Album Review: Thorn - Nebulous Womb of Eternity
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Thorn are a band who, in today’s myriad world of death metal, have been seriously stamping their mark. With every new record Thorn are establishing themselves as a new and significant player. Formed in 2020 out of Arizona, United States, Thorn are, in studio at least, a one-man band formed and all music performed by Brennen Westermeyer, having performed alongside Fluids notably in the past. Thorn’s first EP, The Encompassing Nothing, released the year of their formation, was received with warm praise though the following year would see them release two Splits alongside Maul, Wharflurch and Fumes, as well as their first record: Crawling Worship. Here on out Thorn’s name garners increasing attention: 2022’s Yawning Depths and 2023’s Evergloom are often cited as amongst those year’s respective best works with the latter being a particular favourite of mine back in 2023. Now with album four raring to go, Nebulous Womb Of Eternity is primed for war. Thorn’s output has been exceptional lately and four albums in five years is a sure fire showcase of Westermeyer’s ravenous hunger. This is Thorn’s second album release through Transcending Obscurity Records, penned for an August 8th release, and I was more than ready for it.
Considering Thorn play death/doom it strikes me as to how blunt their songwriting comes off as. Consider the impact these riffs and drum beatings possess, there’s little residual strength after a strum is made nor are there dissipating impacts that sound off, resonate, into the further distance. Thorn’s performance is right in your face, albeit not so totally blunt force, yet there’s no escaping the band’s presence. You are given no respite nor escape from the band as they force you to acknowledge the performance delivered before your eyes. Thorn’s identity as a death/doom act has often leaned towards the former aspect but with Nebulous Womb Of Eternity that idea is the most prevalent it’s ever been.
The pacing is also another reason why this record seems to slap you so fervently. Death/doom is characterised by slower, weightier sequences of songwriting that help the band in question bring the atmospheric element to the forefront. Whilst Thorn do something of the sort, though bundled up in the death metal attack, their tempo isn’t the fastest either. A simple five minute track will feel much longer since their songwriting isn’t vying to rush you from A to B. Then again, Thorn enable us to cool and stew within the controlled explosion their sound replicates; like watching a collapsing structure in slow motion their songwriting feels geared toward allowing us to pick out those minute details even the most ardent, longer-lived death/doom acts miss out on. You may be experiencing a longer song only to learn you’ve got the second half to go, but you won’t be getting your teeth ahead of what’s to come owing to the enjoyment you’ve felt. Thorn understand you’re here to experience a new record and thus have made every attempt to make every track worthwhile paying attention to. Each track becomes an event and Thorn will not rush you through it.
Though Thorn’s soundscape is primed for devastation, the subterranean, dank aesthetic is more than visible owing to the vocal work. Rather than employ growling or guttural techniques, Westermeyer uses a more bellowing, grandiose form of delivery that, I imagine, sees him spread his mouth wide to release these massive exhalations of breath. You can’t release vocal strength like this sparingly, you need to go all in with control and technique to make sure your lungs are always up for battle whenever a new song comes in. The riffs might punch you but the vocals, in the mix, seem a little further back; this is advantageous to the band as, had the vocals too been at the forefront, I think the soundscape would be deafeningly overwhelming. Therefore, the vocals are in the position I believe best suits them as it aids Thorn establishing the vocals winding through this labyrinthine cave system.
Honestly? People might be taken aback at just how encompassing, how voluminous the record’s soundscape really is. This is not a record that tries holding your hand, to ease you in, here Thorn throw you head first into their cyclonic melee and if you survive then that’s down to you alone; Thorn will give you no promise of tomorrow. There are few barriers between yourself and the music, hence why it comes across with such unchained vitriol, but it is staggering at how dense the atmosphere becomes and especially as the band pick up speed. Forget a knife you’d need an axe to cut through this soundscape and even then, that axe would likely get lodged in the sheer thickness and stepping back see that it hang in mid-air. Unless you specifically opt to pause or stop listening there will otherwise be no other route out of Thorn’s punishing delivery; every conceivable hole and nook where air could vent through has been sealed, cemented then duct taped over.
In conclusion, Thorn’s newest opus is this suffocating, sickening display of death metal that aims to crush and shatter every bone in your body. There is that doom element here but I feel Thorn, and Westermeyer, may be moving away from that style in particular, given the songwriting Nebulous Womb Of Eternity here. There’s that pervading sense of dread but it isn’t as prevalent as it might have been in earlier releases; this record is much more in your face and isn’t afraid to forgo atmospheric immersion in favour of more brutal evisceration of your face. However this feels like a natural evolution of Thorn as it’s evident they’re thoroughly comfortable with the sound that they’re now demonstrating. With that said, Thorn remain one of death/doom’s most consistently entertaining and quality-bristling acts today, all the more so too given Thorn’s status as a one-man band.
