Crown, The - Doomsday King

Written by Colin McNamara Tuesday, 21 September 2010 16:57

Artist: The Crown
Title: Doomsday King
Genre: Melodic Death / Black Metal
Release Date: 24th September 2010
Label: Century Media

Album Review

THE CROWN has been the creation of the famous Johan Lindstrand and Tomas Lindberg, both from the critically acclaimed bands ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET and AT THE GATES. THE CROWN was meant to be a blend of both these bands - with the groove of thrash and the aggression of melodic death metal. THE CROWN had a steady running for several years until 2003, when the group disbanded because both artists wanted to focus on other projects. However, some of the members of THE CROWN such as Marcus Sunesson and Janne Sarenpaa still kept in mind that the band was something that they wanted to stick to, they just needed new members. Over time, the recruited vocalist Jonas Stålhammar to take the place of Lindstrand and Lindberg in 2009 and since then it has been a winning number. Stålhammar has a voice that fits THE CROWN’s blackened death metal style perfectly; much akin to Henri of GOD DETHRONED. THE CROWN’S musical structure has also become more complex and invigorating on their latest album, ‘Doomsday King’.

Perhaps the biggest change with THE CROWN is that their music has gotten much more melodic and catchy, delving into the thrash and melodic death metal side of music rather than just death metal. However, no aggression has been lost. ‘Doomsday King’ is a downright crusher that pounds away with vengeful aggression and a good chunk of groove that doesn’t ruin the song. Even the solo is heavily melodic in the vein of older heavy metal. ‘Age of Iron’ is more of a rhythmic chugger that thunders along before being swept away in the dramatic solo the pierces the thumping bass driven tempo. ‘The Tempter and Bible…’ is more of a doom metal paced song and doesn’t involve as much energy, but it still rocks a plenty. It sounds epic, it sounds grand, and the dirty groove rhythms that go along with it are perfect for a thrash influence of THE CROWN. It just makes one want to stomp their feet to it.

‘Blood O.D.’ holds a similar tempo to ‘Tempter’ but is much more varied as far as speeds go. While ‘Tempter’ keeps the slow, chugging rhythm throughout, ‘Blood’ weaves up and down, sometimes going with a chugging groove and then picking up for some more technical, melodic guitar work. Because of this, the drums are also varied, and it’s always a good thing to see musicians able to show their skills at different paces rather than keep the same rhythms over and over. ‘Desolation Domination’ is a great thrash influenced track that is faster than many of the others and doesn’t include as much melody or groove. It’s a perfect black-thrash song that suits Stalhammar’s vocal pursuit very well. And even though it’s fast, there’s a subtle melody about it, rather than a total blitzkrieg of sound that usually brutal black or death metal bands perform. The chorus is a chanting storm that is meant to really get fans going and incite a lot of pit fun.

‘From The Ashes…’ is a showcase for the drums as they show their dynamics and ability to pound out militaristic rhythms mixed with hypnotic thundering. One would also swear they were hearing two drummers. Finally, ‘To Light’ begins with an epic punch before breaking into one of the most aggressive tracks on the album. The drumming is sheer nonstop machine gun power while the guitars seamlessly flow together with some of the fastest rhythms performed yet. The only thing that really directs any melody is Stalhammar’s vocals for the most part; during an interlude the guitars give off a brief, melodic section before going back to the usual oblivion. This is about as close to the older CROWN days as fans will hear. The only poor part of the track is when it suddenly cuts off at the end; the band could have had a better outro.

While fans will certainly miss Lindberg and Lindstrand, Stålhammar is the best result a CROWN fan could hope for. The band is still thrash metal but their death metal qualities have only gotten better and more melodic. While the only complaint may be that the band’s style sounds way too much like GOD DETHRONED vocals especially, the direction is spot on. It may have taken seven years to regroup and reconfigure, but the wait was well worth it. Melodic death metal can reign supreme again!

Tracklist

01. Doomsday King (4:06)
02. Angel of Death 1839 (3:47)
03. Age of Iron (3:12)
04. The Tempter and the Bible Black (4:40)
05. Soul Slasher (3:21)
06. Blood O.D (4:08)
07. Through Eyes of Oblivion (3:48)
08. Desolation Domain (4:51)
09. From the Ashes I Shall Return (6:08)
10. He Who Rises In Might- From Darkness to Light (6:06)

Line-up

Jonas Stålhammar - Vocals
Marcus Sunesson - Guitars
Marko Tervonen - Guitars
Magnus Olsfelt - Bass
Janne Saarenpää - Drums

Website

http://www.myspace.com/thecrownonlineswe

Cover Picture

Rating

Sound: 8
Music: 8

Total: 8 / 10

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