ALBUM REVIEW: Thy Throne is Mine – Thokkian Vortex

Starting life as the one man project of former ANCIENT frontman Lord Kaiaphas, THOKKIAN VORTEXT has gradually morphed into a full fledged band in its own right. A near decade long silence, broken by the band’s excellent debut record, Into the Nagual, an album that not only featured notably guest performances, but also laid down an impressive framework for the band and their sound. Now, just over four years since that first album saw the light of day, and having signed to the excellent Non Serviam Records, the band are back with their second full length, Thy Throne is Mine, an album that builds on the solid foundations of the debut and expands the scope of the bands sound, resulting in the best material the band has produced to date.

The albums introductory track is a brief instrumental that comprises of haunting dark ambience, a tolling church bell and harsh, bellicose shrieks, instantly drawing the listener in and building a solid, foreboding atmosphere for what’s to come. It leads seamlessly into Banished The Lion Of Kutha, a track that makes heavy use of keyboards, with some polished and sharp melodic black metal making up the bulk of the music. The drums and guitars are imaginative and flawless at points, with Lord Kaiaphas‘ vocals carving a path through the rest of the music with a hellish howl. It’s a truly impressive piece of music that has lots of fantastic lead guitar hooks and a variety of vocal styles which keep it interesting all the way through, setting a lofty bar for the rest of the music to overcome.

The album’s titular track, Thy Throne Is Mine, is an incredibly punchy and catchy track, with a slight hint of progressive black metal to its sound, with ethereal guitar parts and masterful drumming taking a classic black metal sound and updating it with a cleaner production and more eclectic playing styles, especially when it comes to the guitars. It’s got an extremely catchy lead hook and a great singalong chorus that burrows into the listeners brain immediately, and some soaring, hard rock solos that give this track a solid swagger. It’s a good piece of music that is more than worthy of carrying the album’s moniker.

The Moon Brethren showcases Kaiaphas‘ wraith like vocals at their best, and ties robust guitars, steady drumming and minimalist keyboards together to make an excellent slab of black metal with a heady, symphonic feel. It’s a powerful, yet macabre, statement of intent that really makes full use of the keyboards to great effect. Godspeed Satan, with its prominent bass hooks, chord heavy guitars and punishing drums, is a magnificent marriage between black metal and punk, with some brilliant heavy metal inspired guitar solos, that makes the listener sit up and take notice. Even though it’s one of the albums shorter offerings, it still packs an almighty punch, and leaves an indelible mark on the record, bringing the first half of the album to a close with aplomb.

The Wreathing Serpent has a jarring guitar line that slithers out of the speakers and adds a hypnotic edge to the music. The bestial shrieks and sonorous spoken word parts that constitute the vocals on this number work so well with the music, and really become a more central focus, coming to the fore in a way that they haven’t on previous tracks, ebbing and flowing between the ferocious and the subdued with ease, adding a razor sharp counterpoint to the beefy guitars and pummelling percussion of the music. Traverse The Tonal sees THOKKIAN VORTEX begin to make use of cleaner guitar tones and more primal styles of drumming, crafting a a bleak and haunting piece of music with plenty of slick, melodic flourishes that it’s very hard not to love. This song has a noticeably sharper and more focused sound, with far more epic moments on it than have featured on the previous two offerings. Moreover, the different playing styles and tempos on here make this a much more imaginative and diverse affair, with the music standing out significantly from the sic songs that preceded it, adding a little more variety to the mix that makes the album sound all the more reinvigorated.

Winter Forest Cry brings the keyboards back to prominence in the sound once more, and when coupled with some catchy lead guitar licks, they really excel in a way that they haven’t previously. The fresher, precise guitar tones and powerful percussion all add to this tracks charm, but it’s really in the light and sublime approach of the keyboards that the song finds its focal point. Even the vocals take a noticeable back seat, complementing the music rather than overpowering it, which again allows the keyboards to take centre stage. This is certainly one of the album’s more grandiose and atmospheric offerings, and is arguably one of its best moments.

Come To The Sabbat, an amazing cover of BLACK WIDOW‘s seminal 1969 occult rock classic, initially remains fairly true to the original, before injecting some visceral black metal into the mix at the start of the second verse. It’s a rendition that works surprisingly well, transforming the relatively straight forward track into a monstrous and vicious slab of back metal. It has all the hallmarks of an excellent cover, providing a new twist on a timeless classic. Sunrise Over Irkalla is a massive departure from the sound that has defined most of this record up until this point; it’s a much more progressive and angelic piece of music, which sees hair-raising keyboard motifs blending seamlessly with acoustic guitars, making this a far more grand and powerful affair than many of the earlier songs were even able to achieve. It’s a refreshing change of pace that does a great job of bringing this album to a lose on one of its more memorable moments.

Comparing this album to its predecessor, there’s a noticeable, somewhat subtle shift away from the sort of classic black metal sound that marked the sound and style of THOKKIAN VORTEX‘s earlier work. There’s still an obvious black metal approach to the sound, although the album, at varying points, brings in elements of punk, hard rock, heavy metal and dark ambient, which not only shows that THOKKIAN VORTEX are eager to expand and diversify their sound, but also keeps this album thoroughly engrossing from start to finish. The guitars and keyboards provide an epic, grandiose sound, and the magnificent vocals really elevate certain tracks as well. The production is great too, having a slick, polished approach that makes this a lot more accessible than many black metal albums, whilst still maintaining a level of rawness that keeps the music dark and visceral. Thy Throne Is Mine is a really good album that raises the bar significantly for THOKKIAN VORTEX and their output, and it will be interesting to see how they overcome the lofty bar they’ve set for themselves.

Rating: 9/10

Thy Throne Is Mine is out now via Non Serviam Records.

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