Beware of Thorn‘s oppression.
Created in 2020 in the USA by multi-instrumentalist Brennen Westermeyer (Paranoia Apparition, ex-Fluids), the project now offers us its fifth album, Nebulous Womb of Eternity, and renews its trust in Transcending Obscurity Records.
Ooze Maelstrom immediately hits us with its thick, aggressive Death/Doom sound, coupled with unhealthy vocal parts to create a tidal wave as heavy as it is disturbing. While the rhythm may slow down at times, it remains as heavy as ever, pouring out its jerky riffs before the leads attempt to soften it, finally giving way to Entombed in Chrysalis, which opts for touches of anguished melancholy. Leads are quite strident at times, reinforced by the roars that occasionally pass close to pig squeal, but the track is long and allows itself to develop ominous sounds before breaking off in the middle and becoming four minutes of eerie Dark Ambient, then returning to violence with Quartersawn Remains. The frenetic riffs pick up again, accompanied by their piercing, wrought harmonics, but what strikes us most is the unstoppable rhythm section, just as on Zombifying Mold, which follows with a touch of hellish dissonance, but also a sinister solo by Daniel Bonofiglio (Fumes, Grotesque Mass, Gutvoid). The rest of the track continues at a fairly ferocious pace, then gives way to Haunting Gale, which picks up the torch with similar aggression, but the leads change the track’s atmosphere, making it more mysterious, moving on rather quickly to Gloaming Corporeal Form, a very dark interlude where a few murmurs join the suffocating keyboards. Vocalist Ryan Fairfield (Hallowed Butchery) joins Brennen for Nebulous Womb of Eternity, the very long final track where the Doom touches are the most present, but also and above all the most asphyxiating, making the air truly unbreathable during its seven minutes where the roars terrify us, and where the leads bring the only acceptable luminous touch.
Thorn‘s productivity easily equals its quality. While some of the tracks on Nebulous Womb of Eternity are very aggressive, the others focus on the suffocating atmosphere that his Doom/Death allows him to create.
85/100
