a real Thorium album. This is the way I wanted this album to sound as the founding member. And when I got the idea to form this band back in 1997, this is what I wanted it to sound like. But I had to compromise at times. We all do. Because when you are more people in a band, that’s how it always is: you compromise. But not on this album. There’s no song on it I agreed to include because another guy really want his song to be on it and I had to agree to keep the peace, you know what I mean? So I definitely think even though you’re like a 16-year-old kid or a 61-year-old guy and you hear about Thorium for the first time, it’s a good album to start with.

It’s actually interesting to see some of the reactions that I’ve been getting from media in general and also some of the friends that I trust who listened to it. Some say it’s out best thing we’ve ever done. What I appreciate with it is the fact that, like Danmark before it, it’s quite a focused album. And like on the first album, most of the songs are three minutes, three minutes and a half, long and really you get a catchy chorus. It doesn’t try to make an excuse for itself for doing what it does. It’s as if the record was saying, ‘hey, we’re playing death metal and you know what? Fuck you if you don’t like it!’.

Alan, who is in Withering Surface and who used also to be in Thorium for the first three albums, was very surprised by how The Bastard turned out. My old friend Michael Poulsen from Volbeat and Asinhell also really likes it. I’m so happy about the result that I’m already planning to sneak in our setlist a few songs off it when we once again start playing live with the Danish team, although some of them aren’t that happy to perform songs they didn’t take part in… (smiling)

 

 

I seem to remember when the first album came out, that we felt like, okay, it’s Michael from Withering Surface just putting out this Death Metal album because he wants to have fun with his friends and do what he does best, which is playing Death Metal. But I almost felt initially that it was like, could have been a one-off, and in the end the band has been around for 27 years, six albums. That’s quite a feat, you know. Did you ever think it would last that long?

No, it’s when you start being young, playing metal, I guess you don’t have a big game-plan unless you, I don’t know, maybe some people told you otherwise, that they had a dream when they became eighteen and at one point they would end up where they are right now. But it’s never been in the cards for me.

But as long as I have good health and I have a good voice, at least a voice capable of doing what it’s supposed to do, and I’m still capable of playing live and have the inspiration to make music, I would say, like most musicians or artists, actors, people who draw, people who write like you, sometimes you think, oh, I hope I don’t wake up one morning and start questioning everything. Because obviously once in a while that happens to you, it also happens with my professional job in the music business. Yeah, what am I doing here? Well, I should probably resign now, because I have no joy left doing this. And then you get a good night’s sleep and you wake up the next morning and you’re like, wow, I’m living the dream.

So I’ve never been a quitter in what I’ve been doing. The things I’ve been doing, I’ve been doing for many years. And with the bands, even though we stopped in Withering Surface for a long time and we did the comeback, now I’m like, I’m going to continue with that band until I’m not capable anymore. The same with Thorium, after we figured out how it’s done. And the same with my business.

 

Your hands are quite full aren’t they? Because as we speak, you have two actual touring bands, Thorium and Withering Surface. Plus other projects. You’re also running your own record company, two bars, two festivals, one distribution company…

 The distribution company is gone as there’s no record stores left in Denmark anymore. But you’re right about the rest. What can I say? Some people, they have four dogs, one wife, three kids, and, you know, two parents that they need to look after because whatever, you know, and your life feels like a constant marathon. I am in a lucky situation right now, although it could sound very cynical as I lost both my parents recently. My daughter had left home and she’s working for my company right now. And I only have one wife and no dog so… (smiling) So I have a lot of free time. And music is my passion so… I’m forty-nine years old and in good shape, so as long as I can still play music, I will.

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