Thickthorn

Thickthorn is the debut album of Ethereal Woods, a seemingly long-forgotten black metal band from the genteel county of Warwickshire. Being pretty much dormant since the release of their last album in 2008, and never showing up much on the radar even during their period of activity, the only way anyone could really stumble across them today is if someone were to look into the now defunct label Supernal Music, on whom Drudkh and The Meads of Asphodel each first found a footing. Yet, in my case, I noticed them amid the great throng of black metal projects due to my familiarity with their home county. Here are my thoughts on this obscure, problematic, and yet rather charming recording.

Right off the bat, I can say very surely that the synths are what makes this album interesting. They overpower neither guitars nor drums, but they do raise what would have been a really quite primitive or stripped-down example of black metal to something actually quite mysterious and enjoyable. The synths are of a single style and not attempting to mimic a plurality of instruments, which is to the benefit of this recording as the inclusion of anything approaching the replication of an orchestra would have been so inappropriate in relation to the guitars as to have been preposterous. Those who like 'symphonic' black metal, i.e. containing synths of a theatrical quality, are as advised to avoid this album as those who can only tolerate the most riff-based stuff.

Thickthorn alternates between moments when one would want to be more attentive to the music and others when the listener can perhaps get more out of it by just letting the soundscape pass by without trying to follow the contours of it too much. Does that mean there are sections that could be considered boring? For some people, no doubt. In the case of myself, I like the album due to the way it unfolds as a simple but quaint environment. A sense of gnarled, old... homeliness?, perhaps, is the chief achievement of Thickthorn. This music conjures up images of fairy enchantresses dancing among faintly-luminous toadstools on a summer's evening far more than it evokes the traditional themes of black metal.

The riff-work really isn't impressive, as I have already hinted at. I would be lying if I said this never bothers me. Based upon some of the band's later material, I am prepared to say that the quality of the riffing is down to an eager-but-inexperienced guitarist, rather than one who could simply never write imaginative riffs. Ethereal Woods would have done themselves a favour if this guitarist had spent a few more years honing his skills before they released their debut. Thickthorn conceivably could have been an accomplished album, rather than being, as it is, an album I can enjoy by sort of overlooking what should be the defining feature of a metal recording.

I will conclude, therefore, by recommending this album heartily to those who feel sentimental for the unspoilt English heartlands and thus want music of such character, but not especially to anyone else. 63 / 100.