Review
Thumbscrew
Within Hearts of Redemption

Imagine It (2006) Sean L.

Thumbscrew – Within Hearts of Redemption cover artwork
Thumbscrew – Within Hearts of Redemption — Imagine It, 2006

There are a million and one spazz/metalcore bands around nowadays. And I can't name any of them besides Ed Gein, whose first record was what initially turned me off from the whole style. The bands that play this style of music are obviously apt at their instruments, but the focus is more on showing five seconds worth of technical prowess followed by incoherently distorted garbage. Don't get me wrong, I like noise and grind but the conglomeration of them doesn't come off as one part James Plotkin, one part Barney Greenway, it sounds like Daughters and Norma Jean. Unfortunately, Thumbscrew is really no different.

And, to add insult to injury, the anagram - "W.H.O.R.E." - of their record, Within Hearts of Redemption EP, is insipidly juvenile as well, and the lyrics follow suit. I got it, there's some girl you think is slutty. She's the embodiment of everything you hate and she's self-destructive. This unmasked misogyny is unnerving and bothersome. Why in the world would you bother to document such ass-backwards ideas? Hopefully every kid wearing a white belt and girls' jeans will have better sense than to endorse this.

3.0 / 10Sean L. • October 17, 2006

Thumbscrew – Within Hearts of Redemption cover artwork
Thumbscrew – Within Hearts of Redemption — Imagine It, 2006

Related news

Imagine It Signs Thumbscrew

Posted in Labels on March 1, 2006

Recently-posted album reviews

Lethal Limits

Elevate EP
GhettoBlaster Productions (2025)

As far as I can gather Jeff Corso has been playing in bands in the Bay Area for the past 20 years but seems like exclusively hardcore until now. Full disclosure: I’m only reviewing this because Aesop from Hickey plays drums. That said, I generally only review stuff I like, so go figure. This doesn’t sound like Hickey but since … Read more

Dealbreaker

New Sides
Late Again Records, Toll Free Records (2026)

Dealbreaker popped onto my radar as part of a package tour with Pro Wrestling, who cold called me with a Penske File namedrop. This story is a bit of a Canadian roundabout, but their methodology worked: I listened to their music and dug it enough to review it. And I'm mentioning it because, at times, Dealbreaker reminds me of The … Read more

The Library Is On Fire

Degeneration Elegies
The Abyss, Ltd. (2026)

There’s a certain kind of band that never quite fits the moment they arrive in. Sometimes too jagged for one scene, too melodic for another. The Library Is On Fire were one of those bands in the early 2000s, hovering somewhere between indie-punk urgency and power-pop instinct without fully settling into either. On Degeneration Elegies, their first full-length in over … Read more