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The Crown > Deathrace King > Reviews > goflotsam
The Crown - Deathrace King

I'm ripping the flesh, and eating the young - 100%

goflotsam, December 19th, 2019

The Crown are one of those Swedish death metal bands I'm not as familiar with as opposed to say, At the Gates, which will be mentioned a lot in this. I'll be reviewing Deathrace King, the fourth full-length by this band and the second under "The Crown" moniker. This album displays a death/thrash style with the death metal part leaning more towards melodic death metal. But don't let that style of music fool you, Deathrace King is actually one of the best albums in its genre.

The Crown's style of death/thrash is well-displayed on opening track "Deathexplosion", an immediate highlight that contains some of the catchiest guitar riffs in the genre. It contains a guitar solo that makes At the Gates look soft in comparison. The other big highlight on Deathrace King is "Back from the Grave", which reminds me of a song from one of the Guilty Gear soundtracks. I like to jokingly call it Testament meets Dark Tranquillity. Another notable track is "Devil Gate Ride", which features Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates, who would eventually perform lead vocals on the followup to this album, Crowned in Terror. In terms of the song, the musicianship reminded me of racing games such as Need for Speed.

It's a good comparison since the guitar play on Deathrace King sounds like if itwas made for something like Ridge Racer. However, regarding the guitar play itself, the riffs are instantly catchy and the solos are short and technical, the way I like it. For example "I Won''t Follow" begins with a solo that lasts 15 seconds, whereas jokes like DragonForce will do solos for two or three minutes. The drumming on Deathrace King is heavily inspired by Slayer and early Sepultura, as displayed on songs like "Executioner - Slayer of the Light". As a fan of thrash metal, it's rather cool that there's bands that mix thrash with melodic death metal. If I had to describe Johan Lindstrand's vocal influences on here, it would be a cross between Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates) and Jeff Walker (Carcass). Not surprised that he's influenced by the two most important melodeath frontmen in the genre.

As a guy who's got a soft spot for melodic death metal and thrash metal, Deathrace King is undeniably a treat. With a soundtrack that's literally designed for driving to, it contains all of the best elements of its genre and delivers listeners with non-stop guitar play. Speaking of guitars, I've seen lists of "Top X Guitar Albums of All Time" online, and I personally think this is a quality guitar album. And if anyone knows me, I always love the guitar play in metal. Deathrace King is a masterpiece from the start line all the way to the finish line.