Formed in Poland 1996, THRONEUM is cranking out yet another lesson in grotesque brutality. "The Tight Deathrope Act Over Rubicon" is slated for release June 29, 2018, via Hells Head Bangers Records. This is, from what I've gathered, the bands' 13th album, some unofficial websites indicate other releases that bring the total to 16, but again that is unconfirmed. They also have shared split releases totaling 18. That is roughly 31 releases. THRONEUM is a music making machine. Staying true to their raw delivery of satanic blackened death metal, THRONEUM is not showing any signs of deviation from the same path in which they originated. This will be a hardcore fans delight. There are plenty of blast beats and throaty gargled mid-range between death metal growls and black metal screams. There are some interesting riff progressions and scales that alternate in speed as they work their way up and back down. Occasional clean guitar parts are as dark as fog consuming a mossy forest floor at dusk.

The album's title track has captured the pure essence of dark, gloomy, sticky, sound of terror. As the vocals enter the track I am reminded of early TIAMAT. I almost swore I was listening to "Sumerian Cry." The breaks and changes in the song show a great band dynamic. However, the verses just seem like a wall of garage band noise. The vocalist is a little behind in his cues. And when in doubt, the drummer just snare hits at the speed the kicks should be at. I was very excited to hear "Enochian Lexicon." Enochian being a language that was spoken to medium Edward Kelley and written about by John Dee, although he referred to them as being "angelic." While it was never really connected to Satanism it was attached to the practice of magic and considered occult. A very interesting topic. Which I do admit I find admirable when death or black metal bands refer to topics other than the regurgitated limbs flying and blood splattering. The music itself is nothing special to explore the topic too. It's more of the same garage band noise on cheap instruments and bad production quality. But this seems to be the preference of THRONEUM. "To Mega Therion" is the most promising track. A little experimental in the changes going from their brand of extremity to an almost jazz bass with a doom pace and a de-tuned guitar playing slow high pitched horror sounds. The diversity of this track sticks out form all of the others. Considering the release of so many albums kinda raises an eyebrow to any contractual obligations or pay off rather than an eat breath sleep create music kind of motivation. Makes me wonder how often songs are rehearsed before recorded. "To Mega Therion" sounds very well-rehearsed and shaped into perfection. Despite the bad audio quality, it's definitely going to be a part of my playlist.

There are no other real shining moments. It's got amateur death metal drums, the guitars have some potential in their direction as they are not just palm muted speed picking or chugging. Some of the leads are fast as hell and seem to have an actual purpose in their contributions. Again, it's bad quality audio that buries any possibility of hearing a melodic direction. The vocals are not growled or screamed, rather yelled in the same repetitive key. I did expect a little more considering that these guys have been around long enough to be veterans at their craft. But when you are dedicated to the cause of maintaining a level of (insert the word and then end it with "core") strict brutality, I guess progressing or thinking outside of the box isn't on your to-do list.
For their loyal fans who embrace what they love and will consider anything else as selling out or being a pussy, THRONEUM delivers exactly what you'd expect.