Monument of Death

After spending years toiling around in various death and black metal bands, Norwegian madman Tchort has started Blood Red Throne. Combining the lightning-fast chugging of vintage Slayer with the audio assault of Emperor, Blood Red Throne writes brutal, memorable metal that never loses its focus as it plows through nine vicious cuts. The production by Endre Kirkesola is very impressive, bringing to mind Scott Burns' work with Obituary or Andy Wallace's work with Slayer. Especially impressive is "Children Shall Endure," a savage cut that showcases their awesome riffing abilities. The only real problems lie in Mr. Hustler, the lead vocalist. His one-dimensional grunts and belches detract from the awesome music, making songs that would almost be catchy in the hands of a more talented singer start to sound dull and repetitive. Not that the band writes lyrics that are really that impressive, most of the songs are either murder fantasies or anti-church anthems. But the difference between a band like this and a band like Slayer is that Slayer delivers its message in an easy-to-understand fashion, where the vocals make this much more difficult to swallow. Still, fans of the genre should know that Blood Red Throne has definitely got the right sound and great riffs, and for that alone they deserve credit.