The Crown, a death metal band (sometimes melodic death metal) from Sweden were active from 1998 until 2004, though prior to that they were known as Crown Of Thorns. They then reformed in 2009. It’s only since this reformation I’ve really took much notice of them though what I’ve heard of the earlier albums seems solid enough without being spectacular but perhaps I need to give them a thorough checking out as I know some people rate some of their early work very highly . Since 2009 though I’m well aware of the quality death metal the band have been releasing, the highpoint being 2018’s Cobra Speed Venom. Catchy crushing riffs aplenty really brought to life by a powerful and clear production. I was therefore looking forward to their latest album Royal Destroyer to see if they could keep the momentum going.

Initial impressions were good, another powerful production though not quite as bright as Cobra Speed Venom which is not a criticism. First track proper, after a short intro, Let The Hammering Begin! gets things off to a great start – fast, incredibly heavy and insistent brutal riffing that doesn’t take long to get under the skin. Things continue in a similar vein with no shortage of equally pummelling riffs, sometimes injecting a thrash element. Whilst speed and ferocity are largely the order of the day they do slow things down now and again, the first time apart from a few short bursts being on Glorious Hades. It’s not bad but I did find my attention wandering so it was good to hear that follower Full Metal Justice catches them on full throttle again where they are at their best. Later in the album a few tracks like We Drift On sees the band running out of steam but they find their form again for closer (unless you have the bonus track version) Beyond The Frail which is one of the best songs here.

Another overall strong album from The Crown then. Cobra Speed Venom remains my favourite which this doesn’t quite match down to a few tracks robbing it of great status but at its best equals past glories. Well worth checking out though and I’m sure most fans of the band will be pretty happy with this one.

The Dead Daisies have had a revolving door of members since their eponymous debut in 2013, the only ever present member being Australian guitarist David Lowy. Practically a who’s who of hard rock, members who’ve come and mostly gone include bassist Marco Mendoza, vocalist john Corabi, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Doug Aldrich, drummer Brian Tichy and drummer Deen Castronovo as well as some high profile guests like Slash and Jimmy Barnes. The band have so far released four never less than solid studio albums, the pick of the bunch for me being 2016’s Make Some Noise. After 2018’s Burn It Down vocalist John Corabi and bassist Marco Mendoza jumped ship. A great loss to any band but the perfect time to bring in Glenn Hughes, replacing both of them in one go. Hughes and Aldrich already have history, the guitarist having played on one of his solo tours back in 2015 I believe it was, one of the dates in Newcastle I was lucky enough to have seen.

It’s clear from the off that bringing in Hughes was the smartest move the band could have made. As soon as the title track Holy Ground kicks in its apparent that he’s had a big influence on the band’s sound. Of course there’s his vocal. I’ve long held the belief that his powerful and soulful delivery is the finest in rock but on a musical level a lot of the songs could have sat comfortably on many of his solo albums. Holy Ground is undoubtedly the bands finest album to date but all the credit can’t be given to Hughes who with one or two exceptions has made his strongest albums in band settings – Trapeze, Deep Purple, Hughes/Thrall and most recently Black Country Communion. The Dead Daisies are on fire here with eleven songs of hard hitting rock bursting with big riffs and powerful hooks backed by top notch musicianship. Every song here is a killer, even the seemingly obligatory ballad Far Away that closes the album which Hughes’s soulful vocals fit perfectly and Aldrich reels off perhaps his best guitar solo on the album. There’s also a cover of Humble Pie’s 30 Days In The Hole. The Daisies seem to have at least one cover on every album but here they make the song their own adding power to the original and also featuring Castronovo sharing vocals, a fine singer in his own right.

It’s perhaps on the other nine tracks where the real gems lie though where the band really kick ass, heavier than they’ve ever been. The songs, mostly mid-pace, have plenty of groove and are driven along by the powerful Hughes/Castronovo rhythm section overlaid by Aldrich and Lowy’s crushing and infectious riffs. Favourites include Like No Other (Bassline) for strongest hook and a pummelling dirty bassline and perhaps Hughes’s finest vocal performance on the album. Then there’s Unspoken, the first song unveiled by this line-up and a grand statement of intent that really made me very impatient to hear the rest. Righteous Days is another highlight for the same reasons that I’ve already mentioned above but as I already said, every song here is a killer.

In view of the many line-up changes this band has had and Hughes seems to get itchy feet fairly often, I really hope this incarnation can hold it together for a few more albums as they work so well together and it’s hard to see how they could improve on this formula they’ve developed. An early contender for album of the year for sure.

Big news in the Tribulation camp recently was that longtime guitarist Jonathan Hultén has left the band after 16 years. As he was one of the main songwriters his leaving may in the future have an impact on the sound and direction of the band. Not so on the band’s latest album though as Where The Gloom Becomes sound was written and recorded while Hultén was still on board.

Where The Gloom Becomes Sound finds Tribulation in the same musical territory they’ve been in since 2015’s Children Of The Night where they ditched the death metal in favour of a gothic rock/metal approach. The only thing retained being Johannes Andersson’s growling vocal delivery. The new album wasn’t as immediate as the last couple, apart from a few tracks like Hour Of The Wolf and Leviathans which with their strong hooks and (often used) guitar arpeggios got under the skin straight away. A few plays though and it’s apparent all is well on a musical level as their melancholic melodies take hold. WTGBS is probably slightly heavier than Children Of The Night and Down Below in places like on the driving Daughters of Djinn and Funeral Pyre though the band’s sound remains intact with few changes overall. A minor criticism is the album finds Tribulation re-treading old ground a bit too close for comfort here and there and as a whole the strength of the songs doesn’t quite live up to the last two albums. That aside WTGBS remains another strong collection of quality songwriting.

With new guitarist Joseph Tholl now in place it’ll be interesting to see if he has any impact on the direction Tribulation take. At a release rate of an album every three years or so we may be waiting a while yet , but for now this one will do very nicely.

My last review for MMA was Skelethal’s 2020 album Unveiling The Threshold, a French death metal band whose sound owed a lot to the original Swedish death metal bands like Dismember and Entombed. My next comes from Toxaemia, a band who can claim to have been around at the start of the Swedish death metal movement. Unfortunately for them, they only stuck around long enough to release an EP and a couple of demos, splitting up in 1991. Incidentally, these early recordings can be heard to best effect on the Burried To Rise compilation. As well as the original mixes there are remixed and remastered versions done by Dan Swano who has worked wonders with them. The band could have been nothing more than a footnote in Swedish death metal but reformed in 2017 and over thirty years after their original formation have finally released their debut album.

Where Paths Divide kicks off proper, after the almost obligatory atmospheric intro piece, in this case the album title track, with Delusions. It’s a great start with a powerful slab of mid paced old school death metal. It’s one of the best songs on the album as is following track Pestilence. Here they up the pace without sacrificing any of the power, ferocious riffs not in short supply on either track. The band never betters these early high benchmarks but nevertheless retain a high standard of compelling and pulverising death metal for most of the album. The albums not about speed, though it has its faster moments, but more about crushing riffs, sometimes slowed to a steady groove, which is aided by the Dan Swano mix who adds an organic and muscular edge to the band’s sound. The playing is solid from band originals Pontus Cervin (Bass) and Stevo Bolgakoff (guitars) aided by new guys Rasmus Axelsson (guitars), Perra Karlsson (drums) and Dennis Johansson (vocals). The album does tail off slightly towards the end but with only a minimal dip in quality Toxaemia have still managed to produce a high quality death metal album.

I was originally leaning towards a 3 star rating before starting my review but repeated plays have allowed most of these songs to get under my skin. Where Paths Divide is an album I’ll enjoy returning to from time to time so it’s definitely worth a good 3 ½ stars. Hopefully there will be more to come from Toxaemia in the future.

A late entry in my 2020 death metal explorations is this second album from French band Skelethal. Released late November, I’ve been living with it since the run up to Christmas and didn’t have as much time to spend with it as I would have liked. It’s only now in these dark, miserable January days, under our third Covid-19 lockdown here in the UK, that I’ve found the time to devote to it that it deserves.

I’m certainly glad to have found the time, as give Unveiling The Threshold a few plays and you’ll discover an excellent old school death metal album that could have been released back in the nineties. Leaning more to the Swedish style, buzzsaw guitars and all, it’s packed with infectiously raw riffs with a dual guitar attack. The sound is authentically raw and organic with just enough of a modern edge to add some extra punch. It’s not only the guitars that benefit from this as the drums really cut through with plenty of visceral power and there’s no shortage of bottom end from the bass. The vocals from Gui Haunting, who also doubles up on guitar, do the job nicely, or should I say horribly. It’s your typical low guttural growl as you’d expect and sits well in the mix without being too in your face. The pace rarely lets up but there’s enough twists and turns to keep things interesting and at thirty seven minutes is just about the perfect length. No songs particularly stand out as a favourite as none really stray from the bands template but the overall quality remains high throughout.

This is pretty much your meat and potatoes no frills death metal, you’ve certainly heard the like many times before if this is your thing. However, Skelethal do it with such enthusiasm and conviction on a consistently strong collection of songs that it’s hard not to be won over by it. Looks like I’m going to have to make some adjustments to my album of the year list here on MMA.