The Crown: Swedish death metal icons to release full-length “Crown of Thorns” on October 11th via Metal Blade Records

– 28 August 2024 –

New video / new single now in stores + pre-orders possible

Photo by Daniel Johansson

Watch/stream “Churchburner” by THE CROWN HERE

Swedish Death Metal Icons THE CROWN will be their Crown of Thorns in full on October 11th on Metal Blade Records.

Crown of Thorns is the band’s twelfth studio album and THE CROWN and is the dynamic, groundbreaking successor to the 2021 Royal Destroyer. The band made distinctly different creative choices to ensure that the LP's ten songs represent a unique collection.”For me, Cobra Speed ​​​​Venom and Royal Destroyer are like siblingssays guitarist Marko Tervonen. “[We wanted] to make sure we took a step forward and got a little bit more out of our comfort zone with Crown Of Thorns. We really wanted it to sound like a new, fresh album and I think we achieved that..”

The approach was comprehensive and imaginative.”I had the idea that we should work backwards a bit. I pushed for the artwork very early in the process. We wanted the album cover to show a bridge from our hometown Trollhättan called Strömkarlsbron. There's this cool statue on it called 'Strömkarlen'. [a water spirit]. It made sense to take everything back to the city where it all began; as most people know, we were called Crown Of Thorns for a few years before we had to shorten the name.”

The last cover by Giannis Nakos proved to be inspiring THE CROWN focused on the music that best complemented the piece.”I wanted something really fast, melodic, heavy, epic, punky”, explains Tervonen, “Taking areas that we have touched on before to a new level and adding a few surprises was also part of the process.“

The musical dynamic also reaches a new level with the addition of drummer Mikael Norén and bassist Mattias Rasmussen in 2022, as well as the return of lead guitarist Marcus Sunesson, who rejoins long-time members Tervonen and singer Johan Lindstrand.”With Mikael we managed to bring a bit more of that crazy 'Janne Saarenpää' feeling into the drumming, which was a really cool energy boost. Mattias comes from more of a punk/crust background and wrote 'I Hunt With The Devil' and 'Mind Collapse', which turned out great. This is definitely a step forward in many ways and changes the way we worked on the CSV and RD albums..”

Another change is the guitar tuning: “We decided to vote from C to D”, emphasises Tervonen. “On our first four albums we played the standard tuning of E, then we slowly moved to D, and from Possessed 13 onwards we tuned down to C. So now we've reversed course and are slowly climbing back to E! But the lighter D tuning added so many better sounds and tones that we're perhaps missing a little on some of the more recent records..”

The result of the revitalized process and the new personnel is clearly visible on the first single: “Church burner.” ““Churchburner” begins with a reference to “Postmortem” [Slayer] but then it explodes into a completely different type of monster,“, notes Tervonen. “It's got a great groove and basically a tempo/beat that we don't use that often. It's mostly triplets. It's a very strong song with Johan really going wild here and Marcus also contributing a killer solo..”

Regard THE CROWN's video for “Church burner“ in THIS PLACE.

Crown of Thorns was recorded by Marko Tervonen (Studio-MT), mixed and mastered by Jonas Kjellgren (Black Lounge Studios) and will be released as a jewel case CD (US), limited digipak CD with three additional studio songs (EU) and in digital formats as well as on vinyl in the following color variations:

Black + White Split (USA)
180g Black (EU)
White Black Marbled (EU)
White black dust (EU – Ltd. 300)
Iron-Grey Marble (EU – LP + Bonus 7″, Slipmat, Patch – Ltd. 500)

Pre-orders can be found at: metalblade.com/thecrown

Crown of Thorns Tracklist:
01. I hunt with the devil
02. Church Burner
03. Martyr
04. Gone to Hell
05. The Howling on the Battlefield
06. The night is now
07. God King
08. The Agitator
09. Where nightmares belong
10. The storm that is coming
11. Forever Hellish (bonus track)
12. No Fuel for God (bonus track)
13. Thought Collapse (Bonus Track)

THE CROWN Live:
08/20/2024 Bulgasal Festival – Västerås, SE
11/23/2024 Gothenburg Hall Of Metal – Gothenburg, SE
March 15, 2025 Heidelberg Deathfest 25 – Heidelberg, DE

“Crown Of Thorns combines the best elements of death metal, thrash, punk and even grind in this modern metal masterpiece! I am absolutely in love with the production and the performance of each member, a modern sound with that old soul. THE CROWN is more than a death metal band, THE CROWN is a complete vibe!” – Mike Schleibaum, Darkest Hour

“THE CROWN's new album lives up to its name, Crown Of Thorns. It has an atmosphere that goes back to the albums of the 90s, when they were the fastest and most intense Swedish death metal band I knew. What stands out is the openness to implementing new elements and details without losing any of the aggressiveness and intensity. My favorite track is different every time I listen to the album and that really says it all. It feels like this lineup is touching old school magic and I'm really looking forward to seeing them bring this beast to the stage!” – Heljarmadr, Dark Burial

“THE CROWN are as stunning as ever and never disappoint. This album makes me so hot I'm going to go outside to find a dog to kick and a church to throw stones at!” – Patrik Jensen, The Ghost

“THE CROWN avenge their past and race into the future with the aptly named “Crown Of Thorns”, a glorious slice of their very own brand of Swedish death metal that will keep you on your toes until the bitter end. Diverse yet hyper-focused, melodic yet explosively brutal, this 11th LP might just be their best. Absolutely unmissable!” – Dirk Verbeuren, Megadeth

“Sweden's deadliest crown wearers are back, and what an incredible return it is! Everything I love about THE CROWN is here: vicious riffing, thumping drums, heavier bass than most, and of course Johan Lindstrand's unrivalled and unmatched vocals. Swedish death metal doesn't get any better than this. Highly, highly recommended!” – Mikael Stanne, Dark Calm/The Halo Effect

THE CROWN:
Johan Lindstrand – vocals
Marko Tervonen – guitar
Marcus Sunesson – lead guitar
Mattias Rasmussen – Bass
Mikael Norén – drums

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