Crown of ThornsWydawca Metal Blade RecordsPremiera 2024-10-11Sweden"Crown Of Thorns" serves as the band’s dynamic follow-up to 2021’s "Royal Destroye"r and the record’s musical dynamics are on a new level due in no small part to the 2022 addition of drummer Mikael Norén and bassist Mattias Rasmussen as well as the return of lead guitarist Marcus Sunesson, rejoining longtime members Tervonen and vocalist Johan Lindstrand. “With Mikael, we managed to bring back a bit more of that crazy ‘Janne Saarenpää’ feel to the drumming, so that was a really cool energy boost. Mattias comes more from a punk/crust background, and he wrote ‘I Hunt With The Devil’ and ‘Mind Collapse,’ which turned out great. This is definitely a step up in many ways, changing the way we worked on the Cobra Speed Venom and Royal Destroyer albums.”
It's very few bands who have a revered and established career — THE CROWN celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2020 (their first eight years spent as Crown Of Thorns) — yet up the ante continually. With 2018’s Cobra Speed Venom the band reached the same lofty heights as their 2002 landmark release, Crowned In Terror. And with the barbaric Royal Destroyer, and now, 2024’s powerful and unique "Crown Of Thorns", the metal vets rage with a rekindled fire and ferocity while honoring their roots. As Tervonen concludes, noting of "Crown Of Thorns", “I guess every band needs to do a self-titled album at some point. So now we did it, our way.”
"Crown Of Thorns" was recorded by Marko Tervonen (Studio-MT), mixed and mastered by Jonas Kjellgren (Black Lounge Studios), and will be released on jewel case CD (US), limited digipak CD with three additional studio songs (EU), and digital formats, as well vinyl in the following color variants:
Black + White Split (US)
180g Black (EU)
White Black Marbled (EU)
White Black Dust (EU - Ltd. 300)
Iron-Grey Marble (EU - LP + bonus 7", slip mat, patch - Ltd. 500)
"Crown Of Thorns" serves as the band’s dynamic follow-up to 2021’s "Royal Destroye"r and the record’s musical dynamics are on a new level due in no small part to the 2022 addition of drummer Mikael Norén and bassist Mattias Rasmussen as well as the return of lead guitarist Marcus Sunesson, rejoining longtime members Tervonen and vocalist Johan Lindstrand. “With Mikael, we managed to bring back a bit more of that crazy ‘Janne Saarenpää’ feel to the drumming, so that was a really cool energy boost. Mattias comes more from a punk/crust background, and he wrote ‘I Hunt With The Devil’ and ‘Mind Collapse,’ which turned out great. This is definitely a step up in many ways, changing the way we worked on the Cobra Speed Venom and Royal Destroyer albums.”