No time to waste for Blood Red Throne.
Barely two and a half years after their previous opus, Daniel « Død » Olaisen (guitar, Scariot, Zerozonic, ex-Satyricon live), Freddy Bolsø (drums, ex-Enslaved, ex-Scariot), Ivan Guji? (guitar, NeonGod) and Stian Gundersen (bass, The Dark Nebula), accompanied by their new vocalist, Sindre Wathne Johnsen (Deception, Todesking, Celestial Scourge), announce the release of Nonagon, their eleventh album, on Soulseller Records.
The album begins with Epitaph Inscribed’s dissonance, quickly joined by riffs’ brutality and heaviness, complemented by massive howls. The Old School influences are magnified by a precise mix that leaves as much room for their melodies as for raw savagery, as on Ode To The Obscene, which unveils an ominous yet majestic introduction before the musicians unleash themselves in waves. Harmonics remain present in the violent mix, which naturally shifts from one atmosphere to another before Seeking To Pierce reveals sharper influences to embellish its lively rhythm. A few more imposing passages reinforce the band’s firepower, as they skilfully follow up with Tempest Sculptor and its bright Thrash influences, which create a contrast with the track’s crushing basis of effective drums. The band effortlessly place their bloody leads over the heavy rhythmic pattern, which allows no downtime, continuing on to Every Silent Plea, which also delivers energetic riffs, but alternates with a crushing crafted passage that promises to break necks. Scathing leads confirm speed’s return which also extends to Nonagon, the eponymous track, which wastes no time in offering a catchy sound followed by an unstoppable blast. The beastly howls are a perfect match for the composition’s virulent riffs, and the same is true of Split Tongue Sermon, which quickly follows, contributing in its turn to the extreme violence distilled by the five musicians. The devastating central break imbues the riffs with an oppressive darkness, before allowing them to pick up speed again, before Blade Eulogy adds a few sharp tones to an unstoppable steamroller created by explosive drums. The album finally closes with Fleshrend, the longest of the nine compositions, which at times allows itself a more haunting pace to accentuate the rawest parts, as well as the more worked and airy ones, until the final acceleration.
Blood Red Throne‘s pioneering status is amply complemented by that of Norwegian Death Metal spearhead. Nonagon confirms the impression left by the band in recent years: a massive, uncompromising sound that’s hard to get enough of.
95/100