Thine

Thine asserted itself as a formidable presence in the goth metal underground, stepping forward during the late 1990s and sustaining momentum across the ensuing years. Formation occurred in 1996 when vocalist Alan, guitarist Paul, and drummer Dan united through a common devotion to heavy music. They assembled the rough Journey's demo later that year. A staff member at Black Tears Records heard the recording and recommended the group for a contract. Journey's appeared as an EP and promptly drew favorable notices from metal zines. The musicians then entered an intense songwriting phase and laid down a cassette intended only for friends as a way to clear material from their minds. Though confined to a narrow circle, the tape circulated through underground trading networks and elicited interest from additional labels. Peaceville Records, already the home of several influential metal acts, extended a contract offer in fall 1997. The band accepted, which immediately placed them in their debut concert supporting legendary black metal practitioners Mayhem. Despite limited experience generating considerable pressure, they succeeded convincingly and attracted fans through a precise live presentation.

The group entered the studio in spring 1998 to record its first widely released album, A Town Like This. Additional concerts followed, yet internal difficulties unsettled the lineup throughout the next year. Stability returned by 2000, leading the musicians back into the studio to capture several new songs. Peaceville responded enthusiastically to these tracks and placed one at the front of a label sampler, which secured an opening slot on the Peacefest tour in 2001. In fall of that year the band resumed studio work on a full-length album and assembled In Therapy over the following months. The resulting dense, electric collection contained powerful songs that resisted the symphonic descriptions often applied to their music. Its fall 2002 release proved bittersweet, however, because further lineup changes struck the group just before the album appeared.