This Norwegian band has impressed me over the years. Making a name for themselves with brutal Americanized death metal in the vein of Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide, Blood Red Throne have found a pocket in past releases and nailed a groove-laden, catchy approach that causes serious neck injury. If Cannibal Corpse, Decapitated and 90’s In Flames had passionate death metal sex, this would be their unholy death spawn.
Some may feel the band lost a bit of brutality with 2007’s Come Death, but I see it as a tightening up and refining of their sound. The band is punishing as ever but with a sense of songwriting and fetching grooves that make this bands music memorable. Catchy is an understatement.
On Souls of Damnation we hear an even more melodic Blood Red Throne. Guitar harmonies push this release towards a melodic death sound more than ever (“Harme,”) yet the brutality and demon speed of past releases is there ( “Throne of Damnation.”). The bulk of the album is a gala of thrashing riff mania accompanied with very audible bass rumbling and popping. The bass is an undeniable factor in Blood Red Thrones music. It stands out so much that it only adds to the bands tightness.
Second album for vocalist Vald and his delivery is some of the better you will hear in today’s death metal vocalists. Deep gutturals and nasty blackened screeches fill this record and lyrics are heard very clearly.
The solo work on this record is very melodic and well-written. A lot of the soloing takes this music from barbaric, dark feeling, to triumphant and epic. You’ll find the doors blown wide open when the solos kick in and the song takes on an entire new feel. The last song “Ten Steps of Purgatory” is a perfect example of this and the record ends on a very Gothenburg melodic death note.
The fact is, Blood Red Throne are doing nothing new here, yet Souls of Damnation is a damn near perfect blend of melody and ass kickery. This is one of the better releases in death metal this year. I applaud a band like this for stepping away from the uncompromising beating and showing a little flare. This is a record that fans from all sub-genres can enjoy.
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Spot on review, man.The final sentence is very true. Despite tons of power/progressive albums I’ve enjoyed this year, I’ll put Souls Of Damnation pretty high on my year list. Most probably my favourite death album of the year. The bass work is amazing, though not so independently sounding as on Come Death.
on Sep 14th, 2009 at 07:20Excellent review. These guys have always been one of my favorite DM acts, got into them around Altered Genesis and have been hooked since, this is quality.
on Sep 14th, 2009 at 14:40Tchort and Dod are two vary versatile guitarists, so it’s cool to see them show off their Death Metal side with BRT, Dod’s other band Scariot is pretty cool, progressive technical death metal with some good shred action. Excellent review as always.
on Sep 15th, 2009 at 05:38Passionate Death Metal Sex……..
on Sep 19th, 2009 at 03:03