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Geezer Butler says that he was using the so-called “devil horns” years before Ronnie James Dio adopted it a his own.

The late BLACK SABBATH and RAINBOW singer is frequently recognized for making the hand gesture mainstream — a staple at rock concerts for decades. However, Butler claims that Ronnie actually got the idea to use it after watching his onetime SABBATH bandmate make the sign at every concert.

“I’ve been doing that sign since — I’ve got pictures of me doing it since 1971,” Butler said during an appearance Monday (March 8) on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “And I always used to do it in the breakdown in the song ‘Black Sabbath’ — just before it goes into the fast part at the end, I’d do that sign to the audience. And on the first couple of ‘Heaven And Hell’ tour shows, Ronnie was saying, ‘When I’m going on stage, everybody is doing the peace sign to me, and that’s an Ozzy thing,” referring to original SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne, whom Ronnie replaced. “I feel like I should be doing something back to them.’ He says, ‘What’s that sign that you do in ‘Black Sabbath’?’ And I showed him the devil horns sign. And he started doing it from there and made it famous.”

Asked why he had never publicly revealed before that he was responsible for showing Dio the devil horns, Butler said: “I didn’t really think much of it. As I say, I’ve got pictures of me doing it in 1971. And it was just an alternative to Ozzy’s peace signs, I was doing it. And if you look at the ‘Yellow Submarine’ album cover [from THE BEATLES], John Lennon’s cartoon character is doing it, in 1966 or whatever it was. So it’s an old sign. I was just doing it ’cause [English occultist] Aleister Crowley used to do it.”

According to Geezer, the devil horns isn’t the only thing that Ronnie took credit for that he didn’t come up with on his own. “There’s a lot of things that he nicked off me that he claimed that he was the originator,” Butler said. “But he made it famous, so I didn’t care. The [DIO] album title ‘Sacred Heart’; that’s where I used to go to school. And he called one of his songs ‘One Foot In The Grave’. I jokingly said, ‘We should call the album ‘One Foot In The Grave’.’ And then when he left [SABBATH], he called one of his songs that. He was very naughty about things like that. And when I did an autograph, I’d write ‘Magic’. So Ronnie started writing ‘Magic’ as well. In fact, he called his [DIO] album ‘Magica’. He was very naughty about things like that.”

Asked if he ever confronted Ronnie about it, Geezer said: “Nah. Only about the devil horn sign.”

Ronnie wasn’t the only high-profile rocker to take credit for the devil horns. Back in June 2017, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark on the hand signal fans and rockers alike hold up during shows, in which the index and pinkie fingers are extended, the middle and ring finger are curled into the palm, and the thumb either sticks out from the hand like an errant branch from a tree or is also curled into the palm. Gene claimed the gesture was first used in commerce on November 14, 1974, which corresponds to KISS’s “Hotter Than Hell” tour. He wrote in his signed declaration that he believes “no other person, firm, corporation or association has the right to use said mark in commerce, either in the identical form or in such near resemblance.” Less than two weeks later, Simmons withdrew the application.

Most music fans slammed Simmons for the trademark request, saying the symbol has become ubiquitous and means different things to different people.

During an appearance on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, Simmons said that his version of the hand gesture is actually “I love you” in American Sign Language, with the thumb extended, rather than the thumb holding two middle fingers close to the palm as popularized by Ronnie James Dio and used by everyone from rock stars to chefs as a salute of musical inclusiveness and triumph since the ’70s.

“When [KISS] first started doing photos in 1973, in the last century, I was doing an homage,” he explained. “I didn’t know what to do with my hands… ’cause I had wings [as part of my costume] and I wanted to show the wings. So you spread your arms, kind of like a Christ-like pose, but I didn’t know what to do with my fingers. So I did what an artist named Steve Ditko did with Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, both of whom did the hand signal. So when Spider-Man shot the webbing, he would do the two middle fingers. And the eternal Vishanti doing the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, that’s Doctor Strange. So I was just giving an homage to Steve Ditko, and it caught on. And so when we were playing live, I wanted to wave back at the fans who were just, like, ‘Wow, you guys are kind of hot shit,’ but I’m holding the pick in my hand. So I’m trying to hold up both my fingers. And so they all started to do that. To this day, whether you’re going to a soccer match in Ukraine or in Africa, or wherever, the fans may not even think about Gene Simmons, but they’ll do a version of those outstretched fingers and stick their tongue out without knowing why. It’s become the thing. I don’t care if you’re Rihanna or Chubby Checker, everybody does that stuff, although they may not realize it started with the powerful and attractive Gene Simmons.”

Asked why he eventually decided to withdraw his application to trademark the gesture, Simmons told “Talk Is Jericho”: “The uneducated, the uninformed and the otherwise passionate got so hot under the collar that I just didn’t think it was worth it.

He continued: “People from the peanut gallery, and I love ’em… But the idea that everybody’s opinion is worth the same as everybody else is… I don’t wanna say ‘bullshit,’ but it’s uninformed. You know, your car breaks down and some guy walks up and says, ‘Here’s what’s wrong with it.’ That’s one opinion. The other guy that walks over is a mechanic who works on cars all the time. Both those opinions are not equal. One is more important because it’s based on resume and qualification, and the other one is based on popcorn farts — he knows nothing. Well, your opinion is worth nothing, ’cause it’s based on nothing and no experience. Mostly people that have opinions express them just because they have no qualification or resume.

“So, it just wasn’t important enough for me to go do that, ’cause everybody’s doing my hand gesture anyway — whether it’s the Dalai Lama or the Pope. I win.”

Simmons added: “But, truly, when somebody criticizes you or whatever, take a moment to think about, ‘Gee, I wonder what they’ve done.’ In other words, it’s not what somebody says — who’s saying it? If I get criticized as a bad person, as an example, by somebody standing next to me, that’s not the same as the Pope or my rabbi or somebody in a ethical position of power. I might still object, but that’s a qualified opinion.”

Copyright lawyer Ronald Abrams told Forbes that it’s unlikely Simmons would have succeeded in his attempt to trademark the “devil’s horns” symbol, explaining that such hand gestures can’t be trademarked unless they are part of a logo. Trademark attorney Michael Cohen with Cohen IP Law Group in Beverly Hills, who deals with trademark, patent and copyright infringement cases, concurred, telling the Los Angeles Times that it would have been very difficult for Simmons’s application to be approved because the gesture has become “genericized.”

Gene’s KISS bandmate Paul Stanley said that he had no idea why Simmons attempted to trademark the hand gesture, telling the Loudwire Podcast: “Well, you know, Gene elicits some very strong reactions from people. And what he does he does for the reasons that only he knows. So I can’t really say that I have really any thought about it. It was really something that he wanted to pursue, and the reaction was how people felt about it. So I don’t know why he pulled it, and I don’t know why he started it. I really have no… I haven’t asked him.”

During an episode of her show “The Talk”, Sharon Osbourne slammed Simmons for the trademark request, accusing the rocker of “trying to make money from posters and t-shirts.” She said: “He’s crazy. He’s trying to get money from the merch where you see this [gesture] on merch, but actually this [symbol], in Italian, which has been going for hundreds of years, means ‘the devil.’ That’s what it means. And so kids at concerts have been doing it for years and years and years. And in ’74? Where were you in the ’60s when they were doing it, kid, because they’ve been doing it forever.”

Ronnie James Dio’s widow Wendy also criticized Simmons for attempting to trademark the hand sign. She told TheWrap: “To try to make money off of something like this is disgusting. It belongs to everyone — it doesn’t belong to anyone. It’s a public domain, it shouldn’t be trademarked.”

Ronnie himself said his Italian grandmother often invoked the horns to ward off the malocchio (the evil eye), bad luck or malevolent spirits.

“Gene Simmons will tell you that he invented it,” Ronnie once said. “But then again, Gene invented breathing and shoes and everything else.”

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MÖTLEY CRÜE’s song “Time For Change” is featured in a new commercial for the Delta brand’s faucets, shower heads and other kitchen and bathroom accessories. Check it out below.

“Time For Change” is taken from MÖTLEY CRÜE’s fifth studio album, “Dr. Feelgood”, which came out in 1989 via Elektra.

This is not the first time a MÖTLEY CRÜE song has found its way into a commercial. Two years ago, “Kickstart My Heart”, also from “Dr. Feelgood”, was featured in Planters’s first-ever Super Bowl ad. In 2014, the same track could be heard in a commercial for the Dodge Charger.

MÖTLEY CRÜE’s last studio album was 2008’s “Saints Of Los Angeles”, which was followed by a 2009 “Greatest Hits” compilation.

A tour film about MÖTLEY CRÜE’s “farewell” shows, “The End”, came out in 2016, and a film adaptation of the band’s 2001 autobiography “The Dirt” arrived in March 2019.

MÖTLEY CRÜE’s “The Stadium Tour” with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place last summer but ended up being pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

When it happens, “The Stadium Tour” will mark the CRÜE’s first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.

Photo credit: Dustin Jack

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Last month, Gibson officially announced a new partnership with Dave Mustaine, the legendary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and Grammy-winning founder and leader of MEGADETH, who joined Gibson as a Brand Ambassador. The new Dave Mustaine Collection will span acoustic and electric guitars across Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer.

Mustaine spoke about his Gibson collaboration during a recent episode of his “The Dave Mustaine Show” on Gimme Metal radio. He said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’ve been telling you and telling you, a big announcement was gonna be coming, and it has. On February 23rd and 24th, we announced to the world that I am now a Gibson guitar ambassador for all of their brands.

“I have really, really wanted to be a Gibson man ever since I got my first KISS record that said on the back, ‘We use Gibson guitars because we like the very best,'” he continued. “Well, so did I. I didn’t know what the very best was at the time. Shoot, I was still just growing facial hair. But when I got a chance to see a guy next door to where my sister’s future husband lived, I saw this Les Paul custom. And, of course, in my memoir, I tell you about stealing the guitar returning it. But I was so excited about that guitar that I took it in and made it my own.

“We’ve already made some really, really cool things take place over at Gibson,” Mustaine added. “In fact, check this out — all of you who play acoustic guitars, they made an acoustic guitar for me, and because of the dimensions that I wanted for my custom guitar, with the 24 frets and the different neck and different fretboards and everything, they had to change something internally — they had to change the bracing inside the guitar; all of the little pieces of wood. Picture the inside of an old airplane when they show all those strings going back and forth and those little boards going back and forth — that’s what’s called bracing. And inside of a guitar, if you see a guitar with the lid off, from the front to the back, you can see all those little pieces of wood and those pieces of bracing. So the bracing is so heavy in my guitar, it changed the tone of the guitars. And they’re going to make a bunch of changes and additions and improvements to some of their guitars, their acoustics, by changing the bracing and improving it. And I am so excited to have been able to have contributed to Gibson guitars so early.

“I can’t wait till you guys pick up my model. I know you’re gonna be blown away. Not only are they 24 frets, they’re Gibsons. And not only are they Gibsons, they’re Dave Mustaine signature models. So you know these are gonna be fantastic.”

Dave will join the Gibson Artist Alliance — a forum which includes legendary musicians, innovative movers and shakers, and new talent — to share in thought leadership, research & development, mentorship of the next generation of players, as well as philanthropic endeavors. In addition to the Dave Mustaine Collection, Dave will be featured in original content and special projects across Gibson, Epiphone and Kramer.

“It’s an honor to welcome icon, pioneer and visionary musician Dave Mustaine to the Gibson family as our brand ambassador”, said Cesar Gueikian of Gibson Brands. “Dave is one of the most influential metal icons and riff lords of all time, having paved the way for multiple generations of players to carry the flag for hard rock and heavy metal, from riff writers to shredders and everyone in between. Working with Dave is especially gratifying because he is a guitar nerd like me, who gets involved in every aspect of the development of the concepts and ideas we have been designing with him at the Gibson Lab. When I was as kid learning how to play guitar, I aspired to play Dave’s riffs and I was one of the fortunate fans who attended their ‘Youthanasia’ tour concert at Estadio Obras Sanitarias in 1994, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the ‘Aguante Megadeth’ chant was born over the song ‘Symphony Of Destruction’. That was an epic night that I will never forget. I look forward to bringing this partnership to life and unveiling the first stages of the Dave Mustaine Collection to the world.”

In November 2019, Mustaine sold off much of his gear, including several Dean prototype signature models that he had used over the years. Two months ago, he confirmed that he was going separate ways with Dean after spending 13 years with the company.

Mustaine’s Gibson announcement came two months after a employee for the American guitar maker accidentally leaked an image of a guitar that some devoted guitar aficionados speculated could be Mustaine’s new signature model. The same prototype model was also spotted in an Instagram post by Gueikian.

When Mustaine’s deal with Dean was first announced back in January 2007, he said he chose Dean over other guitar companies “because they understand the value of Dave Mustaine and MEGADETH. And it’s mutual,” he explained. “I know that this is the right place for me to finish out my career, endorsing their products, and having my guitars made by Dean.”

Ranked No. 1 by Joel McIver in “The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists” book, Mustaine godfathered fast-heavy-metal guitar generations, first as the original lead guitarist for METALLICA, and then as the founder of legendary MEGADETH.

In 1983, Mustaine founded MEGADETH, and the band released its first album two years later, established Dave and his bandmates as pioneers in the thrash metal movement. The band has since sold 38 million albums worldwide, including five consecutive platinum or multi-platinum albums in the U.S., while garnering 12 Grammy nominations. MEGADETH also landed a 2017 Grammy for “Best Metal Performance” for “Dystopia”, the title track of the band’s 2016 album.

Prior to MEGADETH, Mustaine was an early member of METALLICA. Before leaving the band in 1983, he had co-written a half dozen songs that would appear on METALLICA’s first two albums.

In the video game arena, Mustaine composed the Grammy-nominated MEGADETH track “Sudden Death” for the 2010 release “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock”. The game also featured two other Mustaine-composed MEGADETH songs: 1990’s “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” and 2009’s “This Day We Fight!”

MEGADETH is currently working on its 16th studio album.

Gibson Dave Mustaine Flying V 30th Anniversary “Rust In Peace” Edition

Gibson Dave Mustaine Flying V EXP in Metallic Silver

Gibson Dave Mustaine CF-100 Blood Burst

Kramer Dave Mustaine Flying V Vanguard in Natural

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Phoenix black/sludge/punk killers Take Over and Destroy debut new single and video from their forthcoming Fade Out LP.
The post Take Over and Destroy Premiere “Exit Bag” Video Starring Maxx Mayberry appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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Alice Cooper has once again dismissed the notion that rock is dead, saying that “rock and roll is just too much fun to let die.”

While rock and roll has been king of the music world for decades, in the past few years, it’s been unseated by the growing popularity of hip-hop. This has caused many pundits to proclaim the genre “dead” from an industry perspective, noting that it has been eclipsed in all measures by pop, hip-hop, and EDM.

A few years ago, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons told Esquire magazine that “rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won’t because it’s that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it.”

A number of hard rock and heavy metal musicians have weighed in on the topic in a variety of interviews over the last several years, with some digging a little deeper into Simmons’s full remarks and others just glossing over the headline.

Cooper, who is promoting his new album, “Detroit Stories”, spoke about rock’s supposed diminishing status during a recent interview with the 95 KGGO radio station. Addressing the whole “rock is dead” debate, Alice said (hear audio below): “I think what’s gonna happen is you’re gonna see a total resurgence of hard rock. There’s gonna be a very young bunch of kids out there that are gonna show up, and they’re gonna be snotty, and they’re gonna be arrogant — just what rock should be — [like] when you saw THE [ROLLING] STONES for the first time or you saw any of those bands. Because every generation rebels against the last generation, and the last generation was very high tech — techno this and techno that.

“Why are teenagers buying records?” he asked thetorically. “They’re buying vinyl, and they’re buying turntables. I think that’s right there an indication that there’s kids right now in garages all over the world learning AEROSMITH and Ozzy [Osbourne] and Alice — they’re learning those songs. Because rock and roll is just too much fun to let die.”

Circling back to Gene’s comments, Alice said: “I think what Gene was talking about was financially, rock and roll is not what it used to be. Well, yeah, I agree with that. But maybe rock and roll now is where it should be — outlaws looking in rather than being the apex of the pyramid. Now we’re kind of the outcasts, and I think rock and roll kind of lives on that.

“There’s bands out there now that are just kind of getting used to the idea of guitars. ‘Man, turn these things up. Let’s be loud. Let’s play music that’s gonna irritate people. [Laughs]”

The “rock is dead” argument has popped up again and again throughout the years, including in 2018 after MAROON 5 lead singer Adam Levine told Variety magazine that “rock music is nowhere, really. I don’t know where it is,” he said. “If it’s around, no one’s invited me to the party. All of the innovation and the incredible things happening in music are in hip-hop. It’s better than everything else. Hip-hop is weird and avant-garde and flawed and real, and that’s why people love it.”

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CHEVELLE drummer Sam Loeffler has revealed to the FM99 WNOR radio station that the band has secured a bass player for its upcoming shows in support of the recently released “Niratias” (Nothing Is Real And This Is A Simulation) album. “His name is Kemble Walters, and he plays in a band called ÆGES,” Sam said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “And he’s actually the guitarist-singer in that band, but he plays bass in another band as well. And we just asked him. He’s a friend of ours; we’ve known him for many years and did lots of shows together. And we were, like, ‘Hey, man, we love you. We love your hair. Do you wanna come and play some shows?’ And he said ‘yes.’ So we’re gonna do that. And we’ll see how it goes. He’s a rad dude, so I’m sure it’ll be great — until he has to go and do his other projects again, or whatever he does. But it’s cool. It’s casual. And he’s great. He’s a great musician, and he’s a great bass player, and he’s a great guitarist. And he can sing. And he’s got really tight pants. So, we really like him.”

Sam also talked about the departure of longtime CHEVELLE bassist Dean Bernardini, who played his final shows with the band in December 2019. “He did it for 15 years and decided that he needed to be… His kids are now teenagers, and he needed to be home for a while,” the drummer said. “So, because of that, we have only rehearsed with [Kemble] once — well, twice, really. So we’re putting together setlists, working on that kind of thing, and sending music back and forth.

“It’s kind of an interesting time, because with putting out this album, we’ve been really busy,” he continued. “So starting probably next week, we’re gonna get back into just playing music again.

“It’s fairly depressing to play music knowing that you can’t go and do it. It’s one thing to go write music and play covers, but to play the music that you’re used to playing out in venues for years and years and years, it’s a little depressing — to know that you can’t do it. So we haven’t been doing that as much. Well, now we’re getting back into that. We have some shows at the end of June that we’re hoping happen — small festivals. So I think those will happen. That’d be good.”

Bernardini had been with CHEVELLE since 2005, even though 2007’s “Vena Sera” marked his first studio recording with the band.

“Niratias” was released on March 5. The disc was recorded throughout 2019 and 2020 with longtime producer Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE), CHEVELLE. The cover artwork was created by Boris Vallejo. The famed and award-winning artist is responsible for the posters used for films like “Knightriders” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, as well as iconic 1970s and 1980s science fiction novel covers and magazines (such as Heavy Metal).

“The North Corridor” debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart and produced a No. 1 Mainstream Rock single, “Joyride (Omen)”.

The band’s album of rarities from 2002-2016, “12 Bloody Spies: B-Sides And Rarities”, was released in October 2018 via Epic.

Photo credit: Joseph Cultice

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Members of SCORPIONS, MEGADETH, EXODUS, KREATOR, CARCASS, ARCH ENEMY and DESTRUCTION are among the musicians who have reacted to the passing of Lars-Göran Petrov. The pioneering ENTOMBED and ENTOMBED A.D. singer died on Sunday, March 7 after a battle with bile duct cancer. He was 49 years old.

In a statement, his ENTOMBED A.D. bandmates wrote: “We are devastated to announce that our beloved friend Lars-Göran Petrov has left us. Our brother, leader, vocalist, our Chief Rebel Angel went on another ride last night. It’s with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that Lars-Göran Petrov has left us. He was (is!!!) an incredible friend, and a person that has touched so many people. He has changed so many lives with his voice, his music, his character and his unique personality.

“LG’s smile is something that we will carry forever in our hearts. When asked in an interview what he would like to have written on his grave and what about his legacy, he said: ‘I will never die, it will never die’. And you didn’t. You will live forever in our hearts.”

Last August, Petrov told Metal Hammer about how he found out about his cancer: “A couple of months ago. I felt a lump in my solar plexus. And I was, like, ‘Okay, I’ll ignore it.’ But then it started to hurt, so I went to the doctor, and they X-rayed it quickly and said, ‘You have to go to the specialist.’ That was weird. You can’t imagine what it feels like. Your whole body goes warm. It’s, like, ‘Fucking hell.'”

Although Petrov revealed his cancer was “incurable,” he said that the doctors were “hoping” they will be able to treat it. “I will find out when I meet my doctor, who is the best doctor when it comes to this particular cancer,” he explained. “Being young, the doctor said there’s hopefully a way to control it so it doesn’t spread, or maybe even make it smaller.”

ENTOMBED A.D. was formed in 2014 when Petrov and other members of ENTOMBED decided to change the band’s name in order to avoid a legal battle with ENTOMBED guitarist Alex Hellid who didn’t want his former bandmates to use the ENTOMBED moniker.

ENTOMBED A.D.’s latest album, “Bowels Of Earth”, was released in August 2019 via Century Media.

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The word legend is to small to describe LG and what he meant for me as a friend and inspiration.
Not only was he one of the best and original voices in metal, but the most kind, humble, funny and genuine person one could ever hope to meet.

I will miss you my friend!

R.I.P. ? pic.twitter.com/aUrrfTZR8T

— Johan Hegg (@AmonJohan) March 8, 2021

Rest In Peace LG Petrov. What a legend & and a powerful voice. Inspiration to countless bands & singers. A true game changer. One of the first bands to take us on tour for which I am still grateful for. Someone you always looked forward to seeing. You will be sorely missed. pic.twitter.com/kHnhDiBzRb
— Jamey Jasta (@jameyjasta) March 8, 2021

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As other bands from the 1990’s Swedish death metal scene wandered into the abyss of exploration and mostly failed (with few ever capably recapturing the sparks of their initial fury), THE CROWN have managed to remain one of the most reliable bands in the entire genre. While the days of them generating all-time genre classics like 2000’s “Deathrace King” are long gone, there is still comfort to be found from the band’s ability to maintain a remarkably consistent streak of excellent Swedish death metal. Even as the band weathered one breakup and multiple lineup changes throughout its run, they have somehow managed to not release a record that was less than very good. Their latest record, “Royal Destroyer”, is once again not an AOTY candidate, but it is still worth multiple listening sessions simply being another in the lengthy line of reliably good records generated by this outfit.

THE CROWN figured out what they want to do with their sound long ago, and they have become masters of that sound’s every aspect. All corners of the Swedish death metal sound that still capture listeners thirty years after the peaks of the genre are present. If you’re a fan of fast-paced buzz-saw riffs, furious solos loaded with shred and blastbeats, all of those abound on “Royal Destroyer”. The group’s first album in three years launches with a furious 79-second blast of grindcore-laden death where all of these are packed into the short running time. “Baptized in Violence” explodes with pent-up energy bursting out all at once in an attempt to recenter at a true launching point. This energy continues for the first half of “Let the Hammering Begin!”, a sprawling six-minute journey through the ferocity we love from the heavier side of the melodeath spectrum, which manages to keep up during some of the slower mid-tempo breakdowns in the middle of the track. If your taste in Scandinavian metal leans towards the rippers, THE CROWN also generates that strong level of energy on “Full Metal Justice” and “Scandinavian Satan”.

The band still also shows that they are adept at keeping an air of ominous heaviness when it’s time to slow down and indulge in a mid-tempo stomp. “Glorious Hades” is a catchy crusher showing that Johan Lindstrand’s barks are as fierce as ever, with a lead solo from guitarist Robin Sörqvist reinforming why he has remained in that position since joining THE CROWN for 2015’s “Death Is Not Dead”. “Devoid of Light” showcases the perfect mix of the band’s more furious impulses and their more restrained mid-tempo crunch. The only real departure track comes during the first half of the record, as “Ultra Faust” has a bit of groove-metal indulgence that would seem more at home on the heavier side of the MACHINE HEAD catalog, though Lindstrand’s vocals and the band’s expertise at executing a darker atmosphere keep it from feeling too detached from the remainder of the record.

THE CROWN have long been adept at timing all of the beats that an excellent melodic death metal record should hit during its running time. “Royal Destroyer” is another strong effort that shows the band still being very capable of hitting them.

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