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EP REVIEW
Thuum - Through Smoke Comes Fire
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Thuum - Through Smoke, Comes Fire EP cover

It's been a while since I wrote about any new music. A busy schedule meant it was hard to find the time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). However, very occasionally when something special hits the ears, time absolutely HAS to be made...

Imagine... Doom monks thudding a slow beat over their chanting hypnotic drone to set a heady ritualistic atmosphere. A single guitar picks a solemn lick through the sonic incense, while power chords and cymbal crashes add crushing weight to the mass. A slow bass driven groove follows on, with sustain fuelled guitars humming on the brink of feedback, to steer the track to glorious highs and hanging lows... The tones are all consuming and it's one almighty hell of a way to make an introduction. The opening of Thuum's EP Through Smoke, Comes Fire is quite simply... epic.

After this magnificent six minute intro a gutteral roar from vocalist / guitarist "Bear" heralds the second song Worthless. The tempo is ramped up here to a thrashier chug from solid locked in guitars, the energy driven on by relentless nimble fingered bass work. Coming in at a mere seven minutes forty long, this track has its moments of ambience, something this band clearly have a knack for. They make a great platform from which to unleash that huge immersive guitar sound. Kudos should go to whoever recorded and mastered this record. Fans of bands like Conjurer or Ohhms are going to love this.

Third track HAFGUFA takes on a punkier feel with more open riffing, and just the right tempo for wrecking in fact. Vocally this track is more diverse, switching from harsh growls throughout the verses to a cleaner vocal (still gruff though) in a cool melodic section after the guitar solo. Some more dynamic guitar work and an ear splitting scream take the track to a climactic ending. Although the song could feel a little 'throwaway', especially as it's short in comparison and lacks the grandiose feel of the others, it's still an interesting change of pace, and shows the scope of weaponry in the band's musical arsenal.

The title track Through Smoke, Comes Fire completes the EP and is essentially an amalgamation of the three previous tracks, which consequentially sums up the band's style well. It's another song over the seven minute mark with lots of shifting sections, musically and vocally. When there are clean vocals they aren't overdone, and add a classy melodic touch just when required, but mainly things are kept decidedly metal with a throaty growl. There's plenty of cool bass work throughout, tastefully playing around a rock solid drum groove, while the guitars shift from buzzing harmonized licks to chunky riffs to those mighty slabs of power chord greatness.

Although the sound is modern, with contemporary Doom and Stoner influences to be heard, the delivery of the songs on this EP definitely feels, to my mind, like a throwback to the great original metal of the mid-eighties. As a debut, it's surprising in its depth of musicality. Keep an eye on Thuum, a great band in the making.

Through Smoke, Comes Fire release date: Feb 19th 2018

Check their Bandcamp page for details... https://thuum.bandcamp.com

(Published 02/01/2018)


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