CoC : Crown of Thorns - Eternal Death : Review

Crown of Thorns - _Eternal Death_
(Black Sun Records, 1997)
by: Drew Snow (7 out of 10)

As far as Swedish death metal goes, Crown of Thorns is probably the most brutal band out there. With ten songs of energy-packed conviction, _Eternal Death_ contains plenty of your typically sweet melodies, yet also pummels the ears with the kind of blast beats and all-out musical abrasiveness you don't usually find from a Gothenburg-based outfit such as CoT. Genre pigeonholing aside, Crown of Thorns have found a medium between the more brutal European bands such as Altar and Sinister, and more melodic acts like Ablaze My Sorrow, usually leaning towards the former with heavy doses of the latter. "In Bitterness and Sorrow", the third track off the album, is perhaps the best example of this. Commencing with a lone intro guitar riff and quickly moving into a manic blast beat layered over a new, more melodic riff, and accompanied by a rapid vocal delivery, the song develops very nicely into a beautiful example of how good Crown of Thorns -could- be. When it comes down to final judgment, however, CoT haven't really mixed the brutality and melody well enough, and many of the songs come off as feeling unstructured and extremely loose. Add to this a hazy, unsatisfying production which places unnecessary priority on the only average vocals and drums, and you've got an album with much potential, but in the end whose whole is not equal to the sum of its parts.

(article published 14/7/1997)

CHATS
10/16/2003	P Schwarz	The Crown: Possessed to Race With Death
5/25/2000	A Bromley	The Crown: Racing Towards Destruction

ALBUMS
11/19/2004	P Azevedo	5	The Crown - Crowned Unholy
10/30/2003	M Noll	9	The Crown - Possessed 13
7/3/2002	D Rocher	9	The Crown - Crowned in Terror
5/25/2000	A Bromley	9.5	The Crown - Deathrace King
1/16/1999	D Rocher	9	The Crown - Hell Is Here