Band:	Born Of Thorns
Album:	New Horizons
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	2003

01. Towards A New Horizon
02. Deviltress
03. Starnation

Finland is a very productive country in terms of music and it seems that quality paces with the bands that come out of the country of the thousand lakes! Born Of Thorns is another band hailing from Finland and they move in avant-garde black metal soundscapes.

Two are the things that someone may notice while listening to Born Of Thorns' EP, "New Horizons", their influences and their abilities as instrument players. Let's talk about the first part, the influences. Two of the greatest names that came out of Norway have to be without any second thought Emperor and Arcturus and it is quite obvious that those two great bands have influenced a lot Born Of Thorns, a band that seems to harmonize those two influences in a wonderful way. As for the second part, the members consisting of this Finnish combo are great players and they interpret their instruments in a stunning and unerring way leaving speechless the listener.

The more raging moments will remind you of Emperor's last effort, "Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire And Demise", even the vocals resemble a lot to Ihsahn's howls. Yet the Arcturus part is more intense if we take into consideration "Radical Cut" in which the extreme vocals are being interpreted by Ihsahn himself. The mid-to-up-tempo or more melodic moments are more vivid through the duration of the EP, yet the more dynamic and powerful ones whenever they appear they escalate the emotional charge of the compositions in the most appropriate way. The keyboard work is flawless, enchanting, majestic, affected, dreamy or nightmarish, whereas the guitar work is utterly inspired whether it is wonderful riffing or solo-oriented. The rhythm section lends groove and power to the compositions in the most ideal way so we really can't complain about it since it sounds just like it has to be! As I said above, the extreme vocals resemble a lot to Ihsahn's, as for the clean ones Garm's clean vocal lines come to mind without any second, even some distorted whispers like on "La Masquerade Infernale" are present.

The EP consists of three compositions and every song is a high-light for its very own reasons, having that avant-garde feeling of Arcturus and elegiac yet extreme edge of Emperor the outcome is superb.

Born Of Thorns might not be the most original band around but they sound so perfect the way they are that you really can't complain! I would like to listen to something more personal though the next time I will come across a work from them, but for now I will enjoy without regrets this fabulous EP! The fans of the aforementioned bands should definitely not miss them!