Album Review: Thorns - 'From Tears to Glory'

1 April 2014 | 12:43 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Flexing both brain and brawn in equal measure - a clear step up.

It’s increasingly rare to find a record that balances brute strength with creativity and flair. How often do you hear a hardcore band that adequately fills its quota for heaviness, but leaves songwriting ingenuity to suffer by the wayside? Cards on the table here, it’s a category we would likely have put Melbourne outfit Thorns in before hearing debut album ‘From Tears to Glory’, an album that exceeds in both being impossibly savage and showing a wealth of progress, culminating in a decidedly impressive debut.

Right from sludgy instrumental opener ‘Tears of Frustration’, the metallic influences that dominate the album make their presence felt. While never straying too far from the tried and true sound their fans have come to appreciate, tracks like ’Surrounded in Light’ and ‘Homewrecker’ demonstrate a refreshing flirtation with doom-tinged riff wizardy a la Eyehategod or Crowbar. It’s a more than welcome addition that allows the band far more room to be expressive, with dynamics that delve well outside the bounds of break-neck brutality. 

It goes without saying, however, that at their roots, Thorns have always been about intense, mosh-centric barbarism - purists can breathe a sigh of relief in that regard. The album still proudly carries all the violently ferocious hallmarks that you’d expect, but they, too, have received more attention to detail when it comes to songwriting. Crushing guitars are each track’s bread and butter, as the band’s rhythm section drive momentum forward while both having time to show off individual prowess. Frontman Tim Carter’s pipes have more than enough vitriolic bark to match the weight of the tunes behind them, and overall, the band sound far tighter as an entity than in the past.

‘From Tears to Glory’ sees Thorns at their best and without doubt their most distinct. Evolving into a far more engaging, multi-headed behemoth while retaining the raw power that’s become their trademark, the album serves as both a satisfying new release for longtime fans as well as an incredibly solid introduction for newcomers.

1. Tears of Frustration

2. Our Lady of Sorrows

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3. Closer to God

4. Erase You

5. Surrounded in Light

6. Heroin

7. Angel Eyes

8. Suicide Kings

9. Homewrecker

10. Sleepless

11. Burn