The latest release from Norway's Blood Red Throne is something any death metal fan should be able to appreciate. It is good, mature death metal that can really get you in a headbanging mood with huge riffs and memorable, sometimes catchy songs of destruction. These guys have been around for awhile and although I haven't heard their past releases I've read that they’re quite good. If that's so then this album is no exception and can be marked as another solid release in their catalogue.

The album starts out with the crushing The Light, The Hate, which comes in with some groovy guitar work and double bass drumming. This song is a mid-paced sledgehammer that really gets the album off to a good start. Vocalist Osvald "Vald" Egeland has a great guttural growling style that reminds me somewhat of Glen Benton or perhaps Trey Azagthoth. There is also a great solo at the end that really makes this an awesome song. Harme continues the destruction with an anthem like melody and great guitar and bass work throughout the song. Throne Of Destruction gets a little boring, but picks up with a guitar solo towards the end which is really great, but I didn’t feel like it fit with the rest of the song. The opening to Human Fraud feels like something Obituary would do, some electric guitar with plenty of wah leading into slow, chugging riffs smashing everything in their path. In fact much of this album reminds me of mid to late 90s death metal, which I really enjoy. Demand gives us some quicker tempo work that sounds great, it shows that these guys really know how to write good songs, not to mention that everything sounds really sharp in the production as well. The last song I want to mention is the epic final track Ten Steps To Purgatory. This song is over six and a half minutes long and contains crushing riffs and groovy atmosphere as well as a quick change of pace towards the end of the song which opens into a great melodic passage. We also hear the vocalist using some different tones of his voice, although nothing really out there.

What you get here is a good mixture of mid to fast pace death metal that is modeled on the tried and true basics of the style. Massive, chugging riffs, thick double bass drumming, and near-undecipherable growls make this a solid release from this death metal machine. Of course there is some room for improvement, particularly I think the vocals could have a bit more emotion in them, but these guys really have their act together for the most part. It almost goes without saying that if you're looking for an album with a lot of diversity, this is not for you. This is 11 tracks of pure death metal, no filler, no instrumental tracks, just unadulterated musical devastation. Blood Red Throne can definitely be compared to iconic bands such as Obituary and Morbid Angel, but they also create their own sound which is similar but certainly not a mere reproduction of their influences. I guarantee that when I want to put on something loud and heavy to headbang to, this is what I'll be listening to in the near future.