Formed in 2015, Thron started out on their musical journey playing blackened death metal familiar to those following the genre in the mid-90s. Despite hailing from Germany, the band has a strong Nordic influence, citing bands such as Dissection, Unanimated, Sacramentum and Mercyful Fate as influences of their icy, atmospheric sound. Abysmal, which is slated for an October release via Listenable records, sees the band refining their style to deliver ten tightly wound tracks that summon the cold winds of despair even as Europe basks in an unprecedented heat wave.
Opening with eerie, clean guitar tones, beyond the gates provides the album with a suitably atmospheric introduction before ravaged guitars and hell-bound vocals tear across the landscape as the band plunge into a swirling hate-storm reminiscent of vintage Dimmu Borgir (think Sorgens Kammer – Del ii without the whimsical keyboards). Throughout, the relentless thrust of the percussion and eerie melodies of the serpentine guitars conjure a potent atmosphere of decaying grandeur and it is the perfect gateway into the record . That same sense of sweeping ambition flows into the ravenous guitars of Bloodred, a blackened haze of hyper-speed riffing and machine-gun percussion that perfectly conjures the dark fires of vintage black metal. With vocals that are surprisingly clear, for all their show of reckless hate, bloodred is powerful, epic black metal at its regal best. Next up, with an acoustic intro reminiscent of the prog-infused flights of fancy Opeth were so adept at incorporating circa Blackwater park, a spark of divinity builds to an evil, deathly groove, whilst dead souls opts for a more scabrous approach, the guitars raging and burning with evil intent. Finally, hidden in shadows ends the first half of the record with unparalleled brutality, the band delivering a devilish performance that burns with the crimson light of hellfire and damnation.
Opening the second half of the album, a glorious ride incorporates folk elements, underpinning then with the relentless thrust of the double kick, the result being a frozen trek across unnamed mountains, the grim vocals exhorting you further into snowbound isolation and despair. A short segue track, the bastardised choral Liturgia paves the way for the savage riffs of blood of serpents, a dense whirl of unstoppable percussive blasts and lightning-fast guitar work. The album’s evil highlight is surely the unassailable might of the wrath of gods. Opening upon huge, doom-laden power chords, it soon builds to a Promethean outpouring, the band demonstrating considerable breadth in their song-writing as the music edges from the explosive intro, through blackened brutality and into a crushing groove that is as ambitious as it is adrenalin-charged. If you were to take one song as the epitome of the album, it would be this. The album concludes with the shrines, a sinister and gruelling epilogue that once again draws upon early Dimmu with its slithering guitars and atmosphere of eloquent decay.
In Abysmal Thron have delivered a sophomore album that consolidates their influences and sees them developing their own sound within the dense, frozen fog of blackened riffs and inhuman vocals. The highlight, the wrath of gods serves as a strong indicator of where the band may go next if they choose to follow their muse to its logical conclusion, but in the meantime, Abysmal is a fine album worthy of your attention. 8
You can checkout the band’s sinister debut here:
