Thrown: Excessive Guilt and What Came Before It

“I’ve had enough of all the fucking what-ifs.”

Formed in 2021, Thrown has dominated the prog metal scene since their beginnings. Thrown has been signed with Arising Empire since their first single and has flourished in the scene. Thrown’s sudden and explosive entry into the prog metal scene has seen them become hugely successful, amassing a total of 1.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 90K followers on Instagram alone. Their abrupt success has led them to their recently announced UK/EU tour, with supporting bands Crystal Lake, UnityTX, and Graphic Nature.

Though fame has not always come easy to them, Thrown has supported some incredible bands in the scene, such as Alpha Wolf, Knocked Loose, and Architects. Touring and supporting these bands has definitely contributed to their overall and well-deserved quick success.

Along with raw talent and a loyal fan base, their new album has contributed massively to their streams and listens. Their top-streamed song, “On The Verge,” has accumulated a total of 31 million streams.

In August of this year, Thrown released their debut studio album, Excessive Guilt, featuring songs such as “Look At Me” and “Backfire,” which had initially been released as part of an EP earlier in the year.

Thrown’s unique sound and tempos are what set them apart from similar bands in the scene, with the ever-strong vocals from Marcus Lundqvist. While the sounds and riffs remain fairly consistent throughout the album, every song still feels unique.

One of my own personal favorites from this album is “On The Verge.” The use of voice effects and the distortion of the guitar and bass make this song feel especially unique, and I recommend it for anyone wondering where to start if they're wanting to get into Thrown’s music.

While each song tells its own story, you can't help but seemingly get lost in the band’s deep melodies. Metalheads like myself will understand this the best, but metal isn't just noise; each note and lyric tells a story, and it's easy to lose yourself in the sway.

The opening track for Excessive Guilt is the song “Guilt!” As an opening song, it does everything it should do and more. The screaming guitars played by Johan Lilieblad and Andreas Malm draw you in, hook, line, and sinker. There's just something so special about new and fresh talent entering the metal scene. Thrown has already made such a name for themselves only three years into it.

This album is not one to be ignored. With elements of hip-hop and trap, this prog metal band has it all. Excessive Guilt may not be a number-one album yet, but with enough promotion and sales, I can see this album's success going even further. They keep every song sharp, each song almost ending in what can only be described as a cliffhanger, keeping the listener in a tight chokehold and desperately wanting more.

Thrown’s Excessive Guilt album paints a narrative of the singer feeling guilty about the mistakes they made in the past and how they struggle to move on from their poor decisions. Each song shows a different side to his guilt.

“Backfire” is an amazing song to show how different perspectives are used in this album. The lyrics constantly scream about a relationship’s toxicity and the gloomy feeling of reminiscing on a failed romance.

As the album continues, the anger bleeds out from every song—being haunted by your demons does that to you after a while.

The narrative throughout the album continues to stay the same, with some songs even having a slightly creepy atmosphere to them. Thrown truly has dominated the prog metal scene, creating such a unique yet cohesive album. I can truly see them progressing even further in the scene with the support they are receiving from fans and other bands alike. Thrown is a perfectly unique band that will dominate a scene that is in desperate need of fresh new media.