THORNS - SELF-TITLED (2001)

Thorns is the (mostly) one-man project of Snorre Ruch, aka the guy who rode along with Varg Vikernes the night he offed Euronymous. But far from being some sort of morbid novelty act, Thorns actually produces some truly epic, astral black metal. Full of ethereal keyboards, muddled samples, and crunchy guitars, this self-titled album is as weird as it is vicious and as harsh as it is creepy (see "band photo"). This might be the only album I would ever describe as "industrial", while still giving it my full endorsement. Archaic machinery grinding to a halt while being swarmed by a cloud of angry space bees. Rusty knives clattering against the wall of a space shuttle's airlock. Desolation. Angst. Distorted guitars and blast beats. And a sustained, recurring keyboard note on the title track, "Existence", oddly reminiscent of Nocturnus' "Lake of Fire". In a good way.
Black metal in space? Yes please.

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