Whilst music trends come and go (and with increasing rapidity), there’s a reason why thrash metal has remained constant and ever present. Quite simply, it’s the mutt’s nuts, and with new bands such as Thorns emerging to rejuvenate the scene and provide the exiler of youth, the future is looking as bright as the past. With two critically-acclaimed studio albums under their collective belt and a growing reputation as a kick-ass, take-no-prisoners live band, Thorns are a quartet on a collision course with the big time and latest EP, Ready To Strike, looks like it’s going to get them there in style.
Despite forming just four years ago in Cincinnati, Ohio, there’s something refreshingly old-school about Thorns. With deep roots in hardcore punk, there was always a do-it-yourself ethos to thrash metal and that’s definitely an aesthetic that Thorns tap into. Sidestepping the music industry completely, they built their own recording studio, self-recording and releasing their music independently. It’s an approach that has won them legions of fans, an army that’s sure to be swelled by the arrival of Ready To Strike. As befits a four track EP, there’s no time to waste on fancy introductions or preambles and as such Thorns get straight down to business with opening shot ‘Bad Business’. With a sharp, jagged riff it’s the kind of song which omits a sense of danger and it increases exponentially when the rest of the band kick in. Thorn cram a lot into the two-and-a-half minutes that comprise ‘Bad Business’, yet there’s a concise nature to their songwriting; not one second is wasted, nor are two notes used when one will suffice and that only serves to make Thorns all the more menacing. Like a welterweight boxer, they are ripped and fleet of foot, yet they also pack a potent punch and that’s exactly what ’Muzzle’ and ‘Headcase’ deliver. Even when they ease off the accelerator and stretch things out on groove laden closer ‘Sickfit’, there’s always minacious feel, as if the band might burst through the speakers and attack the listener at any moment.
Comparisons have been made between Thorns and the likes of Anthrax, Metallica and Nuclear Assault, and while they are obvious points of reference, they’re also slightly unfair because Thorns definitely have their own thing going on and Ready To Strike is going to slap them right in the middle of metal’s top tier.
- Ready To Strike is released via These Go To Eleven Records on 26th August 2026.
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Track List:
- Bad Business
- Muzzle
- Headcase
- Sickfit
