Throne of Heresy release their ambitious new concept album Decameron on November 3rd through The Sign Records. The album depicts the horrors of the Black Death in the 14th century. Much like the book it takes its name from, Decameron revolves around 10 stories, beginning with the first known victims of the plague in Asia and moving through the known world, ending on the band's native Ostrogothian soil. Throne of Heresy teamed up with producer Magnus "Devo" Andersson (Marduk) to create a blend of heavy riffing and atmospheric, sometimes even chaotic, melodies wrapped in an earthy and dynamic soundscape.
Making a concept album about the Black Death sets the bar high. The music is more uncompromising and bleak than on the band's previous outing, Antioch. A lot of work has gone into creating the right mood and ambience, adding unusual elements that play their part in making an album that displays a decade of the darkest part of human history. Guest vocals by Karl Beckman (King of Asgard/ex-Mithotyn) add another dimension in the pagan/folkish direction without leaving the blackened death metal trenches. Tomas Göransson's creative song writing is embellished by the progressive drumming of Mathias Westman (Vanhelgd, King of Asgard) and the steady guitar and bass work of Lars Björkens & Björn Ahlqvist. Fronted by Thomas Clifford's (Abscession, Blood of Serpents) vocal and lyric work, Decameron is a force to be reckoned with - almost 700 years after the Black Death laid waste to mankind.
The somber cover art was made by Mattias Frisk from Vanhelgd. Mattias has previously created artwork for bands such as Ghost, Morbus Chron, The Great Discord and Vampire. Throne of Heresy released their previous album Antioch in 2016 on The Sign Records, an album that Close-Up Magazine called "A magnificent hybrid of modern death metal and bombastic black metal" and Der Hörspiegel "A blackened death metal album can't get much better than this.".
Videos