{"id":146574,"date":"2025-09-10T13:16:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T13:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/146574\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T13:16:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T13:16:07","slug":"infernal-thorns-christus-venari-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/146574\/","title":{"rendered":"Infernal Thorns – Christus Venari Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"You may ask if the world needs yet another Satan-worshipping, demon-loving, God-forsaking metal band. The rational answer is probably a resounding no. And normally, I would agree. But I recognize that moving away from those themes is a lot to ask of the metalverse. Chilean thrashy death metal imps Infernal Thorns certainly aren\u2019t inclined to stop reveling in hellish delights just because it\u2019s a stereotype. They\u2019ve been doing it since 2003, after all, and doing it quite well. So well, in fact, that after spending two weeks with third tome Christus Venari, I hope they never listen to me and keep churning out killer tunes from the nine circles for all eternity.<\/p>\n

Evoking the same raucous debauchery that made icons like Goatwhore<\/a> famous, Infernal Thorns prioritize riffs, fun, and blistering energy above all else on Christus Venari. A veritable smorgasbord of thrashy outbursts, squealing solos, demonic growls and banshee rasps, and pummeling percussion awaits listeners as they venture through 38 minutes of all-out destruction. With full-bodied tones, serrated distortion, and a clear\u2014but not overly polished\u2014mix, Christus Venari is as pleasing to the ear as it is threatening to the spine. It\u2019s a classic, no-nonsense approach to scorched death metal that honors what made the genre the phenomenon it is today, but with a little bit of infernal magic to keep it fresh and exciting.<\/p>\n

Christ Distressed by INFERNAL THORNS<\/a><\/p>\n

Christus Venari is a record capable of overriding the critical thinking process, replacing all higher functions with mindless headbanging and stank-face grimacing. It does this primarily by invoking an endless horde of memorable motifs, thoughtful transitions, and risky songwriting choices that pay dividends. From the outset of pounding opener \u201cDeath Chants\u201d to the relentless call and response of \u201cImplore Me,\u201d Infernal Thorns embody the sounds of hell with a salacious enthusiasm sure to infect the minds of millions. This is where those memorable motifs and buttery transitions shine best, especially highlighted by the tremolo-spiced flourish of \u201cChrist Distressed,\u201d the Incantation<\/a>-ized stomp of \u201cBlack Flesh,\u201d the charred one-two knockout of \u201cFinis Incipiet\u201d and \u201cOfficiate Lapidation,\u201d and the regal brutality of \u201cDesde El Infierno.\u201d When possessed, \u201cProfane the Mass\u201d comes close to its final throes, Infernal Thorns throw a daring vocal trick into the mix. Modulating death growls into an arpeggiated melody\u2014complete with a pitch shift three repetitions in\u2014Infernal Thorns creates an outright terrifying effect. Another big swing, epic eight-minute closer \u201cIlluminated by the Flames\u201d forges a spine-tingling guitar melody that persists in various forms throughout, drilling its form into my brain for an age, but convincing me of its worth with remarkable consistency.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Considering every song earned mention in a paragraph dedicated to Christus Venari\u2019s virtues, it\u2019s natural to wonder, \u201cWhat are its sins?\u201d The truth is, Infernal Thorns crafted this record so well that most of its sins are minor, and all are disguised by the sheer amount of fun and the endless vitality it exudes. With time and very focused listens, I found that as successful as closer \u201cIlluminated by the Flames\u201d is, it\u2019s still about two minutes too long with most of its bloat manifesting in an overly extended fade out. Additionally, albeit strong tracks like \u201cBlack Flesh\u201d and \u201cDeath Chants\u201d are liable to recall influences more strongly than they are to strike a novel chord. Put another way, Infernal Thorns rely on established tropes and beloved genre conventions to hook listeners in with some of these numbers. Consequently, there\u2019s less room to showcase more of the creative songwriting choices that make the most compelling material here (\u201cProfane the Mass,\u201d for example) stand out.<\/p>\n

These are but minor quibbles. In sum, Christus Venari is a high-energy, high-reward record, blazing the sky with killer songwriting. It\u2019s been difficult to put down, and with each new spin, I grow fonder of it. It\u2019s not the most creative example of the style, nor will it challenge the status quo of hell-centric death metal. However, it\u2019s the most fun I\u2019ve had with the subject in this style since Nexorum\u2019s incredible Death Unchained<\/a>, and that\u2019s high praise. Miss this at your own peril.<\/p>\n

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb\/s mp3
Label: Personal Records<\/a>
Websites: infernalthorns.bandcamp.com<\/a> | infernalthorns.com<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: September 12th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You may ask if the world needs yet another Satan-worshipping, demon-loving, God-forsaking metal band. The rational answer is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[2967,12018,9676,66667,90860,90861,12026,88,90862,90863,90864,216,90865,90866,899,900,86014,46895],"class_list":{"0":"post-146574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-2967","9":"tag-3-5","10":"tag-black-metal","11":"tag-blackened-death-metal","12":"tag-chilean-metal","13":"tag-christus-venari","14":"tag-death-metal","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-goatwhore","17":"tag-incantation","18":"tag-infernal-thorns","19":"tag-music","20":"tag-nexorum","21":"tag-personal-records","22":"tag-review","23":"tag-reviews","24":"tag-sep25","25":"tag-thrash-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}