My favourite death metal
band is finally back after five long years. When word reached me that they were
about to release a new album, yours truly was...hmm ecstatic to say the least.
Has it been worth the wait, you might ask? Hell yeah, and then some! The Crown
are pulling out all the stops on the new fantastic opus, 'Death Is Not
Dead'. And true to the title, death metal the way it's supposed to sound is
not dead, if more bands do what these Swedes are doing. Just listen to this wax
and you'll know what I mean.
There's been quite a
change within the camp since their last album, 'Doomsday King'. Drum
professor Janne"Terminator"Saarenpää is no longer in the fold, having
left music all together unfortunately. Prior to that, lead guitarist Marcus
Sunesson departed as well. Some quarters of the fan base might be worried what
the new songs sounds like because of this, but there's is no need to fear.
None of their trademarks
are gone, they are still present and even more amplified than before. However,
two new elements have been added with an amazing result. In all their
heaviness, melody has been infused to great aplomb and it's most notable
whenever new lead guitarist Robin Sörqvist pulls off solo after brilliant solo.
The second element is the appearance of Scandinavian folk music. No, The Crown
hasn't gone Finntroll on us, quite the contrary. The instrumental master piece 'Meduseld'
is a prime example of this, where death metal metal meets melody meets
beautiful indigenous music and the outcome has me floored. This is how you move
up to a whole new level, dear waveriders.
How did the band solve
the drumming situation? They did it the best possible way by letting guitarist
Marko Tervonen handle the stix. And holy fuck, he blows my mind! Check out 'Iblis
Bane', 'Struck By Lightning', 'Herd Of Swine', 'Ride To Ruin' and the cover
of Sodom's 'Agent Orange' and marvel at Marko's prowess and sheer
brilliance behind the drums. He is a beast!
I am faced with a
dilemma, albeit a good one. On 99.99% of the albums I review there are always
standout tracks to focus on. Not so on 'Death Is Not Dead' which is one
of those rare recordings where everything is perfect, a complete release if you
will. There are no weak points on here whatsoever, not that I tried to look for
any. But I keep playing it over and over
again only to find new parts I missed as well as realizing how much it grows
each time. Magnus Olsfelt's bass guitar is more pronounced than ever being more
like a second rhythm guitar but with a heavier bottom line. And John
Lindstrand is more pissed off than ever spitting out hellfire and brimstone at
any unsuspecting listener. Amazing, indeed.
Welcome back guys. The
long wait for the new album is a mere memory, now when I can finally play 'Death
Is Not Dead' non-stop and life is good again. Death metal has in my eyes
been on the decline for many years with bands putting out meager, rehashed
stuff. So, with The Crown back unleashing their bar-to-none take on this music,
my hopes for the genre has returned. Tack som fan gubbar!
- Swedebeast
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