This is the debut EP from Empty Throne. a blackened death metal band from the US.
After giving the promo email the once over, how could I not want to give Glossolalia a spin? Recommended for fans of bands such as At the Gates, God Dethroned, Dark Tranquillity, and Carpathian Forest? Containing current/ex-members of Possessed, Decrepit Birth, Black Crown Initiate, The Kennedy Veil, and Angerot? Listening to this was always going to happen.
Glossolalia may only have three tracks, but there’s 23 minutes of material here, plenty of time to look at what Empty Throne are capable of. Their wealth of collective experience has not gone wasted, and this EP is fully formed and ready to make waves. On first listen I knew I had discovered something notable here, and subsequent replays only reinforced that feeling further.
The band play death metal that uses elements of black and thrash metal to flesh out its masterly hybrid style. These tracks are bursting with 90s-style death and thrash riffs given a modern makeover. Each song offers a multitude of hooks that bite deep. Melody is used well, with influence taken from the Gothenburg style. This is sharp and aggressive music, and the melodies are wielded by the sharp, cutting riffs like lethal weapons.
The impression is of old-school influences that have been grafted onto a contemporary body and given a mildly blackened coating. The results are impressive, and each of the three tracks on Glossolalia have a lot to get your teeth into. Well-written, well-performed, and exceedingly enjoyable, Empty Throne have arrived like an earthquake.
Essential listening.
