With a collective CV that includes Emperor, Carpathian Forest and Den Saakaldte, The 3rd Attempt could easily be dismissed as just another incestuous supergroup from the Norwegian black metal scene.
The difference here is that guitarist Tchort has an unerring knack for crawling inside a genre’s beating heart and making it thud with more power and precision. The basic template explored on Born In Thorns is one of swaggering, blackened rock’n’roll, and while many bands have paddled in similar waters, few have imbued the cross-pollinated squall with such a fervent sense of purpose, Tchort’s potent riffing style adding some deathly grit and a dash of punk rock’s controlled chaos.
There are inevitable shades of Carpathian Forest’s Black Shining Leather here, but they are dominated by this lineup’s robust, united identity: songs like Art Of Domination are far more upfront about their debt to Motörhead and W.A.S.P. than Nattefrost’s crew ever were. By balancing thuggish instincts with smart songwriting, The 3rd Attempt have lit a fire under black metal’s scrawny backside.
