The lineup sees the return of lead guitarist Marcus Sunesson, guitarist Marko Tervonen, vocalist Johan Lindstrand bassist Mattias Rasmussen and drummer Mikael Norén. In the opening track, “I Hunt with the Devil” the guitars and the drums launch a blast of howitzer artillery with cannon fire riffs and grimy vocals.

The Crown has never sounded this intense and aggressive for a long time. However, the drums sound like rolls of thunder, and the booming riffs sweep out powerfully bombarding a dirty badass death thrash swagger in many songs like “Churchburner”.

“Crown of Thorns” is the ultimate incarnation of The Crown and probably the band’s best effort since the 2018 album “Cobra Speed Venom“. The riffing style is textured with catchy lead guitar work and melodies deliver plenty of catchy moments.

The musicianship is tight, and it’s much in the vein of the earlier albums there are some nuances to the newer band style where the searing melodies have a melodic atmosphere in the song “Martyrian”.

The 12th album is stylish and sinister. The Crown brings a master class of aggressive death thrash metal. The strumming power chords and blast beats strike like lightning with its rapid tempos and vocal hooks are tremendously brutal and frantic, the fierce intent on aggression gives the album the ability to shine.

The Crown seemingly is on fire, the heavy metal riffs dropping catchy hooks and effective melodies, the band delivers some stomping death thrash attitude mixing them perfectly with the melodic elements of Swedish Gothenburg style a la Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates. The blitzkrieg attack of the dual guitars fire melodic riffing where the Swedes assure instant catchiness the dynamics and quality make songs like “Gone to Hell” some of The Crown‘s best adrenaline melodic songs.

“Howling at the Warfield” is a clear perspective on The Crown’s songwriting method in the new album underlines the rapid-fire barrages that push for a more chaotic and rawer death metal sound. The guitar approach stems from the eighties roots of thrash metal bands like Metallica and Slayer, though this is a pretty much modern style of The Crown; the frenetic fury launches a full-scale onslaught in “The Night Is Now”.

The tempos are typically savage and vehement, focusing on leads and high-octane energy that keeps the tempos shifting to fast transitions. Overall the songs lean towards a melodic sound, there are plenty of raw death metal vocals, and fast thrashing drumming on “God-King” is a fantastic mixture of brutality and solid energy.

The Crown throws some classic speed in songs like “The Agitator” the drums instantly blasting ferociously over the riffing barrages; the technique styling of the lead guitars and solos retain the trademark. As a result, the final two songs “Where Nightmares Belong” and the six minutes closing track “The Storm That Comes” focus on fast steady tempos, the abrasive drumming then switches to a mid-tempo melodic stomper and the lead guitars manage to throw some killer hooks.

The guitars, drums, and vocals do an excellent job of maintaining the blitzkrieg style. The track features some fantastic rhythm sections and the mid-tempo pace of the drums adds an epic quality to the grand closure. The album also includes three bonus songs “Eternally Infernal”, “No Fuel for God” and “Mind Collapse”.

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