Unchained (EP)

Unchained is an EP by Canadian heavy metal band Thor. The album's title is taken from the Italian-French epic fantasy feature film Hercules Unchained (1959). Tracks "Rock the City" and "When Gods Collide" were later re-recorded for the album Only the Strong (1985). The EP was reissued on both CD and vinyl with bonus material in 2015. The CD comes with 12 bonus tracks, including the 1982 Unchained master recordings, and a two-hour long bonus DVD, featuring the “Anger” concept video with behind-the-scenes footage as well as vintage concert performances from 1982-85. A special limited edition vinyl release includes the 1982 masters, and a 20-page comic book reproducing the original Unchained comic, plus additional unpublished art.

Critical reception
Contemporary reviews of the EP have been generally positive. Off of heavy metal overload, a positive review said that "Unchained is even catchier than the debut and tracks like Anger, Lightning Strikes Again and When Gods Collide are instant favourites and mandatory listening for any true metal party!" Reviewer Daniel Pavlica of TheRockologist spoke highly when reviewing the 2015 reissue, praising the bonus content. "Needless to say, the corny balls-to-the-wall approach infects this release at every level, yet spiteful riffs and inspired chord progressions raise the bar well above the tacky 80s fist-pumping metal jolly-up." They followed that up with praising such tracks as the "smashing" opener “Lightning Strikes”, the "colossal sounding" “When Gods Collide”, and “Anger”, calling the latter a "sweat-soaked dungeons and dragons anthem replete with rock hard abs." A reviewer from Popshifter gave a decent review, stating that "Fans of classic metal will love Unchained and it might convert a few who aren’t. I can sum the album up easily as simply a fun listen."

Track listing

 * Tracks 7-12 omitted from 2015 vinyl release.

Personnel
Thor
 * Jon Mikl Thor – lead vocals
 * Karl Cochran – lead guitar
 * Keith Zazzi – bass
 * Mike Favata – drums
 * Pantera (aka Rusty Hamilton) – backing vocals

Session members
 * Jimmy Ambrose – guitar
 * Jimmy Whang – guitar
 * John Muller – keyboards

Miscellaneous staff
 * Jon Mikl Thor – producer, arrangements
 * Don Berman - engineering
 * Michael Morley - engineering
 * Dom Romeo - mastering