Album & EP Reviews

Mountian Throne – The Silver Light

Mountain Throne – The Silver Light
Cold Knife Records
Release Date: 31/01/2025
Review by Rory Bentley
8/10

Despite (unsuccessfully) trying to front as some kind of too cool for school Punk a lot of the time, I have long held a large place in my heart for triumphant Heavy Metal. It has to fall into a particular set of parameters that combines the gritty with the flamboyant, but when the Trad-Metal or at least Trad-Metal-inspired sound clicks with me, it is among my favourite music of any genre to listen to. Whether it be Eternal Champion, Atlantean Kodex or Visigoth, bands dealing in  stripped-down blue collar energy melded with glorious classic melodies are one of my favourite developments in the musical trends of the last decade.

Among those names, and oozing with underground cred are the mighty Mountain Throne, who splice a whole lot of Doom with their Heavy Metal nucleus. The Germans are, by and large, really bloody great at classic Metal and this storming sophomore full length is no exception. After the dramatic, building intro of ‘Shapes In The Fog’, things get rifftastick on the driving ‘All Souls Day’ which is the perfect combo of sword raising choruses, NWOBHM chug and soaring, tasteful lead work. A warm yet ragged analogue production really brings the song to life and it’s something that permeates the whole record.

Throughout the album the guitar tone is to die for, and this is particularly apparent on the crunching gallop of ‘We Are Hunters’, which is one of the finest riffs I’ve heard in a long old time. Frontman Matze’s impassioned bellow carries the chorus magnificently and carries the perfect amount of power without being too slick and polished like A. N. Other PowerMetal singer. Although there is a marked Doom element to the band’s sound, they have a real knack for a pacy, upbeat number. ‘Man The Rampart’ in particular is shred city and makes you want to pour boiling oil over a castle wall onto invading hordes.

When it’s time to go low and slow, however, Mountain Throne brings the Doom with the best of them. From the filthy bass to the downright disgusting riffs on ‘Thunderstorm Nights’, the band sound burlier than Eddie Hall during a bulking phase and once again the chorus is as strong as his deadlifts. Likewise closing monolith ‘Death of A Tyrant’ is jacked to the gills and sounds like King Kong destroying downtown New York while Godzilla lays down High on Fire Riffs. It’s an interesting string to the band’s bow and one that sets them apart from most NWOTHM acts.

With more upbeat bangers like ‘Valkyrie’ and a well placed selection of instrumental passages such as the stirring ‘All Hallows Eve’, it is a masterfully paced album that has enough compositional variety to keep the listener’s attention from start to finish. As with much Trad Metal, some may find the idiosyncratic vocal stylings found here to be an acquired taste, but I dig them and appreciate the fact that they’re not perfect and polished.

Honestly this is a great start to my Heavy Metal listening calendar year, and after a rough January it’s nice to get some sword and shield action and some good old fashioned loud amps to the mug to blow the wintry cobwebs away! Hails!

TRACKLISTING:

1. Shapes In The Fog
2. All Souls Day
3. We Are Hunters
4. Thunderstorm Nights
5. Man The Rampart
6. Three Stars Shining
7. The Silver Light
8. Valkyrie
9. All Hallows Eve
10. Death Of A Tyrant

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