Thron

ABYSMAL

LISTENABLE ENHANCED 90S SWEDISH BLACK/ DEATH REVIVAL Many have tried to recapture the fragile yet mesmerising balance of brutality and blazing melodies the Swedes perfected in the mid90s, with Dissection’s Storm Of The Light’s Bane as their guiding light. Somehow the Germans have always been good at this game, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that although they wish to remain anonymous, Thron are from the Black Forest

area. What does come as a surprise is how the lead guitar plays a big role here, taking those trademarked black/death epics to new heights, as if Dissection’s late Jon Nödtveidt had drawn lessons from Katatonia’s early mournful style. Housed in suggestive artwork that would doubtless have gotten an approving nod from HR Giger, Abysmal’s tasteful, streamlined overall sound puts it in a class of its own, even if the source of its inspiration is fairly easy to trace.

FOR FANS OF: DISSECTION, NECROPHOBIC, EARLY KATATONIA

OLIVIER BADIN