The first half isn’t so much sludge as it is nu metal – Mudvayne in their ‘The End of All Things’ era to be precise.  Crowbar and Eyehategod would weep.  It picks up at the track ‘Pressures’ which is the one (and only) highlight of ‘Thorns’.  The dirty riff and haggard vocals are truer to sludge than any of the other twelve tracks.  It’s a pity they don’t carry this on for the rest of the album; this is obviously the peak as the remainder of the tracks slump and merge into one another.

False advertising of a genre will leave unsuspecting sludge fans extremely disappointed.  This drags and feels more like a test of endurance than a pleasure to listen to.  Avoid at all costs.

Reviewed by Angela Davey
Thorns is out now on Shifty

You’ll like this if… you don’t like sludge