Thorr`s Hammer
Dommedagsnatt

March 2005
Released: 1996, Southern Lord
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Aryn

Thorr's Hammer is nothing short of a legend in the Doom Metal scene. Practically an urban legend that there is barely enough evidence even to prove ever existed. Thorr's Hammer was formed in 1994 by arguably the figurehead of American Doom, Stephen O'Malley in the northwestern state of Washington with Norwegian foreign exchange student Runhild Gammelsæter, who as it turned out could do some fairly impressive gutteral vocals. Thorr's Hammer's existence was so brief that only two shows were ever performed, and the only recorded output is 3 songs, released as a 4 track EP with 1 live track.



The sound of Thorr's Hammer is exactly what you would expect out of a Stephen O'Malley project if you are familiar with his later work in Burning Witch and Sun 0))), slow and heavy doesn't even begin to describe it. There are few words that one could use to describe this. This is the sound of a man on a funeral march being crushed from above by an infinitely dense invisible black force. The pace of the record ranges from crawling towards oblivion to death's door. Lyrics largely in Norwegian lend a somewhat Norse feel to it as well, which gives it it's even more bleak aura. There is a reason this record is legendary in the Doom Metal, because it may well be the best piece of American Doom Metal released. It has no bad track. The band was not around for long, but a band like this can only exist for so long before crumpling under the weight of it's own gravity.