THORNHILL - “Bodies”
Written by: Tom Wilson | Sunday 23rd March 2025
Over the last few years Melbourne metalcore romantics THORNHILL have had so much bad luck I don't think they kicked a black cat so much as played a full AFL game with one. They lost a member, had to reschedule shows, have everything they release from now until the end of time compared to the fucking Dark Pool, and, oh yeah, it culminated in someone breaking into their rehearsal room in January 2023 and nicking over $100,000 worth of kit. Fast forward to now, though, and things seem back on track, so now it’s time to get excited because the band that tricked me into finally liking metalcore have dropped album number three, Bodies.
DIESEL opens with a metallic, scraping bassline that would make NAPALM DEATH’s Shane Embury proud, before the guitars kick us in the face and we’re off to the races. Vocalist Jacob Charlton’s sultry croons and soaring cleans have lost none of their power, and nor have the harsh vocals that scream and rasp behind thundering down-tuned riffs and a drum kit getting absolutely belted. The climax of Revolver is going to make for an insane Wall of Death when they play this album live this week, and if you were thrown by the surprisingly upbeat vibe of 2023 track Viper Room, don't stress – there is nothing even vaguely happy-sounding on Bodies. Woohoo, misery!
Silver Swarm would have fit perfectly on Heroine, and the plunging riff on Nerv is so heavy it would give MESHUGGAH’s Fredrik Thordendal pause. CRUSH offers some respite from the pummelling, with a pulsing, expensive-sounding beat that wouldn’t be out of place on a Kendrick Lamar album, before Under the Knife brings the ground-and-pound back in a big way, boasting one of the coolest riffs on the album, and For Now brings things to a gorgeous close – Jacob’s crooning unfurling over the soundscape.
Great news for those who don't want to move on from The Dark Pool : you don't have to. This has all the brawn of The Dark Pool and all the romantic DEFTONES-worship of Heroine. THORNHILL are a band that give a damn. They give a damn what they look like. They give a damn what they sound like. They were never going to put out a sloppy product, and they haven’t. How many bands can sell out shows playing an album people haven't even heard yet? The buzz is real. Let the Bodies hit the floor.
Bodies is out April 4th on UNFD. Pre-order here.
