The best elements from their past mixed in with some new blood

In comparison to many of the Swedish bands that have flooded our ears, The Crown are somewhat unique in their own way by not going with the trends and sticking to their formula of death infused thrash metal.

After an elongated hiatus and a lineup change with new frontman Jonas Stålhammar (God Macabre), they are back and sound as pissed off, angry and intense as they were in their prime.

Listening to Doomsday King, you would think that the band members had been frozen in ice since their hiatus as the material carries off from when they left off. Tracks such as “Angel Of Death 1839”, “Soul Slasher”, “Desolation Domain” and “…To Light” have the same musical/vocal intensity and drive that the band had during their peak Deathrace King period. There is a bit of a doom/groove side in tracks like “The Tempter and the Bible Black” and “Blood O.D” which makes for something different, but for the most part The Crown sticks to what they know.
From a performance perspective, the band sounds tighter than ever, the riffage is fast and furious, the drum work is tight and precise.

Having to fill the shoes of the former vocalist Johan Lindstrand (now of One Man Army and the Undead Quartet) would have been no easy feat and would have been quite intimidating. New vocalist Stålhammar transcends all of that and delivers an excellent performance paying respect to Lindstrand’s style while putting his own mark on The Crown’s sound.

The biggest gripe with Doomsday King is that the bulk of the songs sound like carbon copies of each other. It seems like the majority of the songs have the same riffs and the same drum patterns and this tends to make things a bit tedious. If this was over a song or two, it would not be as irritating but when spread over the bulk of the 45 minute timeframe, it tends to wear thin. That said, songs such as the aforementioned “The Tempter and the Bible Black” and “Blood O.D” do bring something different to the table and break up the continuity albeit temporarily as the same old riffs and beats rear their heads for it to drag on once again.

Despite its repetitive nature, Doomsday King is quite a solid release from The Crown and contains some of the best elements from their past mixed in with some new blood to show some of the young guns how it is done. If you were a fan, you will find something to enjoy within and if you are an interested listener, listen to Deathrace King or Crowned In Terror to introduce yourself before listening to Doomsday King.

1. Doomsday King
2. Angel of Death 1839
3. Age of Iron
4. The Tempter and the Bible Black
5. Soul Slasher
6. Blood OD
7. Through Eyes of Oblivion
8. Desolation Domain
9. From Ashes I Shall Return
10. He Who Rises in Might – From Darkness to Light