Saturday 14 October 2023

DEATHCHANT - Thrones (Album Review)

Release Date: October 13th 2023. Record Label: RidingEasy Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Thrones - Tracklisting

1.Canyon

2.Thrones

3.Mirror 

4.Mother Mary

5.Chariot

6.Hoax

7.Earth

8.Tomb


Members


T.J. Lemieux - Vocals/Guitar

George Camacho - Bass

Doug Stuckey - Guitar

Joe Herzog - Drums


Review


Sludge/Stoner Metallers DEATHCHANT return with their mighty impressive third album Thrones and it sees the band offer their Thin Lizzy sludgy outlook with a more gloomier presence whilst still maintaining their sweet-natured grooves heard on their previous albums. The album is built upon an impressive array of classic Heavy Rock sounds with the muscular attitude of The Melvins in certain places. DEATHCHANT play with an aggressive and speedy Punk Rock attitude which you can hear on the early stages of the album on tracks such as Canyon, Thrones and Mirror. 


The Psychedelic Doomed out presence of the album also offers a more personal record from DEATHCHANT with the gloomy emotionally charged lyrics contained throughout. Some moments do see the band drift into more Post-Rock or Post-Stoner based territory especially on the more mellower elements of the album whilst still offering a cool subtle style of sludgy riffs that build upto a heavier flow.


DEATHCHANT never ceases to amaze me at how many different styles of Classic Hard Rock they include on all of their albums whilst merging with the trippy Sludge/Stoner Metal grooves and that have a remarkably fresh vibe with subtle hints of epic storytelling heard within the lyrics. There’s a more dominant DOOM ROCK sound appearing on the later stages of the record on tracks such as Mother Mary, Hoax and the final standout track Tomb. 


With the classic dual guitars of T.J. Lemieux and Doug Stuckey provide that classic THIN LIZZY inspired sound where the exciting instrumental jams appear. Drummer Joe Herzog and Bassist George Camacho also deserve their fair share of the plaudits with the impressive work by laying down the groundwork for T.J. and Doug to work upon. As Joe and Doug make an outstanding rhythm section which gives DEATHCHANT their powerful Heavy Rock sound.


Thrones also benefits from fabulous production values with T.J. producing along with ace sound engineer Steve Schroeder. DEATHCHANT hit upon some serious themes on this album that gives their album a more mature sound. However, despite the gloominess of the album DEATHCHANT still plays epic amounts of uplifting Sludge/Stoner Metal that lives long in the memory once the album ends.


Thrones is DEATHCHANT’s best album to date and allows dedicated followers of the band to have another Album Of The Year contender lay upon them. Awesome stuff.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to RidingEasy Records for the promo.


Thrones is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via RidingEasy Records.


Links


Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram