Thorn – the one man wrecking machine of doom/death metal returns with the fourth album Nebulous Womb of Eternity. I have enjoyed all the prior releases, although at times, the production can get a tad muddy.
“Ooze Maelstrom” starts this seven-song 37 37-minute onslaught with a blast beat. I was not expecting the opening to be so fast. The song slows to a crawl around the 45-second mark, and the guitars are pretty damn heavy. The song picks up the pace with a nice gallop, which you will no doubt headbang to. Brennen Westermeyer, as always, is the man behind Thorn, and his powerful roars are excellent. The highlight is the 2.30 slow down with the stop and start riffing and off-kilter drum beats. This section shines!
“Entombed in Chrysalis” is just what the doctor of doom/death metal ordered. This is the longest song at over eight minutes; the tune immediately gets into filth. This is pure filth, at its finest. Slow, lumbering, heavy, and the sledgehammer of doom crushes you into tiny bits. The bass guitar is magnificent, as it has a killer distorted heaviness. The double pounding section picks up the pace for a bit, until more of that start and stop riffing and drum pattern erupts, as it did with the album opener. These sections are terrific, and there are some hellaciously monstrous growls on this sucker. The dreamlike moments of ethereal doom, with the melodies, are hypnotic. The song really ends at the 4.30 time stamp because the rest of the song is some atmospheric noises, which honestly go on for wayyyy too long, imo.
“Gloaming Corporeal Form” is like three minutes of atmospherics, which for me, once again, is filler. It’s used as more of an intro to the ending song, which is the title track. Ryan Fairfield, from Hallowed Butchery and Toxic Cross, lends his vox to this song. This track is pure doom/death filth. This song actually has a striking resemblance to dISEMBOWELMENT. The strong guitar riffs, with those ethereal harmonies, is evident of that. This song is going nowhere fast, as it lumbers and takes notice of the riffing at the 1.50 section. This is excruciatingly heavy, and we also get nods to funeral doom with this track. This slow pacing will call to mind the gods of yore, Winter, with the plodding and hypnotic pacing, all wrapped up in a bow of heaviness. There is a depressive dense fog hanging over this song, folks. Great way to end the album.
Nebulous Womb of Eternity is a really good doom/death album. The production is improved upon, and I appreciate this album’s artwork. Some of the long atmospheric interlude parts, to me, are a time waster, and I wish they were much shorter. Overall, Thorn delivers another heavy album.
