For 21 years, Belgium’s Amenra have been creating sludge-tinged hardcore so visceral and explosive that every album they release feels momentous in impact. De Doorn (the thorn) is absolutely no exception to the rule – not only is this their debut with Relapse Records, it’s also a shift away from their traditionally-named Mass albums. Having cycled through Mass I to VI, De Doorn feels like a departure from previous material, and so a change in name is suitably apt. Less rigid in structure, it’s bathed in poignant moments of soft ambience which lend a shimmering luminescence to frontman Colin H. Van Eeckhout’s cleanly sung vocals. As a result, in the moments where Amenra finally do lose control and feel just a little heavier, Colin’s animalistic screams come over a touch more feral.