Density usually follows with black metal records, from the lo-fi recordings of the late 70’s to early 80’s. The overarching layers of pure wretched clothing and imagery, or the manipulation factor on creating something that feels truly evil; THRON is no stranger. They can create these otherworldly uses of strings and percussion, not to mention their vocal aspect which is both haunting as it is intriguing. The band is a coalition and enigma machine that correlates the best ideas into one giant squid of moving parts.
Opening the zenith with “Beyond The Gates”, THRON quickly displays this sense of vigor behind their music. From the stage presence which takes a similar approach to a macabre painting, and the intense and prolific sense of spacing and pacing within the tracks; “Beyond The Gates” is a perfect introduction to the madness behind THRON. The artists rapidly push to establish a lush background of multi-layered instrumentation that makes a winter night feel even more frigid. It is similar in the way that THRON operates as they are incredibly tight as a grouping, adapting perfect syncopation within their writing and music.
As the guitar solos and outliers start to show themselves within the following track, “Under A Bloodred Sky” is a continual blast of punches to the gut where THRON controls the system and makes the rules. They are the overlords as the wails and screams of the thrash influenced guitar that is stiff and almost robotic controls the listener. The guitar solos however are these rancid blasts that jump through the synchronization and instead opt for more of a flowing piece of work. They are great additions to the sound, allowing the space to mold more in the favor of THRON, giving the listener almost a hypnotic state of freedom.
Most of the selections on Abysmal are longer than five minutes with only two reaching under. As longer instances of track length allow for the punishing to commence in a similar format of black metal where the tracks stem into the double digits often times. Having longer movements is a positive push for THRON as their tune is already immensely engaging, but they never seem to tire or become repetitive. Instead, the band produces and rides through the flames before coming to the finale of the project.
As the guitar chimes in to illustrate the closing of the book on THRON, their darkened journey is about to be completed. They take the listener through an engaging display of the harsh hells and the warm glows of elegance within just shy of an hour. They may look disturbing and hold ugliness with their vague masks, but their music is as impressive as the cloaks they war to dissipate into the shadows.