“Phoenix, Arizona’s Thorn, in spite of having a ridiculously generic name, has its trademark sound down to a science. Featuring a blasting and impenetrable wall of death metal, as cavernous as Cruciamentum and as sticky as Chthe’ilist, the sound has transferred neatly across the act’s three full-lengths – the only issue is just how fast to play it.” Thorn in the ears.
“Thorn, a one-man act from Arizona, used to dwell in the chunky sloth of death/doom with debut Crawling Worship, focusing heartily on concrete-thick slogs and hell-scraping gutturals. Amping the tempo while letting old habits die hard, sophomore effort Yawning Depths offers a beatdown not unlike sole member Brennen Westermeyer’s other brutal deathgrind project Fluids. Borrowing influences from post-metal and doom, it’s a shape-shifting experience that is as relentless as it is meditative.” Sleepy bulldozers.
“Unlike what appeared to be three-quarters of death metal internet, I wasn’t truly amazed by Sanguisugabogg’s debut EP Pornographic Seizures. It sounded like brutal death metal with a penchant for thuggish “caveman riffs,” which is contemporary shorthand for “riffs which show an appreciation for Mortician.” Nevertheless, I’m a sucker for pageantry; when the ‘bogg premiered a music video produced by Troma I was firmly committed to hearing their debut full-length Tortured Whole.” Ecelectic Boggaloo.
