REVOLVER PRESENTS: THORNHILL

Close your eyes and hear any of its songs, and Thornhill’s epic sophomore full-length will transport its listener’simagination to scenes of classic Hollywood.Riding a creative wave driven by an affection for the glam and charm of this style, Thornhill’s Jacob Charlton(vocals/lyrics) and Ethan McCann (guitar/production) birthed Heroine – a vivid anthology of stories set to adynamic, cinema-inspired score.“Arkangel’ was the first song to really get the writing process rolling,” shares Ethan of his mid-lockdown creativedrought. “Once I had the intro, first verse and the chorus down I noticed all these parts created a certain moodand set of visuals in my imagination…. it was reminding me of the Buffy intro credits with that super late '90s,cheesy, glossy film look.“I ended up laying the demo I had on top of a video of the credits and I found pairing it with those visuals reallyhelped me develop the song because I could treat it almost like writing a film score.”What began as an experimental way to crack ‘Arkangel’ soon sparked a creative avalanche for Ethan, who –suddenly speaking the same language as the already-cinema obsessed Jacob – began treating every track in a wayhe’d never considered before: as though he was writing for film. From there, Heroine was born.Listeners will no doubt hear the moody and anthemic ‘Varsity Hearts’ and picture scenes from She’s All That, andbe transported into the world of James Bond amid the spy-like breakdowns of ‘Casanova’. Elsewhere, the albumreferences the sounds and styles of some of Hollywood’s most classic titles like Singing In The Rain, AmericanBeauty and Baz Luhrmann’s epic Romeo & Juliet.Enamoured with storytelling and screenplay, Jacob honed his love of penning lyrics as if mini movies throughoutthe writing process. Led by the direction Ethan’s production took his imagination, he crafted Heroine’s lyrics tomatch the energy of the music.“[The lyrics] are my version of the story these scores could be set to,” he explains. “They’re my interpretations ofhow I would write the screenplay, direct and shoot it alongside the vibe of the track… I was just writing along thelines of how I feel and what I see, hear and imagine.”
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“I really wanted to touch on sadness in a way that [listeners] haven't heard it in our genre…it's not sad, but it'smelancholy in a very intimate way,” he adds of the album’s stories spanning themes like love, lust, self-reflection,and self-loathing.Propped up against their acclaimed 2019 debut album The Dark Pool, there’s a profound new sense of clarity,vision and intention to be heard on Heroine. Where The Dark Pool touched fans with its mix of crushing riffageand atmospheric metalcore, this record finds Thornhill flexing their skills in the alternative and rock worlds,referencing a tapestry of sounds from the likes of Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers, to Silverchairand Deftones. At the same time harking to flavours of modern metalcore, Thornhill ultimately want to showcasewhat can be made of heavy and rock music when there are no borders. Heroine does just this, and comescomplete with elevated visuals and theatrics to match.Jacob shares that part of his growth during the album’s creation was finally nailing his own character and style asa vocalist and frontman – much like his performance idols such as Elvis, Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefanipioneered in their own ways.“I realised you're not just singing your lyrics, you're emoting. You’re conveying a message or a feeling not onlythrough vocals, but through performance,” he muses. “Ethan really brought that vibe to the instrumentation, andI was left thinking, "Oh, I can't just sing or scream over this…. what can I do to match that energy he's presentedhere, but in a way that people haven't heard it in a metal setting?” I realised I needed my own character. I neededto bring that Elvis-y confidence and emotion to my performance to really be able to bring people into the world ofwhat I’m singing about.”Drawn to the class and flare of those whole package-type artists and performers, Heroine finds Jacob channelingelements of his masculinity, his femininity, his vulnerability, and his extravagance into every aspect of hisperformance and aesthetic.Sealed with the cohesive dynamic of the full band channeling their own characters, all together Heroine is astunning listening and visual experience. This is Thornhill levelling up on the astounding success of The Dark Pooland ultimately proving their vision and creativity stretches well beyond the small walls of metalcore. Like the filmsthat inspired it, Heroine is poised to go down as a tasteful, classic piece of art, enjoying repeat-listen after repeat-listen for years to come.