The Crown (band)
| The Crown | |
|---|---|
 Promo picture |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Thrash metal , death metal |
| founding | 1990 as Crown of Thorns, 1998 as The Crown, 2009 |
| resolution | 2004 |
| Founding members | |
| Johan Lindstrand (until 2001, 2002-2004, since 2011) | |
| Marko Tervonen | |
| Robert Österberg (until 1993) | |
| Magnus Olsfelt | |
| Janne Saarenpää | |
| Current occupation | |
| Johan Lindstrand (until 2001, 2002-2004, since 2011) | |
| Marko Tervonen | |
| Robin Sörqvist (since 2013) | |
| Magnus Olsfelt | |
| Janne Saarenpää | |
| former members | |
guitar |
Robert Österberg (1990-1993) |
singing |
Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg (2001-2002) |
singing |
Jonas Stålhammar (2009-2011) |
guitar |
Marcus Sunesson (1993-2013) |
The Crown is a Swedish thrash - / death metal - band from Trollhättan .
Band history
The Crown was founded in 1990 as Crown of Thorns by Johan Lindstrand (vocals), Marko Tervonen (guitar), Robert Österberg (guitar), Magnus Olsfelt (bass) and Janne Saarenpää (drums). Even before the second demo Forget the Light was recorded, guitarist Robert Österberg left the band and was replaced by Marcus Sunesson.
The band eventually signed with Black Sun Records and released the debut album The Burning (1995), the Slayer cover Mandatory Suicide and the second album Eternal Death (1997). In July 1997, the band had to change their name to The Crown, as an American band had already secured the rights to the name Crown of Thorns.
In January and February 1998 the band went on tour under the new name and aroused the interest of an employee of Metal Blade Records . After signing a contract and appearing at several festivals in the summer of 1998, the band released their third studio album, Hell Is Here, in 1999. To promote the album, the band went on the No Mercy Tour III, which also included an appearance at the Wacken Open Air . In June 1999 the band recorded the Bathory cover Burnin 'Leather at Los Angered Studios in Gothenburg for the sampler Power from the North - Sweden Rocks the World , which was released in 2000; Andy LaRoque produced the song . In the winter of 1999 the band recorded their fourth album Deathrace King in Studio Fredman , with guest musicians such as Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg ( Skitsystem , At the Gates ) and Mika Luttinen ( Impaled Nazarene ) taking part . During the recording several members of the band fell ill, so that the recording time was more than two months instead of the planned three weeks. In early 2001 singer Johan Lindstrand got out and was replaced by Lindberg. After performing at festivals in the summer, the band recorded their fifth album Crowned in Terror , which was released on April 8, 2002. Together with Darkest Hour , The Crown went on a US tour; after this, Lindberg was released from the band, but according to the biography he wanted to leave them too, so that the end of the collaboration was mutual. Since the band was still booked for some festivals, they took on Johan Lindstrand again and thus restored their founding line-up.
After smaller tours in Finland and Italy as well as a two-week tour of Europe, the band recorded their last regular studio album in May 2003, which was written on the occasion of their thirteen years of existence, contained thirteen songs and was accordingly given the title Possessed 13 .
On March 7, 2004, the band announced their breakup. As a farewell, the band re- recorded Crowned in Terror and released it under the title Crowned Unholy . The vocals on Crowned Unholy were sung by Johan Lindstrand and the bass tracks were also re-recorded. The album was remastered and mixed with it. In addition, a bonus DVD was included, which includes a complete concert in Karlsruhe .
In the summer of 2004 Johan Lindstrand formed a new band called One Man Army and the Undead Quartet , which he gave up in 2012 in favor of The Crown.
In 2006 the Crown DVD 14 Years of No Tomorrow was released .
On December 1st, 2009 the band announced their reunion on their homepage. The new singer was Jonas Stålhammar (God Macabre, Macabre End, Abhoth), who had previously played with the rest of the members of the Dobermann band. On September 24th, the new album Doomsday King was released with this .
In autumn 2011 Jonas Stålhammar was replaced by Johan Lindstrand again. The band is now back to its old line-up. In 2015 the album Death Is Not Dead was released . The next album Cobra Speed Venom was released in March 2018.
Music style and lyrics
The Crown's music is an aggressive mix of a more melodic take on Death Metal and Thrash Metal . In Petrified , their first demo recording, Forever Heaven Gone, was described as "really brutal Swedish Death Metal" that didn't have the typical Swedish sound known from bands like Entombed and Dismember . On the contrary, their aggressive style with heavy riffs and deep powerful vocals has been compared to Florida Death Metal . According to the band themselves, the style of the second demo recording, Forget the Light, was described as a perfect blend of American and Scandinavian styles.
The lyrics are about "diabolical [r] blasphemy , [...] death, darkness, destruction, revolution, war, drugs, sex, black magic and of course rock´n´roll ". Metalion described The Crown as "a less philosophical, unyielding Thrash band", so their song about Jon Nödtveidt from Dissection and the murder he was involved in, which Nödtveidt was not stamped but more of a tribute to him, was interesting . Volkmar Weber from Legacy described it as surprising, “the depth of the lyrics, as they are initially hidden behind rather flat metal 'in-the-face' cliché hammers such as 'Blitzkrieg Witchcraft', 'Total Satan' or if you like 'Executioner - Slayer Of The Light' - profound insights and attitudes towards life of people who know what they are saying ”.
Discography
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Demos
- Forever Heaven Gone (1993 as Crown of Thorns)
- Forget the Light (1994 as Crown of Thorns)
Studio albums
- The Burning (1995 as Crown of Thorns)
- Eternal Death (1997 as Crown of Thorns)
- Hell Is Here (1999)
- Deathrace King (2000)
- Crowned in Terror (2002)
- Possessed 13 (2003)
- Crowned Unholy (2004)
- Doomsday King (2010)
- Death Is Not Dead (2015)
- Cobra Speed Venom (2018)
Sampler contributions
- Mandatory Suicide on Slatanic Slaughter (1995 as Crown of Thorns)
- Arise on Sepultural Feast - A Tribute to Sepultura (1998)
- Burnin 'Leather ( Bathory Cover) on Power from the North - Sweden Rocks the World (2000)
Video albums
- 14 Years of No Tomorrow (2006)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b THE CROWN sign worldwide deal with Century Media Records .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h the History ... so far .
- ↑ Various artists: Power from the North - Sweden Rocks the World , Digital Dimension 2000.
- ↑ a b c d Volkmar Weber: The Crown ( Memento of the original from May 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Legacy , No. 6, accessed September 27, 2012.
- ^ THE CROWN ( Memento from January 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ).
- ^ BIOGRAPHY ( Memento from June 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
- ^ The Crown - Official ( Memento December 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ Thomas: The Crown - Complete again: Johan Lindstrand is back ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Crown of Thorns- "Forever Heaven Gone" demo '93 . In: Petrified 'Zine , No. 2, Winter 1993, p. 28.
- ^ Jon Kristiansen : Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries . Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, p. 435.
- ↑ Chart sources: Sweden / Germany / Switzerland
Web links
- The band website (English)
- The Crown at Metal Blade
- The Crown at Discogs (English)