Blood Red Throne are a Norwegian Old School/Brutal Death Metal band.
Blood Red Throne started in 1998 when Død and Tchort (while playing in Satyricon at that time), decided to form their own band and show their passion for death metal. Tchort had been playing death metal since 1989 with his band Green Carnation, which was one of the first death metal bands in Norway, and Død had been a huge fan and of the genre since 1992. Tchort was also the bass player in Emperor in the early 90's and has been involved with bands like Carpathian Forest and Einherjer. The band soon got in touch with a very skilled drummer living in their hometown by the name of Freddy Bolsø, and BRT was born and soon after bassist Erlend Caspersen joined the newly formed Blood Red Throne. The band recorded a demo, entitled Deathmix 2000 with Ronni Thorsen from Trail of Tears providing the vocals. This demo got excellent feedback and BRT got offers from labels right away! Finally having recruited long time friend Mr.Hustler as the permanent frontman, the same line-up recorded the debut Monument of Death and released it through Hammerheart Records in 2001. The limited edition included a package called 'The Suicide Kit', which not only contained the actual album, but also a printed razor blade and a poster. The kits were hand numbered in the band member’s own blood! BRT never did any live shows with this line up and Freddy Bolsø moved back to his hometown and BRT had to find a new drummer.
Espen “Beist” Antonsen joined and the band recorded Affiliated With The Suffering in 2002 and this was their last album through Hammerheart Records. The band did two European tours and the Inferno Fest with this lineup and Beist left as they were about to record their first album for Earache Records. With the help from Bernt Moen, BRT managed to record their darkest and most intense album yet; Altered Genesis. Altered Genesis was released in 2005 and after this release, Mr. Hustler had to leave the band due to work commitments and, Vald was handed the microphone. To make things easier, BRT also had to find a permanent and local drummer, and this led to Anders Haave. He joined the band in 2006 and BRT went on a new European tour several live shows until going into the studio to record their fourth album, Come Death, for Earache Records.
The band released their eighth album Union of Flesh and Machine in 2016, and a standalone single entitled "Gore Encore" in 2017. Their ninth album Fit to Kill was released on September 13, 2019.
Current Members:
- Dod - Guitars (1998-Present)
- Yngve "Bolt" Christiansen - Vocals (2011-Present)
- Ivan Gujic - Guitars (2010-Present)
- Freddy Bolsø - Drums (1998-2002, 2013-Present)
- Stian Gundersen - Bass (2018-Present)
Notable Past Members:
- Terje "Tchort" Vik Schei - Guitars (1998-2010)
- Emil Wiksten - Drums (2010-2013)
- Erlend Caspersen - Bass (1998-2011)
- Flemming "Mr. Hustler" Gluch - Vocals (2001-2005)
- Osvald "Vald" Egeland - Vocals (2005-2011)
- Ole "Bent" Madsen - Bass (2011-2018)
Discography:
- Monument of Death (2001)
- A Taste for Blood (EP) (2002)
- A Taste for Butchery (Split album with Severe Torture) (2003)
- Affiliated with the Suffering (2003)
- Altered Genesis (2005)
- Come Death (2007)
- Souls of Damnation (2009)
- Brutalitarian Regime (2011)
- Blood Red Throne (2013)
- Union of Flesh and Machine (2016)
- Gore Encore (Single) (2017)
- Fit to Kill (2019)
- Imperial Congregation (2021)
- Nonagon (2024)
Trope Examples Displayed by this band:
- Axe-Crazy: The killer from "Razor Jack" slaughters his own family just for fun.
- Brutal Death Metal: Though more old-school leaning than most examples.
- Careful with That Axe: Christiansen certainly has moments of this.
- Cover Version: "Disincarnated" By Gorguts, "Cryptic Realms" by Massacre, and "Twisted Truth" by Pestilance.
- Epic Rocking:
- "Deranged Assassin" from Come Death is 6:05 minutes long
- "Ten Steps of Purgatory" off Souls of Damnation is 6:41.
- Gorn: Less so now.
- Harsh Vocals:
- Mr. Hustler specialized in Corpsegrinder-esque spit-fire growls.
- Vald was overall slower, but made up for it by being more primal.
- The current vocalist, Bolt, is the Chris Barnes to Hustler's Corpsegrinder, but is generally more understandable for the most part. He also makes use of high shrieks on a fairly frequent basis.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The music video for "Primitive Killing Machine"
- I Am the Band: Dod.
- Insufferable Genius: Caspersen was apparently extremely difficult to work with and probably contributed to the high turnover.
- Lead Bassist: Erlend Caspersen was a major Type A, as well as a Type C due to his overwhelmingly influential nature among metal bassists. Ole Madsen also qualifies as an A because he has to play Caspersen's material.
- Metal Scream: Yngve Christiansen is a frequent user of these.
- Multinational Team: While most of the band is from Norway, their second guitarist Ivan Gujic is Bosnian, though he has lived in Norway since at least his teens.note
- New Sound Album: The self-titled was far faster and had a more pronounced brutal death influence, as well as less of an emphasis on using the bass as a lead instrument. This can probably be attributed mostly to the absence of Caspersen, as he wrote a good deal of their material.
- Revolving Door Band: The band always had turnover issues, but 2011 was the "oh shit" year in that regard.
- Signature Style: Old-School DM meets Brutal DM focusing on thick, rhythmic riffs with the occasional groove, along with extraordinarily technical basswork that more or less serves as a lead instrument. The Self-Titled Album brings the speed up with less powerful, but more constant grooves.
- Start My Own: Espen Antonsen formed The Sickening, another Norwegian Brutal Death act a year after joining, but left, presumably to focus more on that band.
- Teen Genius: Emil Wiksten was well-known for his immense speed, accuracy, and technical prowess even as a teenager.
