BLOOD RED THRONE - review added 11th June 2009
Album Review: Souls Of Damnation (2009)
For fans of: Death Metal... and stuff a bit heavier than we normally listen to
Here at Rock Realms we like to push the boat out occasionally. We normally review albums that rock in an accessible manner, but sometimes it's nice to check out a record with a tad more bite. Hence, we've decided to have a look at Souls Of Damnation by Blood Red Throne.
Blood Red Throne, Osvald Egeland (vocals), Terje Vik Schei (rhythm guitar), Daniel Olaisen (lead guitar), Erlend Caspersen (bass) and Anders Haave (drums), is a death metal band with a pedigree. Terje Vik Schei played bass in Emperor for their 1994 full length debut, In The Nightside Eclipse, widely regarded as one of the finest black metal albums of all time (although we prefer IX Equilibrium because we're awkward).
The band's sound is brutal to the point of bloodshed. Sometimes they come across with the unmusical savagery of classic Morbid Angel or Deicide, in other moments they have a modern thrash vibe with a bucket load of melody and style. The common factors throughout the album are Osvald Egeland's horror-movie howls and the sheer heaviness of it all. The last time I heard an album this all-consumingly loud I had to take my ears off and put them in my pocket.
'The Light, The Hate' kicks matters off with some truly phat riffs and obligatory breakneck drumming. It's a catchy little number and disguises it's surface inaccessibility with a depth of sound and quality that's a real surprise if you aren't expecting it. 'Harme' (with an 'e') starts off in a symphonic Emperor style, but then shoots off down a Testament-esque tangent. The sound is funky and groove led, but Egeland's deathly growls never let the result be anything other than murderous. The throbbing bass, almost Chili Peppers in its slapped style, pokes its head through on numerous occasions.
'Human Fraud' is a cool track, although the main riff sounds almost identical to 'Where The Slime Live' (with hints of Nothing Is Not) by Morbid Angel... the first of which is our favourite death metal track ever. 'Prove Yourself Dead' has a subject matter that would confuse Albert Einstein or (more likely) Erwin Schrödinger, but the song itself is throbbingly pleasant. Some of the guitar assaults are phenomenal, but they are generally lost under a hail of machine gun drum beats, slap bass and demonic chanting.
You have to respect the unrelenting nature of this album. Blood Red Throne have a formula and stick to it - make as much noise as possible with as much groove as possible. As a whole the album works well but, apart from a few intriguing breaks, it tends to stick at one volume - LOUD! Obviously, LOUD isn't always a bad thing, but there's nowt wrong with throwing in a touch of variety. Few of the individual songs are catchy and, although death metal is categorically not about 'sing along' tracks, it's still possible to make them thrash along, stomp along or go-bananas-round-your-living-room along. Souls Of Damnation is these things on only a few occasions. When albums like Slaughter of the Soul by At The Gates and Domination by Morbid Angel can exist, there's no real excuse.
Check out... The crazy bass interludes and random bass slappings. Huh?!
Track List:
1. The Light, The Hate
2. Harme
3. Throne Of Damnation
4. Human Fraud
5. Demand
6. Your Cold Flesh
7. Prove Yourself Dead
8. Not Tugenjev But Close
9. Ten Steps Of Purgatory
Label: Earache Records
Artist's websites: MySpace
