The Crown was formed back in 1990 as a garage band but in the meantime the more primitive sounds have evolved to a perfect mix of death thrash and roll. Their previous release “Deathrace King” was already one of the best death metal releases of 2000. And after hearing the new “Crowned in Terror” I can only conclude that this has become one of the Crown’s most intense and brutal releases ever. On their web site the band counted out the amount of blast beats on the album. And what do you think? At high speed The Crown works their way through twelve intense and brutal songs but with the typical Thew Crown melodies. What to think of songs as “Under the Whip” with a great mid tempo chorus. But also the thrash and death metal influences have gotten a more prominent role like in “Crowned in Terror” what gives this release some extra variation.

It’s mainly the combination of death and thrash with the more punk and crust approach what makes the band so special. Fantastic riffs, great songs, flaming over the top drums. “Crowned in Terror” has it all. Even an ode to Michael Night (“The Speed of Darkness”) And of course the rasping death grunt of ex At the Gates and Sacrilege singer Thomas Lindberg who replaced Johan Lindstrand who got throat problems after the intense touring the band did in the years (see interview section soon). And the newcomer did a great job. The production is sparkling clear and gives the songs an extra injection. The Crown can lean back, relax and watch how the crowd gets infected with this infectious virus. A headline tour in the U.S.A. is coming up, what will be next?