ALBUM REVIEW: Throneless, "Cycles"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/04/2018

Label: Black Bow Records

Throneless do not break any musical barriers on “Cycles” but their mastery of riffcraft and ability to create massive, awe-inspiring compositions sets them high above the competition.

“Cycles” DD//LP track listing:

1). Born In Vain

2). Cycles

3). Senseless

4). Oracle

The Review:

Right from the opening subsonic bass rumble, you know you are in safe hands with Throneless. The Malmö trio’s new LP “Cycles” is a master class in monumental sludged-up doom bathed in a cosmic glow.

“Born In Vain” immobilises the listener with a ten minute onslaught of crushing riffs, each one striving to reach a higher plane of heavy perfection. The reverb-laden vocals and hazy atmosphere recall the rural horror of Electric Wizard’s “Dopethrone” recast as a science fiction epic. After this pulverising introduction, the title track initially offers some respite. Beginning as a laid back jam, there is an almost optimistic mood reminiscent of Colour Haze at their most blissed-out. It’s not long until Throneless unleash the full power of their earth-shaking backline once more, taking the track into lumbering Torche style thunder pop territory.

The second half of “Cycles” shifts towards slower tempos with an increase in punishing heaviness. This metamorphosis reaches its peak with the gargatuan “Oracle”. Over the space of fifteen glorious minutes, Throneless gradually build a sonic fortress of epic proportions from huge slabs of dense riffage worthy of Bongripper.   

Throneless do not break any musical barriers on “Cycles” but their mastery of riffcraft and ability to create massive, awe-inspiring compositions sets them high above the competition. This is a hypnotic trip that will have you coming back for more throughout 2018.

“Cycles” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Throneless - "Throneless" (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 25/10/2015

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds

The overall sound is powerful, creating a real sense of dread and has some really dark passages to it. If you are waiting for the next Conan record and fancy some Swedish doom, then check this one out for sure. It is powerful and dark and a fine debut by anyone's standards.

“Throneless” CD//DD//LP track listing

1). Masters Of Nothing

2). Cavedrones

3). Thinning The Herd

4). Reaching For The Dead

Throneless is:

Johan Burman | drums

Johan Sundén | guitar

Patrik Sundberg | bass

The Review:

Swedish doom/stoner/drone in the vein of a less aggressive but equally rumbling Conan- that just about sums this one up. The sound is incredibly low, the playing very slow and the whole effect is one of depth.

“Masters of Nothing” kicks things off with a medium paced (for the genre, that is) dirge. The vocals are distant and mixed well back, drenched in reverb. It would be true to say that a little of this stuff goes a long way, and the record features four tracks with nothing under eight minutes in length. With the song lengths and number of tracks the band has it spot on. No need to aim for an 80 minute playing time, just set up a groove, let it become hypnotic and thrown in a change or stop section every now and then. There is an arcane art to this type of stuff and the atmosphere combined with the groove is what the genre lives and dies by.

“Cavedrones” sounds exactly like, well, a droning doom metal band playing in a cave. Very slow, very heavy. To be totally objective, I am not a huge fan of the thudding snare sound (which was apparently recorded in a bucket in a separate room to the rest of the kit), but this is nit picking. The overall sound is powerful and appropriate. “Thinning The Herd” creates a real sense of dread (the longer the note... the more dread!) and has some really dark passages to it.

To cap things off, “Reaching For The Dead” creates a rather melancholy mood with its (gasp!) clean guitar opening and this is a very welcome addition to the record, bringing as it does a sense of light and shade. The rest of the track is probably the standout cut on the album for me- it's dark and plodding with a wistful feel and a great vibe.

If you are waiting for the next Conan record and fancy some Swedish doom, then check this one out for sure. It is powerful and dark and a fine debut by anyone's standards.

“Throneless” is available here

FFO: Conan, Slomatics, Slabdragger, Foehammer

Band info: Facebook | Bandcamp