Throneum - Deathcult Conspiracy

Image by CultMetal Review by Anthony Abboreno

Throneum pursue Death Metal until it becomes fulfilling in itself. Blasphemy, grue, and punkish riffs are their own justification. Don’t look to the lyrics for philosophical insight. Don’t listen to the music for technical inspiration. The content is stupidity and ugliness, with no moral lessons to give. It is also phenomenally enjoyable. Scrape your head against a wall. Listen until your brains turn to slime.

His Shadow

The relentlessness of Throneum is part of their appeal. Their latest, Deathcult Conspiracy (Pagan, 2009), is gloriously unrevolutionary. If anything, the writing is less adventurous than on their last full-length, Deathmass of the Gravedancer, although the songs avoid keeping with too staid a formula. Witness the winding melody that opens “Abyss of the Underground” or the military-march drum solo in the doomy “His Shadow.” Touches like this keep the album from getting stale, even as it toes a steady line.

Whereas Deathmass was murky and dark, Deathcult is sticky with blood. The instruments come through separately and clearly, the bass guitar pulses, the kick drums splat. Tomasz Hanuszklewicz shouts lyrics that are more potent for their refusal to be clever: “Stakes of grotesque heads / With cut dicks in mouths / The holy church.” They feel crude and spontaneous, like the invective that runs through your head before you put a face on it to keep the peace.

Other bands also toe this protoplasmic, Possessed and Scream Bloody Gore-influenced line. But, along with Nunslaughter, Throneum are one of the style’s more distinctive proponents. Deathcult Conspiracy is neither exceptional nor disappointing, and that’s just fine.