Death metal has this strange thing about it where the subgenre seems to grow exponentially each year and also stays the same as it was when its roots popped through the rotting earth. Simplistically, that means a lot of bands have taken the sound elsewhere, while we still have a nice slate of artists that find the graveyards and swamps home.
Michigan death squad Throne is kind of the best of both worlds, which they prove on their great second record “That Who Sat Upon Him, Was Death.” I’ll ignore that weird comma. The band—vocalist/guitarist Nathan Barnes, lead guitarist Tim Kenefic, bassist Leslie Drake, drummer Kollin Perpignani—definitely has their bloodied, muddied boots with the original crop of death metal bands that inspired a movement, but they also have a lot of modern flourishes to their sound, so it’s a nice variety. Plus, this record is brutal to the core and properly melodic, with the vocals particularly coming off as gruesome and unforgiving. Over eight tracks and 30 minutes, they serve up a beating that’s sized just right, leaving you fulfilled yet morbidly wanting more.
“Disentombed” opens with guitars in full attack mode, brutality retching as the growls take hold and squeeze maniacally. The howls are mixed with shrieks, giving off a Trevor Strnad vibe (this is present throughout the record), and then the drums slaughter, the guitars rise and raise the temperature, and a battering force tears everything away. “To Breathe the Unknown” opens calmy, but it’s not long until ferocity ignites, the growls choking as guitars chug, speed becoming a greater factor. The riffs race as monstrous, gross grinding eats at you, the guitars enrolling into full corrosion. “Blasphemous Perversion” has the bass plodding and guitars bursting, the growls going guttural as all elements mangle. The pace trudges as the heat builds dangerously, guitars soar, and menacing snarls bury your face in the dirt. “Realm of Immolation” has guitars hovering like vultures, the drums powdering bones, and your senses smashed completely. The growls warp as the drumming again aims to loosen teeth, the pace speeding toward a final gasp of menace.
“Human Frailty” races from the gates, penetrating your mind, hammering away as the growls retch and choke. The guitars get thick and humid, turning into a deathlike haze, the riffs lathering with foamy blood, a brain-erasing pace picking up and leading to complete destruction. “Upon Deathless Winds” opens with guitars dashing, savage blazing taking hold, and the growl/shriek combo once again tearing out nerves. A molten pace explodes, everything coming unglued, and senses get blistered, all amid some rather melodic lead lines that make the bruising feel oddly comforting. “Behold Impurity” unleashes drums that decimate, growls and screams that maim, and a splattering attack that digs in its claws. The guitars pick up the pace as it feels like skulls are being dragged across rocky terrain, the playing rushes, and the vocals sink the dagger into your chest. Closer “Where Angels Cower in Fear” dashes as the guitars strangle, and the tempo feels like it’s going for broke. The vocals scrape more flesh as the guitars take on a Scandinavian vibe, the leads electrifying, the direction shifting violently, a final, sudden burst blasting away.
Throne’s death metal comes at you like a prowling beast, taking you down with hardly a moment’s notice on “That Who Sat Upon Him, Was Death.” This is one of those records that should register with the death metal old guard as well as people who dine on carnage from the past decade, with the overlap of those two audiences seemingly a harmonious one. This is a motherfucker of a record that will take you down and give you a thorough beating that strangely satisfies in the end.
For more on the band, go here: https://thronemetal.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://redefiningdarkness.8merch.us/
Or here: https://redefiningdarkness.8merch.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.redefiningdarkness.com/
Meat Mead Metal 