Thorn - The Encompassing Nothing

THORN - The Encompassing Nothing (BRUTAL CAVE Productions CD 2020)

One day I've found a small package from Brutal Cave Productions, which contained a couple of CDs from this label. I have to say that it was a nice, unexpected surprise. And first CD, which I've listened to from this pack was "The Encompassing Nothing" from an American monster called Thorn. This is a debut recording from this project - and I say project, because it turns out there's just one dude in Thorn, Brennen Westermeyer, who's doing all the music and vocals. Well, usually we can be suspicious for the quality of these one-man projects, but in case of Thorn do not worry. "The Encompassing Nothing" is really cool piece of death metal, which personally I enjoyed a lot. 

There are seven tracks here, squeezed into 19 minutes of music. And what can I write... Thorn easily combines the old school styles of obscure death and doom metal, which nowadays may not be something unparalleled or unique, but which is always so damn cool to hear. There are quite few great riffs, I really like the atmosphere of the music, its brutal and vicious feel. Interestingly, here are there Thorn brings some more unique riffs, which can almost remind you the so-called post metal stuff, with its dissonance and sort of mesmerizing, calming feel. “Returning to Dust” is that sort of song and I have to say that I like it a lot, it is an immediate standout here. It works even better when the next track, “Fields of Blight” kicks off with pure Morbid Angel-esque riff. I enjoy this transition between different styles and moods, because as much as I love the traditional means of doom / death metal, it is also always cool to hear bands, which present something more unique and simply different (ha, one riff in “Pagan’s Monolith” reminds me even Gojira!).  

Maybe not everything on this demo is top quality, certainly there’s still room for improvement in the songwriting, especially that I feel like songs could have been a little longer, more complex and more possessing. Usually that murky, ghoulish death / doom metal works best, when songs are like 5-6 minutes long (or even more), this is when the music is the most devouring and possessing. Here I sometimes feel like Brennon didn’t have yet enough ideas for his music, which is also why some of these songs end quite abruptly. But as I mentioned, there’s always time and room for improvement, and for a debut recording "The Encompassing Nothing" is more than just a solid effort. I liked it a lot, so I am definitely looking for more from Thorn. Cool artwork also! 

Standout tracks: “Häxan Womb” 

Verdict: 80/100