Album Premiere: Experience Pure Sonic Chaos With Thoren’s Gwarth I
It’s like a blender for your brain!
I’m not going to mince words here: Thoren’s music is ugly. It’s not pleasant, nor is it what I’d call “fun.” A substantial amount of my own listening is dedicated to dissonant, abrasive music, and Gwarth I was dense even for me. If you’re after piles of riffs and a good time, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for unique sonic textures channeled through unorthodox song structure, then Thoren have you covered. Gwarth I is raw experimentation by extremely proficient musicians, and it’s about as close to the metal equivalent of free jazz as you can get without branching into Those Darn Gnomes territory. Standard musical conventions such as structure, melody, and harmony are very loosely defined here, and frantic drum performances from Alex Cohen (ex-Pyrrhon) and Kenny Grohowski (Imperial Triumphant) compound the chaos further. I can’t do this beast justice by trying to put it to words, so it’s best you just hit play and hang onto your butts:
Again, this is highly unlikely to find much traction with metal fans at large, but those who appreciate the crazier sides of Dendritic Arbor, Cleric, and the like will enjoy the challenge that Gwarth I presents. As you’ve likely guessed, this album is the first of two; Gwarth II will see a release next year. Gwarth I is out this Friday, November 9th, via Drylands Records. You can find Thoren on Facebook and Bandcamp.
