The hard-touring Ohio thrashers unleash a beast of a new EP!
Well, after witnessing their ripper of a gig at London’s Black Heart last month, how could we not check out this new EP from youthful thrash crew Thorns? The Ohio natives’ CV is already pretty damn impressive; in their relatively brief existence to date, they’ve eschewed the industry route, opting to self-record and release two albums and multiple singles. Oh, and they seem to tour almost non-stop too. We at Punktuation heartily approve.
They clearly mean business on opening track ‘Bad Business’, which bursts out of the trap with a churning riff, and vocalist/guitarist Luke Schwarz channelling the sound and spirit of a young James Hetfield. If it doesn’t get your heart beating at least a little faster, then please check your own pulse for signs of life, especially if the likes of Exodus, Anthrax, Nuclear Assault and – yep – early Metallica float your boat. Oh, and there’s an absolute beast of a solo in there too.
They seriously bare their teeth on ‘Muzzle’, which has the kind of mini-chorus custom built for roaring along to at gigs, and the hardcore punk influence really shines through on the insanely addictive ‘Headcase’. They ease up (for a while) in terms of speed for the closing ‘Sickfit’, but with riffing this sharp and with this much lyrical venom, the overall effect is no less intimidating – and for that, we’re grateful.
We still remember hearing Municipal Waste’s early ‘Hazardous Mutation’ album twenty-odd years ago, and excitedly realising how fresh, lean and reinvigorated they made thrash metal sound. Well, ‘Ready To Strike’ gives us that very same feeling, and it’s certainly good enough to take Thorns to the next level. Keep a close eye (and ear) out for them.
‘Ready To Strike’ is released on 28th August via These Go To Eleven Records.
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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