Blood Red Throne - _Altered Genesis_
(Earache, 2005)
by: Jackie Smit (7 out of 10)
It should be apparent from the outset that the Blood Red Throne proposition is fairly pedestrian, which is almost surprising considering their commander-in-chief's status as Emperor alumni. Then again, considering that Tchort had very little to do with the actual conception of that band's records probably puts matters into context to some degree. Still, one would have hoped that the trailblazing attitude of his former bandmates would at least have rubbed off on him slightly, because _Altered Genesis_ sees Blood Red Throne continuing, almost to a step, down the well-trodden path of unashamedly old-school death metal worship that defined _Affiliated With the Suffering_. Thus those familiar with that record should come across no surprises here whatsoever, save perhaps for the markedly sharper production, which in all fairness does lend a sense of far more convincing menace to the album than that which was found on its predecessor.Now, I realise that you may well be wondering why, with all these criticisms, _Altered Genesis_ is still able to achieve a respectable seven out of ten rating. Well, the answer is simple: grass-roots and unimaginative though it may be, when Blood Red Throne's approach works, it can deliver some pretty potent knockouts. "Tortured Soul Appearance" and "Mephitacation" are just two examples of the kind of crushing brutality these guys are capable of delivering. And ultimately, if you are going to spend your money on one of the countless genre-towing death metal acts on the market at the moment, you may as well splash out on a band who know what they're doing -- most of the time, at least.
(article published 22/2/2005)
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