Band Interview: Thornhill

Thornhill’s highly anticipated second album today ‘Heroine’ is due for its full release on the 3rd of June 2022 via UNFD. An album we described as:

The glitz, the glamour, the captivating charm of Hollywood… it’s what drives the sound of this album. Where Thornhill go for a more cinematic flavour; high on the dramatics and infused with electro-rock.

You can read our full review here and ahead of its release, we chatted to guitarist, Ethan McCann. You can read the interview below.

Hello Thornhill. Are you all well and feeling ready for the unleashing of the new album?

Hello! It’s just Ethan here but yes we are all extremely excited, it feels like we have been sitting on some of these ideas for quite some time so we are keen for the world to see the whole project.

How have you found the response to what has been released so far?

For the most part pretty positive. I think a lot of our original fans aren’t enjoying the shift in style because they know us for our more metalcore roots which aren’t really on display anymore. I totally understand why, people like different things and we knew it wasn’t going to be for everyone. That said, it has been amazing seeing lots of new faces and people from outside the metalcore community support us, it has been bittersweet in a sense.

There’s no denying this is a fascinating change both sonically and stylistically for Thornhill. How natural was this growth and where did the seeds first start to grow from?

It was much more natural than a lot of people may think, it has been funny seeing people complain about our “producer”, manager or even label, saying that they were the ones that changed us. Fun fact the whole thing is self produced, just like The Dark Pool haha. We always pulled influences from different genres, it’s been a part of our music since day dot, however we just decided to lean on those rock influences as our foundation whereas in the past, metalcore played a much stronger role. The Stylistic choice is mainly just us trying to give the music more context, giving you cues to visualise and feel specific things that we do while listening to these songs.

Considering the difficulties of the past few years, How much has the past few years influenced the creation of the new album? No-one wants to put out a ‘COVID’ album so to speak but there’s no denying the influence such a horrendous period has had.

It was extremely challenging at times, working within the same four walls every day is not a very inspiring environment. Not to mention the lack of connection with each other as a band. That said, without that time it wouldn’t be the album that it is today. I think we got to some very cool places creatively that may have stemmed from endless hours of cabin fever, which made for some very different songs. We definitely learned a lot about ourselves, especially Jacob and I as writers, so we are extremely keen to get stuck into it again.

Do you feel as though Thornhill have come out the other side stronger than ever and what, if anything, helped you through the tougher periods?

I think so, there’s a particular confidence about this album that I’m really proud of. I think we learnt how to write with much more intent, and paint very specific pictures with these songs whereas in the past it was much more a collection of riffs with this general blanket emotion across the record. Don’t get me wrong it’s nowhere near perfect, there’s parts we hate, songs that didn’t make it, but for what it is and the circumstances we wrote it through, myself and the boys are extremely proud. Communication really was what got us through it, I was really struggling at times to get the songs done but the boys and the label were extremely supportive and helped me through it.

Classic cinema has had some influence on this record and Thornhill in general. Where does the interest in those ‘larger than life’ experiences come from and why?

Jacob and I have always been extremely interested in cinema and theatrics, especially over the last few years. It was something that we had kind of dipped our toes into in the past but never fully leant into it. A lot of these songs sound quite dramatic at times and almost film soundtrack-esque, so to help sell that atmosphere we thought we could incorporate that passion into the whole campaign. That late 90s, early 00s era was a big inspiration to us I think just because that’s when we were growing up and really discovering media. So throughout lockdown, in such a scary and uncertain time, I think the big hit of nostalgia was incredibly comforting and inspiring.

The glitz and the glamour is certainly something that is coming through on this new album but that is not an easy thing to capture. What was that process like?

I think similar to the influence of film, that “glamour” has always been in our roots to some extent, we just decided to pursue it further this time. Jacob especially, being incredibly into fashion and visuals, he was really the lead in selling that whole mood and atmosphere. We often talk about this together, he describes it as, I set up a particular atmosphere or a mood with the instrumentals I send him, then he tries to translate what image I’m creating to the listener with his lyrics, tone of voice and visuals. That’s how we have always worked but I think we realised we were capable of doing much more than just riffs and breakdowns this time around.

Do you think the rock and metal scene is more open-minded these days? Willing to give something new a chance?

For sure they are these days, it’s really cool to see lots of bands pulling influences from all over. That said there is still a lot of people that like gate keeping that more traditional metalcore sound. Which again, is totally fair enough but it is inevitable that bands and genres will evolve over time so I think the lines between what fans like are much more blurred, which is a good thing, challenge your taste, broaden your horizons a little.

From an outside perspective you seem to be growing in confidence when it comes to delivering what you want. Is that an aspect you are getting more comfortable with and were you very much united on what you wanted to do here?

Very much so, that was a key focus for us while creating this record. The whole world we were trying to create and the story we were trying to tell was much more specific. I think playing to our strengths helped that a lot too, atmosphere has always been a big part of our music so I think showing that in a very different light and trying to make you feel a very specific way was the core goal of this record. For the most part, yes. Usually if Jacob and I are on the same page the others will follow, that’s usually how we run the creative aspect of this band.

Sum up the album, from your perspective, in just three words.

Melancholic teenage romance.

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