Band:	The Crown
Album:	Deathrace King
Style:	Death metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	2000

01. Deathexplosion
02. Executioner...Slayer Of The Light
03. Back From The Grave
04. Devil Gate Ride
05. Vengeance
06. Rebel Angel
07. I Won't Follow
08. Blitzkrieg Witchcraft
09. Dead Man's Song
10. Total Satan
11. Killing Star (Superbia Luxeria XXX)

The Crown, also known as The Crown Of Thorns, is a Swedish death/thrash outfit. They're mainly known for their warp speed thrash metal with the indistinguishable death growling of Johan Lindstrand. They also make sure to implement death influences like blastbeats, "evil" riffs and macabre lyrics, fulfilling their Death metal part of the band. They also occasionally use melody to give the listener some breaks from the killing. It's worth a mention that their two first albums reminded me much more of melodic death metal and that they were a pure death metal act in their demo days. I guess they've picked up experiences along the way and ultimately evolved into what they are today, never forgetting their roots or love for extreme metal. Let's conclude the introduction and move on to the album.

Deathrace King seen from the surface is a product made from hundred percent love of high speed metal. The album playfully masters intertwining influences from speed metal, thrash metal and death metal while not being afraid of throwing in melody. This combination may sound hard to pull off. You risk losing flow with melody or bore the listener to death with worn out riffs played at really fast speed. Let's just get this out of the way right now; [/i]Deathrace King[/i] never falls behind. Every transition in each song fits the music perfectly; every part is logically in order. There's neither anything to criticize about the riffs, both the melodically and the straightforward ones feels fresh and suits the speed. There's enough variation in each song so you never have a dull moment. Although, it may feel like it's not "deep" enough to be "perfect". It's mostly a straightforward fun album.

Some obvious speed metal tributes are songs like "Rebel Angel", but The Crown doesn't sound boringly primitive like I often feel is the case in other speed metal acts. "The Crown" simply gives you no time to be bored. The immensely entertaining and hilariously song titled "Blitzkrieg Witchcraft" confidently combines all the prementioned genres and gives you one fantastic humoristic and groovy song. Take a line like "H-bomb! Sieg Satan - Exploding bodies uber alles!", it gives you an idea of the non-serious and easy lyrics in the song. An example of a more death metal oriented song is "Devil Gate Ride", but of course it's played much faster and includes "jolly" inputs of speed metal! An interesting note is that Tomas Lindberg from the legendary At The Gates sing some lines in that song. Only the most observant listener may catch that though, because both Lindstrand and Lindberg sings in a similar style.

As a band they all contribute to the onslaught. Johan Lindstrand's growling stands side by side with the guitars and he brings Deathrace King to the next level with his powerful screams. Both Marko Tervonen and Marcus Sunesson do a flawless job on guitars, mastering all types of riffs, shredding and solos. Janne Saarenpää does an amazing job on drums. He's mostly supporting, but nearly manages to take the spotlight. His presence doesn't feel forced, his constant contributions is a major part of the rhythm and he's the backbone of the machine. I think it was a good idea to tune down the drums a bit, so he doesn't exhaust the listener. The bass is not really audible except in some parts of the songs, like in the hooks, in which Magnus Olsfelt is assisting with highlighting important parts and making them heavier. I wouldn't mind more audible bass to be honest.

All in all, Deathrace King is a great album which may respond better when you're in a light headed mood and want to have a "cheap" thrill. It lacks a dimension of "wisdom", but I suppose you can argue that is not what they're going for with this kind of music. I still think there's something missing. Whether you agree or not on the last statement, there's no doubt The Crown has succeeded in making an overall solid, fun and speed freaky metal album.