THRONEHAMMER - INTERNATIONAL

THRONEHAMMER - SLAY | KILL | ERASE - SUPREME CHAOS  
Oh my goodness. Here we go again with the list of the biggest bandwagon-jumping cliches of this year: "cinematic: scope" and "cinematic grandeur". Cinematic again. Every second band is cinematic. These bands, publicists, labels, etc. are such faddish lemmings. If only these acts knew how ridiculous and anti-metal they are by copying each other with abandon calling their bands, sounds, videos, concepts and, in this case, "scope" cinematic one after another. Seeing that the band photo depicts six people (wimpy keyboardist in the ranks?) I already had my doubts about Thronehammer and reading the publicity blurb before hitting play dimmed my anticipation further. The bio overloads on adjectives, which end up being not just too much, but contradictory. "Monumental," "destructive," "thunderous," "colossal," "crushing," "relentless," "overwhelming extremity," etc. are bookended with an admission that the band features "post-rock atmospheres" while (still) offering "Fourth album by the German/UK epic doom flagship Thronehammer." There are more heaps of contradictions, oxymorons and superlatives galore where those came from so, at this point, it is best to just hit play on the music before we choke further on things like "new dimensions of tension and experimentation" because screw experimentation if it compromises the metal content one iota.
After all, what's sought is simply quality metal.
The title track kicks off the album and its beginning effectively drags on as an intro perhaps, but more immediately it is the attractive production that makes the song superlative. A clear sound, present instruments, soaring guitars and, above all, a warm drum sound come to the fore. It is doubly great here because it is often lost in the mix. The song - like a majority of the tracks here - is long with only Destroyer Ov Light ('ov' being all kvlt and hip, you know?) as the sole track in the five-minute range. The doom metal of the opening cut convinces and there is no sign of the dreaded keyboards. The band is in no rush to go from here to there. The music is harsh, but smooth and melodious at times. What does not fully convince, however, are the growls. One quick check reveals they are delivered by female belcher Kat Shevil. Unfortunately, it is the very rare female who can growl with conviction and this frontlady isn't about to change the universe. Her vocals are not horrid by any means, but they are not impressive either. The riffs are simultaneously dirty and precise, however, which is something to admire. The song is 10:37 long and clean vocals are introduced towards the end. The album is 73 minutes long. Value for money in at least one way for sure. Supreme Chaos has issued the album as double vinyl. One more thing before moving on to the second track. The album title makes little sense. After all, it comes across as redundant. Perhaps, it is a matter of emphasis for the group.
To Never Return is doomy and deathly with those harsh harmonies. More clean vocals are mixed into the growls. The vocals sound like a lower register Warrel Dane the way she sings her harmonies. Then they go higher. Very heavy chords speed up towards the end and the band remains tight. Rise Of Resistance contains clean vocals again, but it seems that they sound different from the previous time every time they do. Pretty interesting, this contemplative doomy metal. The song Blade To The Heart mixes growls with predominantly clean vocals and seeks to create an interplay. Later in the song we are hit by venomous hissing vocals. The music is action-packed and adventurous. Thrown Into The Abyss begins with a brutal riff, but the vocals are a mixed bag again. Dethroend deploys partly goth guitars and vocals. It is not much of a song really either sounding like a filler, which is a strange thing to say because Thronehammer obviously is not lacking in musical length. Pessimism, possibly in this case regarding the band's future, continues when the album ends with a song called Onwards To Oblivion. The goth-oriented track, with a dub of drifting waves, does not bestow much confidence in the future, does it? - Ali "The Metallian"