Year: 2021
Total Time: 42:90
Label: Metal Blade
I still remember the shock I felt in 1996, when I first saw CROWN OF THORNS’ video clip for their amazing song “Of Good and Evil”, so the next day I rushed to buy their awesome debut “The Burning”, which had been released a year earlier. Two years after in 1997, they released the amazing “Eternal Death” and in 1998 they announced that they were forced to change their name to THE CROWN, due to legal conflicting issues with an American band that shared the same name. The next years, under the new moniker, were also very dynamic with three great, bombastic albums but in the following years the band’s reputation had diminished, a situation that 2018’s “Cobra Speed Venom” changed. Now, in 2021 THE CROWN return aggressively with their new stormy album “Royal Destroyer”.
The title of the album perfectly reflects the musical character of the Swedes’ new full length. The band sounds ravenous, with their compositions moving to Melodic Death Metal paths with Thrash Metal influences and few Black Metal elements. The main feature of the album is that the compositions are direct and in combination with the dynamic production, they catch you by the throat. They are so impetuous that they made me feel the way I felt, when I heard for the first time the amazing “Deathrace King” in 2000. Frantic rhythms with most songs moving at fast speeds with possessed blastbeats, while there are also songs like “We Drift On” and “”Devoid The Light”, which are moving in more melodic paths and MORBID ANGEL’s influence is felt.
It has been many years since I really enjoyed a new album by THE CROWN, more specifically from 2002’s “Crowned in Horror,” and “Royal Destroyer” manages to sound exciting and addictive to my ears. Their new effort is a well-made record with excellent compositions and an impeccable balance between melody and roughness. The Swedes prove that even after thirty years, along with CROWN OF THORNS’s years, they remain thriving and true to their roots as one of the best bands in the Μelodic Death Metal genre, by offering us one of this year’s best releases.
Rating: 7.5/10
Editor: Nikos Manousis
Related Link: THE CROWN – Facebook Page
