Silence was not an option for Thronum Vrondor.
Although their previous release was four years ago, Crygh (drums, ex-Grimfaug), Vrondor (guitar/bass, Morthibus, Demonizer) and SvN (vocals, Dodengod, Wounds of Old) got back to work to create Drowning in the Distorted Light, released by Immortal Frost Productions.
A Solemn Vigil opens the album with raw chilling melodies coupled with wild vocal parts and an uncompromising rhythmic pattern that stops only to let the harmonics envelop us. The track remains fairly lively, but slows down all of a sudden to give its final a more impressive touch before joining Drowning in the Distorted Light, which alternates between assumed ferocity and a few more hazy, unhealthy passages. Oppression returns on Gruwlijke Leegte, where the band adopts an omnipresent dissonance for macabre growls to reinforce the darkness, before Cursed Salvation quickly becomes much more aggressive, particularly on the instrumental where uncompromising double pedal and sharp leads meet. The sound becomes increasingly chaotic towards the end, then it’s with All Spears Point Towards the Hunter’s Moon that the band continues its massacre, first at full speed and then with a more martial rhythm, but the drums will set themselves ablaze relatively often. Zalvende Haat takes advantage of its Old School roots to distill a very abrasive sound with scathing leads, while the vocalist regularly assaults us, offering only the short introduction to To Burn the Absolute for respite before finally returning with a powerful rhythm, but also unifying moments where mystical choirs appear. The album finally comes to a close with the long Skulptur Aus Fleisch, which starts calmly enough, offering up occult guitar tones before the trio charge back in to drag us towards their final and relatively soothing notes.
I’m discovering Thronum Vrondor‘s sound with this album, and I have to admit I really like their approach. Drowning in the Distorted Light is as cold as powerful, letting its most impure and aggressive roots mingle to build cold riffs.
90/100