T.H.E.M – THE GREAT MOTHER (Aeon Of Horus)

T.H.E.M have dropped their latest single ‘THE GREAT MOTHER (Aeon Of Horus),’ lifted from the forthcoming Adrogare Divinitas E.P which lands on independent release in August 2023. The intoxicating video is shot by long time collaborator Rick Alvarez, and features the percussive wizardry of Gaerea drummer Diogo Mota.

The Californian based masked Black Metal project started its journey with a symphonic style back in 2013 on the release of their debut EP The Forgotten Gospels from the Book of Lies, with the band following this up a year later and taking a slightly more aggressive approach on Crusade Against the Tyrannical Essences of Men (2014).

A hiatus prolonged by the COVID pandemic saw vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Godric continue T.H.E.M as a solo project, and in 2021 he started recording tracks for the new EP, completing ‘Arrogance to Prevail’ and ‘Conquer and Devour’ in Tijuana, Mexico which were both mixed and mastered by Mick Kenney (Anaal Nathrahk / Kordhell) and have also featured video releases directed by Rick Alvarez:

T.H.E.M – Arrogance to Prevail

T.H.E.M – Conquer and Devour

Having grown up on a mixture of Grunge and Industrial-Goth music, Godric eventually gravitated to writing and playing Black Metal, with the current T.H.E.M sound fuelled on inspiration from the likes of Darkthrone, Satyricon and Enslaved, mixed with an old-school Melodic-Death Metal influence from bands like Dissection.

There is an overall concept on Adrogare Divinitas of thinking for yourself and standing up against the arrogance of a deity. With ‘THE GREAT MOTHER (Aeon Of Horus)’ specifically themed around the arrival of the spiritual mother, destroying the status quo and opening our eyes as we transcend our conscious into a journey of self realisation. The haunting accompanying video is shot beautifully with an an alluring dark tone, and imagery soaked in Gothic-Horror.

Musically the track is a full on cathartic slice of melancholic aggression from T.H.E.M, who this time focus on a short sharp blast of Blackened Death-Metal, relentlessly delivering their message from the opening bars with merciless precision and ferocious riffing. The rasping vocals of Godric infectiously dominate as the music swirls tempestuously within, and he delivers compelling emotional lines such as ‘Rise! Wearing the mark beauty is born, Dethrone the divine, Mother of all that is wicked, Bless me with knowledge unknown.’

Diogo Mota (Gaerea) lays down his exquisite and phrenetic drumming on both this and the forthcoming final song to be released on the EP ‘Adrogare Divinitas,’ with Godric having recorded the initial tracks in Tijuana in 2022. With Mota tracking his percussion remotely in Portugal before mastering and mixing was then completed by Dark House Audio in Mexico City.

The collaboration between Godric and Mota came after a chance meeting online and the discovery of a mutual musical appreciation, and with this release T.H.E.M are unquestionably outing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the US west-coast scene. And on this showing their sound and production value will no doubt also find them a deserved cult audience, in the wider Extreme-Metal community. KZ

Words by Abstrakt_Soul