Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Blood Red Throne - Come Death (2007)

Norway's stalwarts Blood Red Throne have returned with their fourth album of no nonsense death metal riffage. The first album featuring Vald (vocalist to BRT side project Trioxin) once again showcases Tchort and Død's Norwegian take on Swedish death via Florida. The only notable difference vocally is Vald's slight detours into the higher ranges, the staple death rasp is near identical to that of predecessor Mr. Hustler. As for the rest? Well, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

The chunky Swedish tone with those all familiar muted triplet crunches are staple throughout the album. Apart from Caspersen's dextrous bass widdling BRT have always eschewed technical focus for grooving riffs, which are in no short supply on Come Death. Mixing elements from previous effort Altered Genesis with the more casual groove of debut Monument of Death, BRT have delivered perhaps their most rounded effort to date. Opener 'Slaying the Lamb' gives you no time to prepare, charging straight in before dropping a trademark Throne riff whilst switching between frenzied blast and grooving chug with ease. 'Rebirth in Blood' has time for some melodious prog-riffing a la Anata before marching to a close, whilst 'Taste Of God' brings a little thrash to the deathfest. There's even time for a well executed Gorguts cover before the end.

Once again BRT have delivered the goods. Tchort and Død present a veritable riff buffet of accomplished death metal with more than enough variance to hold your attention from start to finish. Another fine slab of 2007 death metal that might even make some '... of the year' lists.

8/10

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

concurrence 100%

Ali Horn said...

Totally agree. At first I was worried they'd gone a little too contemporary and melodic with it, but that's not true at all. If anything, it sounds more like the sound they had on Taste For Blood, but a lot more varied :)