Guiltless – Thorns (Review)

This is the debut EP from US doom band Guiltless.

What do we have here then? A new band featuring members of Intronaut, Generation of Vipers, A Storm of Light, IIVII, and Battle of Mice? How supremely enticing. Thorns contains 24 minutes of music, and showcases Guiltless’ brand of nihilistic darkness well.

Thorns can be thought of as a clash of doom, sludge, and industrial, with an experimental edge. The four songs manifest as angular creations of bleak atmosphere and doom metal heaviness. The legacy of A Storm of Light can be readily felt, but Guiltless’ music feels rawer and simpler than that, without sacrificing depth or presence. I can feel the spirit of Godflesh hovering around the edges too, further contributing to the Guiltless recipe.

Thorns is ripe with dark immersive soundscapes that resonate with apocalyptic intensity. The music has a rhythmic quality to it that’s hypnotic, and it’s the sort of thing I can imagine being both punishing and entrancing experienced live.

I enjoyed what Thorns had to offer, and I look forward to seeing where Guiltless go from here. I can imagine them stripping everything back to even starker levels, embracing minimalism in an almost Khanate-esque way. But then I can also see them potentially stretching their sound wider and deeper, creating colossal sonic entities that suck in light like abyssal maws. Either way, (or something else entirely), I shall look forward to exploring their future path.

Recommended.