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Thorns - Thorns
Thorns - Thorns
Moonfog Productions - 2001
By Rodrigo
[IMG]/images/covers/Thorns.jpg[/IMG]
Finally! After so many years of waiting, the debut Thorns album is finally out and the wait was well worth it. Thorns is the black metal project of Snorre Ruch, he wrote all the music and some of the lyrics, and he is aided by vocalists Satyr,Satyricon, and Aldrahan, DHG (both Satyr and Aldrahan also contributed to writing lyrics) as well as drummer Hellhammer, Mayhem. Snorre has the help of some great artists but he is the reason why this album is excellent. He has come up with music that is experimental, fresh, exciting and moves the genre forward. He has also managed to capture the essence of black metal. He does not forget the roots and where the music came from and the end result is an album that redefines what is expected from black metal.
From the opener, "Existence", right away you just know that this album will be something special. This song is characterized by excellent fast and pounding drumming of Hellhammer. The beats are out of this world and Snorre’s guitars are able to maintain the pace and add heavy and crushing tones to the music. Satyr’s vocals are the perfect fit for the next song, "World Playground Deceit". His raspy and harsh tone molds beautifully with the razor sharp melodies. The section that I really like a lot, is from 2:30 to about 4:20 because of the steady rhythmic drumming and guitar riffing that is very captivating. "Shifting Channels" and "Vortex" are two very similar eerie tracks. Both have a slower pace compared to other songs and they also contain other sounds and instruments that one wouldn’t normally hear from this sort of album. "Shifting Channels" is characterized by what sounds like mechanical, factory type sounds. "Vortex" utilizes synthesizers and computerized sounds for most of the way. Piano melodies as well as background chanting are also present. Guitars are also played but not much at first but then it the song comes to a point where they are in full force and played for the rest of the song. This is also the one song that Snorre signs in.
"Stellar Master Elite" has a very cool head banging, melodic and almost groovy guitar riff. It is hard to not move along with the song. "Interface to God" is another fast song and this one is actually the most violent and heaviest song from Thorns. The fast and powerful double bass drumming is simply outstanding and there are plenty of cool melodic guitar riffs.
Finally, "Underneath the Universe" is a song that is divided into two parts, with both being over 7 minutes. This song is the highlight of the album because it manages to combine and showcase everything that Snorre is doing in this album. It is a dark, moody and eerie piece and it manages to capture what space might "sound" like. The first part mostly features the space sounds and the second part has the singing and the guitars and drums that came in for just a little bit in the first part. Plus, the dark atmosphere is enhanced by the addition of an organ or keyboard (I can’t really tell what is used). The ending is awesome climaxing with loud, heavy and distorted guitars and drumming and it ends with a haunting keyboard melody line. This song definitely gets my vote as one of the best of the year.
This is without a doubt a great album and one that should be experienced by fans of black metal. Snorre has delivered the goods and I am very thankful. Let’s hope that we don’t have to wait so long for the next release. Excellent job Snorre!!
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