Thine
In Therapy
Peaceville
UK’s Thine are regularly presented as a metal act but, as with several of their label mates, the metal aspect has more to do with a general dark outlook on life than with crunching guitars, double bass drums and pyro coming out their noses. Thine, in fact, have more in common with post-punkers from Joy Division to Alphaville than with your regular axe-wielding Manowar fan. For the last few years, Thine have been one of the top acts playing gothic melodic rock, and on In Therapy, they show us just why.
Stunning and genuinely frightening tracks like the creepy “Best Kept Secret,” the twisted chime of “Deny Everything” and the fine “Contact Point” go some way to prove the scope and the sheer melodic brilliance of Thine, although those tracks are only the beginning of it. In Therapy is brimming with great, haunting tracks that draw parallels to both Paradise Lost and Fields of the Nephilim. But where those bands – and most similarly-styled goth metallers – tend to over-dramatize and flood over with pathos and cheap melodrama, Thine present a far more simplistic and basic approach to their sound. In Therapy is a consistent and unified album that presents its variation through subtle diversity and slight textural changes. And it shows as well: from the cover art to the sound of the album to the songs and the performances, this really is just an absolutely stunning, massive album. In Therapy is a totally overwhelming experience, finding and fulfilling its mission through quiet disturbances and sonic explorations. It’s enough to re-instill this reviewer’s fate in melodic goth. And I definitely didn’t see that coming.
Peaceville Records: http://www.peaceville.com
