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

Bitter Branches

Let's Give The Land Back To The Animals
Equal Vision (2026)

Sometimes when you think of a town you think of a certain sound. Philadelphia is not one of those cities for me, as the bands I know from the area vary a lot in style. Yes, there is the Dan Yemin tree (Lifetime / Kid Dynamite / Paint It Black) but there are also poppy bands and emo bands and … Read more

Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs

Pigus Drunkus Maximus (Reissue)
Blind Owl Records (2026)

If rock ’n’ roll ever had a smoky, beer-soaked, throbbing heartbeat, it lives in Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs’ Pigus Drunkus Maximus. Recorded in 1981 but not released until 1987 on Restless Records, the album always felt like a document out of time — lightning caught like fireflies in clumsy hands, then bottled too long. This newly remastered reissue, … Read more

Dream Fatigue

No Requiem
Daze (2026)

There’s a particular tension that makes alternative rock compelling. I love the emotional push and pull between softness and eruption. On No Requiem, Massachusetts outfit Dream Fatigue thrive in that space, crafting a seven song EP that balances dreamlike melody with bursts of distortion and emotional urgency. Born from the creative partnership between drummer Matt Wood and vocalist Jonali McFadden, … Read more