Thronehammer - Slay, Kill, Erase

Thronehammer is a doom metal band of international orgions that formed in 2012.  Their latest release, “Slay, Kill, Erase,” is their fourth full-length album; they have also released a demo and a split. 

I'll be 100% honest: up until I dived into this album, I wasn't overly familiar with Thronehammer. I did enjoy “Incantation Rites” but beyond that it has just been a song here and there. I'm dumb. Real dumb. This band should have stayed on my radar. There wasn't any particular reason why they left—just too much music and too little time.  But I'm going to make the time because this album is the balls (compliment).

It is very clear that even in my limited experience with them, that “Slay, Kill, Erase” is their most aggressive album yet. Everything that I heard from the band has now been expanded upon and amplified tenfold.  The album’s overall sound is deeply rooted in doom metal, no doubt about that.  But I can hear elements of traditional, power, death, and even black metal on occasion.  Hell, I think at times it even has a hardcore punk energy to it. It’s fantastic to hear such dynamics while still bringing the doom metal to life. 

I love, love, love, love, love that vocalist Kat has greatly increased her usage of extreme vocals. She sounds goddamn amazing—one of the best vocal performances I've heard this year. Her cleans? Still epic, urgent and adventurous as ever. Her dynamics are insane. Whether she has a deep, Gothic tinged clean rumble or a backend snarl---her “A” has been brought and then some.

The album’s length of nearly 1 hour and 15 minutes across 8 songs might seem a bit long but if you’re a doom fan, you’re not going to notice it or care.  Hell, even if you are not—the songwriting is so good, the hour is going to fly by.  These songs are long for the hell of it or filled with fluff to bloat the runtime—this is sharp songwriting that knows how to offer songs on an epic scale while also filling them with hooks.  

The production is solid, for the most part.  I like that it isn’t raw nor is it overly clear—a good balance between clarity and grit although, for me personally, the clean vocals seem to sound a little muted in the mix.  However, that is a minor quibble.

The album opens with the title song and it grabbed me immediately.  It takes confidence to open up your album with the title track and that is nearly 11 minutes long too. Well, the confidence is mostly certainly backed up and then some.   I like a long build up and this one stretch well over a minute—and it gets the blood pumping.  By the time the rest of the song kicks in, I was already feeling it.  Massive riffs bring about a hammer steady beat with totally brutal growls.  This song is a monster!  Hear the name of the song being growled out is a fist pumping good time!

“Rise of Resistance," is what the album does best at:  incredibly epic songs that are dense as hell.   The clean vocals are immense—like being some from some place up high, their power just falling down upon those with pure weight and force.   The growls on this song are extra powerful and pair well with the lead guitar to make the song both dynamic and devastating.  The melodic/atmospheric mid-section is great too and leads into the heavier passage that follows smoothly and with clarity.  

Let’s talk about “Thrown into the Abyss,” and why it is the best thing since sliced bread.  The main riff just chugs along like some kind of beefed-up Iron Maiden.  The rhythm power here is transformative and push the clean vocals to a new high.  But that chorus?  Goddamn those growls hit HARD.  The drums are MVP on this song though and are even what I would call catchy.   Around the 6:15 mark, the guitars hang back while the drums build up anticipation that is released with a brutal “Bleeeeeegh,” just before guitars/bass tear this motherfucker down.  

The final song, “Onwards to Oblivion,” is a massive beast.  It’s all clean vocals but just as brutal as anything they have done.  The hardcore energy I spoke of early is in this song, particularly with the gang chants yelling out the song’s title.   The main riffs are slow with a menacing tone if I’ve ever heard one, but the band still finds time to be a bit melodic; the song fades out around the 2:27 mark and brings in a dissonant melody that echoes off the caverns of the production.  It’s a really cool effect and the buildup is excellent.   The song grows much darker from here with crushing riffs and a stellar vocal performance.  The guitar laces the chorus with an urgent harmony for the clean part then drops the hammer with stupid, good riffs for the gang chanting part.  It’s razor sharp with the repetitive chant, like an ever-approaching army that cannot be abated. 

Thronehammer’s “Slay, Kill, Erase,” is a very impressive album that, in my humble opinion, sees the band really settling into their sound.  This is going to appeal to a lot of different metalheads, regardless of if they like doom or not.  I have a feeling their next album is going to break the world.

Rating: Excellent