Label: Metal Blade Records
Date: March 12th, 2021
“Let the hammering begin!” Declares Mr. Lindstrand in the second track of “Royal Destroyer”. However, the thing is that the warning comes a bit late. It has already started around the fourth second of “Baptized in Violence”. And on it goes for over forty-five minutes. Well, apart of “We Drift On” which is a sort of a death metal power ballad.
With that, this record is described in full. The Crown, being the legendary Swedish death metal pioneers, bring the violence straight to your temple of warmth and comfort. Your home, that is.
So, where do I go from here?
Onward to sing praises about a band that has written its name in death metal history books. The thing is, albums like “Royal Destroyer” are expected from a band with three decades behind them. With proven talent and enormous experience, there should really be no mistake.
Still, as all of us have learned throughout the years, these expectations are often betrayed by weak and derivative records. Luckily, there are bands that are able to keep to a certain standard of creation. The Crown being one of them. Sure, they have had better and worse albums, but none that plunged into the bottomless pit.
“Royal Destroyer” brings forth another strongpoint of their long career. Strengthened with impenetrable wall of production, the record displays all the glory of old Swedish death metal. Without the modern day accessories, the album contains an abundance of brutally heavy as well as melodic pieces that, combined, make for a delight for every old head accustomed to high-quality death metal from Sweden.
At the same time, “Royal Destroyer” is not a collection of second-rate ideas from a washed-out band, exhausted of fresh motivation. The Crown delivers a multitude of driving riffs which should pump up the adrenaline straight to the olden necks of their fans. That unmistakable thrashing input we’re all very familiar with does the trick once again.
The craftsmanship of the record is absolutely top-notch. It is pointed out to us listeners that the band knows it is not enough to just stick a recognizable logo on a record to make the fans exhilarated. It needs that “wow factor” to justify the reputation behind it. And that is just what The Crown did here. They have created an album that keeps the band on a high ground of global metal scene. Firing barrage after barrage of machine-gun hail of bullets on all the pretenders.
