Hailing from the cold lands of Norway comes Blood Red Throne with their twelfth studio album ‘Stiltskin’.
Here we have a monolithic wall of battering ram Death metal. Once locked in it will drag your mangled body limp and flailing, whilst it batters your face into submission. Only to apologise insincerely as it whispers of the melodic riffs that are here to soothe away those wounds, then BLAM!…placing your nose on the side of your face. In amongst the onslaught is its unrelenting groove which serves well too people like myself who need more dynamics from their heavy music.
Tracks like ‘Husk in the grain’ is where the band truly display what they are capable of. Heavy throughout, midpaced with some more frantic sections then interlaced with some nice technical guitar breaths. At just over five minutes it holds off repetition, which can be said about the album as a whole.
‘On these bones’ the track builds slowly then explodes with a deep glutaral roar and some powerful drumming. The guitar kicks in, then like a storm gathering momentum it’s arrival tears in structures destroying the weak and weary.
To conclude, this is top tier Death Metal with modern production which is brutal but never repetitive. Also it is technical in places but never overdone and even melodic with a dark relentless atmosphere.
Also, the album artwork by Giannis Nakos is a great final touch to an already fine package. Recommended for fans of bands like Cryptopsy and Cannibal Corpse. (Rikki R.)
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“An album that will drive you insane”. With these words, Death Metal veterans Blood Red Throne recommend their 12th full-length album to the listener. But can someone really buy this and without ending up in the mental hospital? Let’s find out.
Blood Red Throne was founded in 1998 in Kristiansand, Norway, and has played Death Metal ever since, in the vein of Cannibal Corpse or Vader. There are also some Thrash elements in it, some technical Death Metal parts, and a drop of Metalcore once in a while.
On the current release, which has a powerful production, the difference compared to the aforementioned bands is the more melodic elements and riffs. Especially the riffing is worth mentioning. Blood Red Throne has so much creativity in one or two songs, other bands have less on a whole album. But here also comes the downside. It’s all well done and with a tremendous amount of variety, just the catchiness is missing sometimes. The little moments where the Death Metal head presses rewind, the moments that stay in your memory.
Back to the statement from the beginning, does ‘Siltskin’ drive listeners insane? Probably not. It’s a good, solid record, but it lacks the little extra pieces and ideas that make it outstanding. (Uwe)
