Possessed 13

I usually detect a bunch of praise relating to "Possessed 13" when cruising through the scrotum of the internet; some saying it's a modern death metal masterpiece and one of the best records The Crown ever made, before and after the name change, which is a bit shocking to me. Up to this point in their career, The Crown had achieved a surplus of accomplishments with "Deathrace King," survived (maybe thrived?) from a singer change, and finally made a goddamn impact in death metal as a whole. "Possessed 13," however, is a stern decline in overall content compared to the band's previous efforts and rocketing expectations, perhaps due to an onset of time and declining influences. Although things are okey-dokey, perhaps that's the biggest problem: things are just okey-dokey.

Probably the most enthralling detail about "Possessed 13" is that the record demonstrates a collection of both old and new genetics that defined the band throughout thirteen years of death metal; not a regression into their straight-up Gothenburg days, but interestingly a modern death metal approach, mainly in unison with the stuff they were writing at the time. The main riff on "Zombified!" for instance comes right from a tape song originally found on The Crown's first demo and makes up a multitude of the song's final slab, which isn't bad by any means. I guess a lot of the old-school ideas The Crown created at this point present a lot of destructive, prototypical remnants of the Swedish death metal scene captured throughout something like "No Tomorrow," but with a lot of recent chromosomes obtained through the years of the band's violent evolution, for better in some cases and worse in others.

The topical usage of modern characteristics, however, clearly limits The Crown's ability to create another "Deathrace King," or at least progress their style in a positive manor. I often feel that although a lot of these songs are good, they aren't loaded with mutilating riffs or such devastation as their older material enthroned, and that definitely damages a band like The Crown from the core. Every track has some sort of chorus which isn't bad per se, yet it does limit the kind of territory the group works with, constricting a lot of potential climaxing moments into commonplace flops. Kind of like a death metal Event Horizon: everything is fine at first, but then.....nothing happens.

And unlike the six previous records The Crown recorded amidst a singer change, name swap, and sound switch, "Possessed 13" has material that doesn't do the job at all, and in some cases, flat out blows. "Cold is the Grave" basically slows down any legitimacy the first three tracks created with a tedious intro, awkward tempos, poor song structuring, and generally bland death metal. "Dawn of Emptiness" is a boring, plastic concussion of mid-paced Morbid Angel worship barbed in generic riffs, generic percussion, generic vocals, and generic trivialities; it's by far one of the worst thing they've ever written.

But don't let my cynicism fool you into thinking "Possessed 13" isn't worth a listen; there are still a staggering number of phenomenal cuts throughout the CD. My favorite is definitely "Kill 'em All," a tribulation of Burton-era Metallica worship sliced and diced in The Crown's own unique recipe of head-banging riffs and violence, resulting in thrashy madness at its finest. "Morningstar Rising" has a great chorus with pinch-harmonics that could make Zakk Wylde cum in his pants, "Are you Morbid?" has monster riffs played at a monster tempo, and "Natashead Overdrive" just fucking slays, although the lyrics are a little goofy:

"RAINBOW SATAN OVERLOAD!"

Right.....

The real deal-sealer for this one goes to the band's chemistry, which is so comfortable and strong that it feels like nothing ever changed after Johan Lindstand left and eventually returned: his growls are absolutely lethal at all levels, both Marko and Marcus issue a blasting slaughter of zesty riffs and ripping solos, Magnus' bass is well-balanced throughout, and Janne Saarenpää relies heavily on inhuman percussion which is furthermore brought to the table. My other worries are basically forlorn to what has already been stated, because as I said, the songs are good, but can't reach that ladder to Valhalla simply because this material doesn't become anything more than that. "Possessed 13," however, still remains an album I like to listen to semi-frequently despite it being the weakest (methinks) offering these drunken, slobbering rockers of death created. If you like the band, definitely check this one out.

I've always been a huge fan of The Crown and especially the Lindstrand material, so I was of course psyched about hearing his return to the ranks. At first I was a bit bummed by "Possessed 13" as I found it slightly..well..non-intense.

The band had hyped it as a return to their evil days. But rather than being evil, many songs on this album are incredibly catchy. It certainly sounds a lot more like "Deathrace King" than "Eternal Death". Of course it's not as much of a speedfest as "Deathrace.." was, but it's certainly comparable at times. Songs like "Deliverance", "Cold Is The Grave" and the thrashy Metallica tribute "Kill 'Em All" carry the same kind of Death 'N Roll vibe as the deathrace had. There's also a fair share of groove incorporated in the sound this time around. Sometimes it works and sometimes it gets too much.

One truly positive thing with this one in comparison to "Crowned In Terror" is of course Johan Lindstrand's vocals. This guy fucking owns, and he proves it time and time again. I've rarely heard any growler sound so clear without losing balls, attitude and power.

What does bring "Possessed 13" down a bit is that the albums level of intensity drops during the second half. At least kinda. Some songs, like the mid-paced "Bow To None" simply lacks their usual drive and power and become plodding in an almost Gothenburgish way. I also believe a couple of tracks lack coherency between the instruments and vocals. "Morningstar Rising", while being a clear attempt at being heavy, just doesn't carry much flow at all.

So, now it's time for my conclusion. This CD is not in any way one of this bands crowning achievements. It's just a whole lot of fun at times while lacking consistency. There some really good parts and there's a whole lot of okay parts.The fact that the first four songs on the album are the best is just something that I'll have to accept and live with.

Johan Lindstrand is back!!! For anyone who owns the prior Crown albums that news announcement was more than enough to convince you that yes, the new album would kick major ass. Now that I've bought it and listened to it quite a few times, I'm definitely not disappointed.

The Crown have gone back a bit, back to Deathrace King. This album sounds more like the rightful successor to that album. Crowned in Terror, while still a great album, didn't have as much of the thrash and punk influence of Deathrace King and Hell is Here. Possessed 13 picks up where Johan left off with the band.

The album is broken down into 3 different sections, Initiation, Exaltation, and Annihilation. My favorite section is probably Exaltation which is where my 2 favorite songs are: "Kill 'em All" and "Natashead Overdrive". Yes, that 's right. There's a song called "Kill 'em All" as a tribute to Metallica, as well as a song called "Are You Morbid?" written as a tribute to Celtic Frost . Both "Kill 'em All" and "Natashead Overdrive" are the most all out thrash songs, which is probably why I like them the best ha ha.

The songs on this album pretty much fit into two categories, fast thrashers and mid-paced crunchy chanting songs. I've always enjoyed the slight punk influence The Crown have added into many of their songs and it shows up more on this album than the last one, making the songs definitely more memorable.

This is definitely fighting for my favorite of the year. An ass kicker all the way through! The album can currently be found as a normal and deluxe edition which includes early demo material.

I was not huge on Crowned In Terror. While it had some standout cuts (title track, Under the Whip, Death is the Hunter, Satanist), as a whole I found it a little less gripping, favoring melody over intensity. This album partly remedies that problem, and partly worsens it. First of all, this is definitely a heavier, faster, and more brutal album than Crowned In Terror or Deathrace King (the latter of which is still my favorite release of theirs). From the opener, we have the making of another solid Crown album as No Tomorrow starts with a fast riff, then the drums kick in, the guitars double and bass joins them, and Johan lets loose a scream on top of raging double bass. You know what band you're listening to at this point. As usual, Janne's drumming is downright inhuman, most people probably agree with me when I say he's one of the fastest drummers in metal. The snare could be a little louder, but overall his drums sound great. Solos are melodic, harmonized, and classily-written as usual. Johan's vocals are his usual screams, no messing around with half-assed clean vox here like most Gothenburg bands. They fortunately steer clear of all that bullshit, Satan bless 'em. The second song, "Face of Destruction/Deep Hit of Death" has a simple but cool little riff, although it gets kind of repetitive because they ride the riff a lot but it's not as catchy as it could be or something. Hard to explain, but it's a cool song never the less. Then comes "Deliverance", my favorite song on the album. This sucker is just riff after monstrous fucking riff, just the way I like it-just check out how that riff just after the one minute mark gets all thrashy at 1:15-GREAT shit. 'DELIVERANCE! THE SOUL EXPLODES!' Now we're talking. And right after this, they bust out another badass riff at 1:32. It's nonstop goodness here, I love it. The death metal-oriented "Morningstar Rising" is another good one, which starts out with blast beats galore, then quickly segues into a thrashing riff/double bass driving unison beast, and then the chorus hits you with a squealing, almost Gorguts-reminiscent riff. Sick soloing too, as usual. The band is definitely trying new stuff on this release, and it's sounding good to these ears. The album proceeds in similar fashion, with some songs less memorable than others, but overall some real quality death/thrash material here. Other highlights include the propulsive "Natashead Overdrive" (another favorite of mine) and the speedfest "Zombiefied", which must be shitloads of fun to scream along to live. I also love on this one how during the guitar solo, Johan screams alternating between the left and right channels "ZOMBIE! ZOMBIE!" Good stuff. We close out with the last real song in "Dawn of Emptiness" which has a quirky little riff that gets catchier the more you listen to it. Not as good a closer as "Killing Star" from Deathrace King, but suitable nonetheless, and full of death metal goodness a la "Death Metal Holocaust" from Crowned In Terror. Seems they're favoring heavier closers now, which is fine by me. I'm not a big fan of the slower instrumental interludes occasionally appearing on the album, but hey, that's what skip buttons are for. In short, worth checking out if you dig the band but were slightly disappointed by Crowned In Terror.

The high standard of quality Metal that The Crown is known for was not lowered by any means on this latest release. “Posessed 13” rushes forth with ripping guitars (Marko Tervonen, Marcus Sunesson), wicked drums (Janne Saarenpää) and a nice treat for older The Crown fans: vocalist Johan Lindstrand is back! And he does a kickass job (no surprise). To be truthful, the album took a little while for me to get into, but now that I am into it, it’s damned enjoyable; I rarely skip any tracks. The melodies and lyrics alike are engaging, while the awesome writing is substantiated by, as I said, a great line-up.

“Posessed 13” (so called because of its thirteen tracks as well as its place as the band’s thirteenth release) is sort of a tribute to themselves as well as an explanation of what they’re all about. If you like what they’re about—pick this record up and get to know them even better! There’s a running theme of a horror show, as is displayed in the lyrics as well as the amazing CD jacket (even if you won’t agree with my support-the-artists thing, at least for the sake of the artwork, no downloading!).

The album starts off with about a minute of horror-movie-esque sounds, which leads into “No Tomorrow”—this one builds up nicely—a good song, a strong opener, but in my opinion the album gets better as it goes on. “Face of Destruction—Deep Hit of Death” ensues, which is a step up. Same goes for track three, “Deliverance.” The next score, “Cold is the Grave” stood out to me as way better than the first three—plus I love the guitar solo. One of my very favorites on the album is the following, “Dream Bloody Hell,” which is the first of two instrumentals. It’s perfectly placed on the album—this mesmerizing track falls around the middle of the album, serving as a well needed break from the speed and heaviness of the rest of the album. This one has some more of those horror movie sounds thrown in there too, although oddly enough it wasn’t until the second or third time that I listened to this song that I actually noticed. Anyhow—I have this thing for music that is repetitive and heavy. You know those songs that are really hypnotic—this is one of them. It’s also one of the only tracks that gave me an emotional reaction…

To resume the brutal mood is “Morningstar Rising,” which is an awesome song. My other favorites are “Are you Morbid?” “Bow To None” and the last two, which have that same mesmerizing quality…In particular the concluding instrumental, “In Memoriam.” The only song I really don’t like is “Kill ‘Em All.” I guess it’s just boring, nothing new; but the other songs are amazing. Look out for the editions with bonus tracks (demos, etc). Fun, fun. Aside from a couple dull moments, “Posessed 13” is amazing! Go get it!

Let me begin by saying that "Crowned in Terror" is one fucking brutal album, and one of my favorites. Lightning fast, with excellent vocals from Tomas Lindberg, a true master of brutality.

And then... there is Possessed 13. My first turn off? No Lindberg, and the return of Johan Lindstrand (who really is just a mediocre screamer, in my opinion). There are some great riffs throughout, but this album lacks the speed that marks the intensity of Crowned in Terror. The drumming is also much more midpaced. Overall, the pace of this album reminds me more of Gothenburg- less intensity, a great deal more melody.

Not a bad thing, right? Wrong. Gone are the diverse riffs, and mind blowing solos. This album has a bit of the monotone syndrome. If you're going to go Gothenburg, at least be diverse about it...

Overall, this isn't a bad album. It certainly has some great lyrics (though a tad over the top), and it's something to nod your head to. However, if you're looking for another Crowned in Terror... don't. Save your money, and spend it elsewhere. This isn't a bad album, but you could certainly do better.