THORN - Fields of Blight (Track/Music Video Premiere)

Disillusioned as I am, this particular scribe simply won't consider a day complete unless it involves a good ol' depressive existential spiral. This routine harrowing glimpse into the bleakness of my future and the future of my future children requires, of course, an apt soundtrack, and I'm quite certain a sizable contingent of our readership would consider death doom a poor choice. In any case: the yard-long stare is engaged and the tears are primed to flow, so let's tuck in, shall we?

Today, we are pleased to premiere a bangin' single from The Encompassing Nothing, the debut EP of Arizona's foreboding one-man Thorn. Comprised solely of the guitarist from sci-fi grindcore oufit Xeno Ooze (a band we love 'round these parts) and GLITTERBOMB (a harsh noise project with which we were shamefully unfamiliar,) a little extremity is to be expected, albeit in a significantly more cavernous end of the musical spectrum. Thorn plays a hearty conglomerate of bituminous doom and paleolithic death--not the most original take, sure, but certainly a high-quality paragon of the style. It's low, slow, somber, menacing, and coated in a dank grotto patina--or, in lieu of adjectives, just imagine the sonic representation of the album artwork before ye.

Without further ado, check out "Fields Of Blight" below!

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Sufficiently suffonsified? Good. Me too. That music video ain't too shabby either, with a clearly defined aesthetic driving home the ominous edge. Those shots of the worms on the skull, in particular, are winners. It's a well-done lyric video, and given a dearth of interesting content in that department, that is no small task. Beyond the visual appeal, however, the track itself is an appropriate bruiser, constructed from the kind of cavernous howls, lumbering groove, and meandering leads that will, in good time, become Thorns' calling card. It really is a prime combination of two genre's distinct hallmarks, and for that reason alone, I consider this track--and the EP as a whole--a marked success. 

A problem I often encounter whilst scrounging the death-doomy depths for quality exemplars is a certain weakness that, interestingly enough, comes from leaning into the genre's strengths. While the majority of death doom tends to nail the atmosphere--brooding, foreboding, gloomy, grim--songs that feel like a complete entity are a little harder to find. In this arena, Thorn has managed to balance that irreplaceable aura of dread with a distinctly self-contained and mature songwriting. It's an astoundingly brief affair, given the, erm, breadth of doom-inflicted tunes, and nails both the aesthetic and the sense of satisfaction one derives from experiencing a track with a succinct story to tell. Long story short? Give this track a listen or two, and consider throwin' down for that $3.33 preorder.

Thorn ​- The Encompassing Nothing will be released Sept. 18th, 2020 from Gurgling Gore Records (cassette) and Brutal Cave Productions (CD). I dare you to find two more appropriately named labels for a death doom release. 

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Thorns can be found:
Bandcamp
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