As one of the first death metal bands that your humble correspondent ever heard, it's hard not to find a soft spot in this scaly heart for Norwegian death metallers Blood Red Throne, initially formed by Green Carnation/Carpathian Forest guitarist Tchort and the well-titled Død, since evolving over an impressive nine albums to become more of a mainstay in the scene if not always producing material that pushes the genre onwards. Which is fair enough, given how many times the likes of Deicide and Cannibal Corpse have revisited the same bloody well for inspiration, but it does mean lesser results for those, like the Norwegians, who mainly pay tribute rather than mine new seams of death metal ore. Still, they are almost always entertaining and always provide a solid platter o'splatter for your epicurean death metaller, and Fit to Kill is no exception. From the outset the album batters like a madman with a hammer, opener Requiem Mass having an appreciative level of grandeur in its introduction before turning to the blunt death metal battery, the production as fond of the bass as the guitars and allowing it full clunky power behind the upfront riffage. Every element of the band, from guitarists Død and Ivan to drummer Freddy Bolsø are tight and precise, and it makes for an almost mechanical death metal maelstrom.

Sure, in this modern age, mechanical precision can be a letdown but it's very reassuring as a longer-term fan to come back to Blood Red Throne and discover the throne remains as blood-red as ever. There's a galloping thrashiness to the likes of Bloodity that hearkens back to the purity of Slayer, albeit pumped up with Deicidean steroids in the vocals and rhythm section that makes for a brutally muscular death metal sound, uninterested in modern fads or fashions compared to the old-school business of getting necks exercised and by the time you hit the midpoint breakdown it's hard not to feel worn out. Once it would have been easy to complain about the band's lack of originality (as indeed I did in previous reviews) but here and now that feels like more of a strength than a hindrance, and that solid level of quality being hit again and again across Fit to Kill makes the band easier to recommend, be it the blunt battery of Killing Machine pt 2, slowing the tempo to increase the pressure on your ears, or WhoreZone assaulting you like older Decapitated.

Sometimes the sheer intensity can sell a song alone, as on the downright brutal Skyggemannen and End, and sometimes the writing is sharp enough to make a particular track stay with you, as with InStructed InSanity or Movement of the Parasites. The eight-minute Deal it or Die is an especial highlight, the band's longest track to date, more willing to explore atmospheric territory as it uses its length well, giving the riffs a more melodic feel initially before launching properly into a crunchy death metal maelstrom, a widdly lead section nearly worthy of Carcass at their peak and suggestive that the Norwegians could head for Vital Remains territory with a bit of ambition. Each song does seem to reach back to a shared heritage of eighties Slayer, however, which is both a strength and a weakness depending on your expectations. Yet if all you expect is a good time then Blood Red Throne more than provide, and those familiar with the band will find plenty to enjoy here.