Crown of Thornz

History

When Diablo decided to form a band in 1994, he recruited Franklin Rhi, who at the time was playing bass for 108. Diablo then decided to audition five guitar plays simultaneously, having Merauder and Dmize vocalist Marcos "Jere" Rodriguez sit in on drums. However, Rhi, Rodriguez and Diablo were unimpressed by the guitar players. In response, Rhi called Mike Dijan, former guitarist of Breakdown and asked him to come to the rehearsal space and play to help improve the situation. When Dijan arrived he began to play with Rhi, Rodriguez and Diablo, and soon the five auditionees put down their guitars and watched as they wrote the song that would become the Crown of Thornz song "Mental Masquerade". After this, Diablo informed Dijan that he was now a part of the band, and they recruited Dimi Douvas of Dmize to be a permanent drummer, and began to rehearse in his basement. After two months, the band had only written two songs, however Diablo informed them that he had booked them to soon open for Killing Time at the Grant. This led to the band beginning to rehearse every day, during which time they wrote the entirety of the Train Yard Blues EP.

The name "Crown of Thorns" was derived from when Diablo was eating a thornback guitarfish in sushi, and decided he wanted to name the band something including the word "thorns". He decided on a play on Jesus' crown of thorns thinking it would be ironic because of his Jewish faith. Train Yard Blues was released in 1995 through Equal Vision Records, by which time Rhi had been replaced by Steve O'Brien. The following year, they released their debut album Mentally Vexed through Another Planet Records. In 1998, they released a split single with Aggressive Dogs, then disbanded by the end of the year.

Between June 11 and 23, 2013, they toured the United States supporting Rancid, alongside the Transplants. They performed at United Blood Festival 2015, which took place on May 17. On August 14, 2015, they released the two track single "Nothing But Tragedy", with Diablo on vocals, Matthew Mangiaracina on guitar and Rigg Ross on drums.

Between May 5 and September 24, 2022, they toured the United States supporting Sick of It All and Agnostic Front as co-headliners. They performed at FYA Festival 9, which took place January 7 and 8, 2023. On January 28 and 29, 2023, they opened for Trapped Under Ice in New York alongside Bulldoze and Pain of Truth. On April 29, 2023, they performed at Tompkins Square Park alongside Madball and Murphy's Law. On November 23, 2024, they will perform at Irving Plaza, alongside Killing Time and Vision of Disorder to raise money for Sick of It All vocalist Lou Koller and his battle with esophageal cancer.

Musical style and legacy

Crown of Thornz played a mid-tempo style of hardcore punk which put an emphasis on rhythm and made use of emotional vocals and lyrics. They drew on the influence of the Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front's crossover thrash eras. Original guitarist Mike Dijan cited his influences on the band as the Cro-Mags's 1992 album Alpha Omega, Slayer and the genres of darkwave and punk rock. PopMatters writer Ethan Stewart cited Crown of Thornz as a part of a movement of tough guy hardcore bands who began incorporating elements of alternative metal in the 1990s. Following their reunion, they began to incorporate elements of metalcore. Critics have categorized their music as beatdown hardcore, tough guy hardcore and melodic hardcore.

They have been cited as influence by bands including Higher Power, Never Ending Game, Regulate, Trapped Under Ice, and Joey Chiaramonte of Koyo, in addition to being covered by Narrow Head.

Members

Current

• Danny Diablo – vocals (1994–1998, 2012–present)
• Mike Dijan – guitar (1994–1998, 2017–present)
• Dimi Douvas – drums (1994–1997, 2013, 2017–present)
• Paul Delaney – bass (2021–present)

Former

• Franklin Rhi – bass (1994–1995)
• Marcos "Jere" Rodriguez – drums (1994)
• Steve O'Brien – bass (1995–1998)
• Eric "Goat" Arce – drums (1997-1998)
• Matthew Mangiaracina – guitar (2012–2017)
• Rigg Ross – drums (2012–2017)
• Brett Evans – bass (2012–2021)
• Brian Daniels – guitar (2012–2021)

Discography

Albums

• Mentally Vexed (1996)

EPs

• Train Yard Blues (1995)

Singles

• Crown of Thornz / Aggressive Dogs (1998, split single with Aggressive Dogs)
• Nothing But Tragedy (2015)

References

References

1. "The Last Time New York Was Hardcore".
2. (2024-06-06). "New York HardLore: Mike Dijan of Crown of Thornz & Breakdown (Astoria/Queens)". [[Knotfest]].
3. (2024-06-06). "New York HardLore: Mike Dijan of Crown of Thornz & Breakdown (Astoria/Queens)". [[Knotfest]].
4. (1999). "[[N.Y.H.C. (film)". Pavich, [[HALO 8 Entertainment]].
5. "Crown of Thornz - Train Yard Blues".
6. (4 October 2016). "New York Rock From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB". St. Martin's Publishing Group.
7. "Rancid / Transplants / Crown of Thornz".
8. "Crumbsuckers reuniting again for Black & Blue Bowl (which added more bands); United Blood Fest lineup announced".
9. "Nothing But Tragedy Crown of Thornz".
10. "Sick of It All and Agnostic Front Announce Co-Headlining 2022 US Tour".
11. "FYA 9 Lineup (Life of Agony, Cold World, Drain, Fiddlehead, Sunami, No Pressure & more)".
12. "Trapped Under Ice returned with 2 shows (Disturbin' The Peace pics & NYC review with Bulldoze, Crown of Thornz & more)".
13. "Madball, Murphy’s Law, Crown of Thornz at Tompkins Square Park on April 29th, 2023".
14. "VISION OF DISORDER, LIFE OF AGONY AND MORE ANNOUNCE BENEFIT SHOW FOR SICK OF IT ALL'S LOU KOLLER".
15. "Life’s Question are injecting flair and technicality into hardcore".
16. "CROWN OF THORNZ RELEASE NEW TRACK!".
17. (2024-06-06). "New York HardLore: Mike Dijan of Crown of Thornz & Breakdown (Astoria/Queens)". [[Knotfest]].
18. "Crown of Thornz Nothing But Tragedy [single] (2015)".
19. "Out of Step: 11 albums that pushed hardcore towards its current genre-defying moment".
20. "MELODIC HARDCORE’S STUNNING MID-2020S RESURGENCE".
21. "ALBUM REVIEW: NEQUIENT – DARKER THAN DEATH OR NIGHT".
22. "Higher Power".
23. (Spring 2021). "Never Ending Game". Soulcraft.
24. "Regulate on how their new LP was inspired by James Brown, Bloc Party, Bad Brains, Santana & more".
25. (2024-09-26). "HardLore: Sam Trapkin (Trapped Under Ice)". [[Knotfest]].
26. "Koyo interview: from side project to gunning for the Long Island emo/hardcore canon".
27. "HEAR NARROW HEAD'S SLAMMING NEW CROWN OF THORNZ COVER".