Band:	On Thorns I Lay
Album:	On Thorns I Lay
Style:	Doom metal, Death doom metal, Gothic metal
Release date:	October 2023

01. Fallen From Grace
02. Newborn Skies
03. Crestfallen
04. Among The Wolves
05. Raise Empires
06. Thorns Of Fire

"Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud / Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun / And loathsome canker lies in sweetest bud / All men make faults..." is a famous Shakespearean quote which could well have inspired this band's title, and so also this latest release. Is this album as powerful as the quote suggests? Well, that's the question.

The Greek death doom band On Thorns I Lay may have originally formed as a gothic metal band back in 1992, but they've since then gone on to re-establish themselves in several different ways, coming under the genre tags of doom, death doom, blackened death, and alternative metal, with their previous two releases Aegean Sorrow (2018), and Threnos (2020) venturing into classic death doom territory. Now, let's bring us up to date with their latest, self-tited, offering: On Thorns I Lay, which is the band's tenth full-length release to date. The band has quite a line-up on this latest release, featuring six members in total (with guitarist Christos Dragamestianos being the only original member amongst the ranks), and also involving a total of eight guest vocalists. So, where exactly does this latest album fit into the band's almost thirty-year-spanning discography?

Following the previous two efforts, this latest release continues very much down the same death doom route, whilst also featuring some gothic elements along the way. Going straight in with the opening track "Fallen From Grace", which begins with a slow minute-and-a-half build-up featuring a short but beautifully constructed violin passage and quietly soft female wails, before it erupts into the more imposing death doom territory the band is renowned for. Here is where the harsh death growls are presented, alongside heavy slow-to-mid-tempo doomy riffs, sweeping melancholic leads, powerful slogging drum beats, and heavy bass lines. Although the structure of this track is nothing out of the ordinary for death doom, it's still a strong, powerful and heavy start to the album. The following track "Newborn Skies" takes a slightly more melodic approach. Here the leads are clearly a more striking element, and the vocals have a harsher presence in several moments throughout the track, where the growls become deeper and more menacing. The first sign of the album's synth work (although minor), is also introduced towards the very end.

After a fairly slow, and perhaps, dare I say, slightly underwhelming beginning to the album, you're then met by the third track, "Crestfallen". Now, this for me is the earliest highlight of the album so far, as it adds much more diversity and variety to the songwriting. The track opens with a soft, finely crafted gothic style instrumental section, which is a slightly different approach to what we've heard so far. The leads are a particular highlight on this track, and they especially come into their own once they're accompanied by the beautiful angelic female symphonies, which also act as a pleasant fading outro for the track. Next up is "Among The Wolves" which follows in a similar gothic doom structure. Here, the acoustic guitar and violin presence towards the end has the potential to really pull on one's heart strings. The following track "Raise Empires" is another stand-out track, one which begins with arguably the most memorable riff melody on the album, which is repeats itself as it's led on by a fine rhythm section, up until the melancholic, tear-jerking sweeping leads take shape. Closing the album off, we have "Thorns Of Fire". This track is, again, structured in a death doom manner featuring gothic elements once more; nothing out of the ordinary, it would seem at first, but it's the beautiful Latin style acoustic melodies, helped along by grand orchestral synth work that's the most striking element here. The track then finishes off with a short but sweet piano section; an instrument you'd expect to have heard more of throughout the album.

Overall, On Thorns I Lay has no real surprises in terms of what you'd expect from a death doom album, other than a few gothic touches. There's nothing here that a headbanging thrill seeker will hope to find, but what these Greeks do provide is an emotional, thought-provoking journey for one's lost soul to become trapped in. The band has been around for over thirty-years now, and their songwriting's maturing clearly shows, leading up to this latest effort. I believe On Thorns I Lay for many will be another fine example of the quality you'll likely stumble across on this year's sea of quality death doom releases.