Thornhill - 'BODIES' - Album Review

BACKGROUND. So far this year, Australia has been unusually quiet on the album front, and it was about time to get some noise from the land of the signature killer contemporary metalcore fusions. It is up to Thornhill to kickstart 2025 for their compatriots in style, and who better to deliver that unique dose of fresh, trend-setting and genre-defiant modern heavy sound we have learned to expect from the Down Under, than our favourite Melbourne troubadours. Embracing their inner Deftones connoisseurs and alt-metal vissionaires, the UNFD starlets once again bring the sexy back to the core world with their silky smooth and elegant third full-lenght record BODIES.

BAND. Reaching this point in Thornhill's career was anything but seamless and straightforward, but all good things rarely are. Starting as metalcore hopefuls back with the Butterfly EP (2018) and their cult debut The Dark Pool (2019), they quickly abandoned overused cliches, painful repetition and overcomplicated proggy ambitions, ventured deeper into the unknown realms of cross-genre experimentations and mainstream appeal, and the hordes immediately turned their backs on them. Upsetting gatekeepers and disregarding fules, however, seemed to have really fuelled their creativity, and BODIES truly sounds like the final form in an otherwise pretty turbulent and colourful post-pandemic character arc that might just be coming to its marvelous conclusion.

ALBUM. Considering the dominant atmosphere and main direction taken in Heroine (2022), BODIES makes perfect sense in terms of continuity and evolution, but it is also a huge leap forward in class, arrangement and overall execution. Polished to absolute perfection, it shows little respect to established conventions and expectations, jumping back and forth between dreamy passages and chaotic breakdowns, riff parades and electronic interludes, alt-pop sensibility and grunge attitude, all those flavours masterfully laid over that distinctive pulsating Thornhill-esque sexy-core foundation. Third LP into their careers, the Melbourne quartet have delivered their most iconic and honest record, setting the bar impossibly high even by their standards.

SONGS. BODIES gets a supercharged opening ten minustes, a befitting high octane intro track 'DIESEL' leading to the exemplary modern metal screamer 'Revolver' and then exploding with the familiar fan favourite anthem 'Silver Swarm'. From there, it goes into indie territories with 'Only Ever You' before returning violently to bouncy grooves and relentless riffage with the likes of 'TONGUES', 'nerv' and 'Obsession', all the way to 'under the knife'. Sure, with each consecutive track the paralels with Deftones get undeniable, but a relatable, modern-day Chino Moreno is something the scene certainly needs, and nobody does it with as much respect and flair as Jacob Charlton and company.

FUTURE. An uncanny coincidence sees Thornhill's BODIES dropped on the same day with Bleed From Within's latest Zenith, the same way they premiered Heroine and Shrine back on 3 June 2022. Although completly irrelevant, and ignoring the fact both bands could not be any more different in style and origin, there is certain symbolism in their shared recent past, as the two oposing sides of the immensely diverse modern metal scene. One might represent the more traditional, focused, and soul-crushing metalcore sound, whereas the other waves the flag of the genre-defying, soul-elevating, aethereal, alt metal sound, and both extremes are essential for the rich and fruitful future of the wider metal world. Considering BODIES, Thornhill have certainly done their part for its survival and preservation.

Thornhill - 'BODIES'

Country: Australia

Used: 4 April

Label: UNFD

Tracklisting:

1. DIESEL

2. Revolver

3. Silver Swarm

4. Only Ever You

5. fall into the wind

6. TONGUES

7. nerv

8. Obsession

9. CRUSH

10. under the knife

11. For Now