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Like many people who grew up during the 2000s, I’m a big Deftones fan. Their sound is certainly one that has stood the test of time, and its impact has created many other sub-genres within the rock and alternative music scene. I bring this up because Thornhill certainly has a lot of influence from the band. Usually, I don’t enjoy groups that piggyback off the sound of more successful artists. However, when I first heard Thornhill about two years ago, they managed to stand out amongst a sea of copycats due to a few key aspects.

For one, their tracks have less nu-metal or multi-genre influence and focus instead on more traditional metalcore aspects such as distorted guitars and breakdowns. Their song structure also strikes a balance between these two elements. Like Deftones, Thornhill creates songs that focus on developing an emotion or feeling through sound while complementing that emotion through somewhat vague lyrics. Other times, the band tends towards a more typical ABBA structure with verses followed by a pre-chorus and refrain. They usually have a particular emphasis on chorus hooks found in the majority of popular music. It’s this aspect, combined with the sheer beauty of the vocal performances from Jacob Charlton, that drew me to the band and shows they have the potential to continue to develop their own style. 

This latest album, BODIES, is the band’s third full-length record. The project consists of eleven songs and is published by UNFD. Right away, this album starts off incredibly strong with some hard-hitting intro songs, “DIESEL” and “Revolver.” Packed with some great grooves, riffs, and vocal passages, these are certainly two of my favorite songs which emphasize the band’s heavier side and set the tone for this project. 

The next song, “Silver Swarm” is also quite strong. The vocals from Jacob are fantastic and complemented nicely by the bass and drum performances from Ben Maida and Nick Sjogren. The follow-up song “Only Ever You” is another great piece that features some standout guitar work from Ethan McCann. The whole song has a very melancholy tone, which I feel plays very well into the band’s strengths.

“Fall into the Wind” is a purely transitional song towards a softer second half that I won’t touch on much. From here, we move into one of the lead singles for the album “TONGUES.” I like aspects of this song, but at times the distortion effects are slightly too overused, leading to problems with the overall mixing and production of the track. It causes Jacob’s vocals to become slightly drowned out by the guitars. The next song, “nerv” also suffers from this (to a lesser degree), and some of the sections here are hard-hitting enough to make me ignore it.

Fortunately, track eight, “Obsession,” is great with the whole band delivering solid work and featuring some shredding vocal sections from Jacob. This song transitions well into the follow-up “CRUSH,” which goes for a more playful, sensual tone complemented by subdued instrumentals that you might find in a pop or R&B song. While this isn’t my favorite song, I like that it is included. It is pulled off well, showcases the band’s range, and keeps the whole album from feeling homogenous.

“Under the Knife” kicks things up a notch once again with some powerful riffs and heavy drum sections. It doesn’t do anything exceptionally new, but I enjoy the production quite a bit here. Meanwhile, the closing song “For Now” brings things down again towards that melancholic, shoegaze sound that I’m a big fan of. All-in-all, it is a wonderful closing piece. 

Overall, this is an album that grew on me over repeated listens. While I still feel that the first half is much stronger, each song has managed to stand out a little more for me after going through them again. The album is another solid entry in the band’s discography, delivering more of what works while still experimenting with other styles.  There isn’t as much here in terms of lyrical storytelling as was the case on 2019’s The Dark Pool. However, the overall quality of the performances stays consistent, and I feel each track succeeds in delivering the core feeling it’s trying to evoke in the listener.    

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BODIES

13.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Great performances
• Evocative Sound

Cons

• Distortion can be overused
• Vague lyrics and writing could turn off some