Throne ‘Where Tharsis Sleeps’ 12″/DD 2014
Throne are a band I was first introduced to shortly before the release of their first EP Heavy Lies The Crown – I was given it to review for another publication and immediately fell in love, scoring it 5/5 (a review I still stand by wholeheartedly).
I managed to catch them live just the once, at Desertfest 2013, before they fell off of my radar and I was left wondering what had happened to them. Turns out they’d made a Kickstarter to fund their next EP, Where Tharsis Sleeps, and, after seeing them once more at Temples Festival this year, I made it my mission to ensure I got my hands on their new material. History lesson over, let’s move onto the review…
Opener Tharsis Sleeps weighs in heavy from the off with an absolutely belting riff – this song has legs and certainly holds up just as well live as it does on record. If you’ve yet to see the music video that accompanies this track then rectify that immediately; it’s made entirely of frame by frame embroidery and, aside from being visually stunning and the gnarly sci-fi story it tells, the effort alone that’s gone into creating something so intricate and detailed is astonishing.
If you hadn’t guessed already, this is a concept EP and tells the story of blowing open the dormant, volcanic region of Mars, called Tharsis, in order to make the planet inhabitable for human life. If you’re at all into sci-fi or comic books then this is certainly worth a listen for the lyrical content; “residual heat seeps from beneath” etc. and the information provided on their Kickstarter page (a handy science lesson in what terra forming is!) prove that this is more than just a passing interest for the band and they genuinely know their stuff. Probably one of the more informed concept records recorded in the last few years.
These guys know how to write a catchy melody and if Surface Of Stone doesn’t have you on the verge of insanity after spending a solid week humming it then it’s probably a good idea to check yourself for a pulse. This record has gotten a lot of stick on various other review sites for being “unoriginal” but this just isn’t true. Sure, the doom genre is certainly oversaturated at present, but it’s easy to see which bands are set to last and which aren’t and Throne are certainly worthy of your time and attention. Plus, when the music is so easy to listen to and the riffs so incredibly heavy, who the hell cares that there’s a wee bit of Sabbath worship at play? This is the type of music you can play whenever and where ever and still manage to discover something new each time. It’s also pretty fun to sing along to and works amazingly well in a live setting – for a band, that are relatively new, to be able to write fist pumping anthems this early on in their career is incredible and shows massive promise.
This EP seemingly has it all – annoyingly catchy songs, enormous grooves, and a well-informed concept all wrapped up in rather pretty artwork. What’s not to love? Seriously, just try to listen to this and dislike it. Not possible.
Label: Indian Face
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter
Scribed by: Angela Davey
