BAND OF THE WEEK: Thronehammer
Raise your fists for some true epic doom metal!
No bragging or anything, but I just might have been Thronehammer’s first fan. When guitarist Stuart West, a sweet and dear old friend, was still in Obelyskkh, well over a decade ago, he made the innocent mistake of telling me he was putting together a heavy metal band, and that he already had the name - THRONEHAMMER! This was a mistake for several reasons, but mainly because he chose to reveal that information to me during a wonderful festival in a rural area of former East Germany that we were both attending, which besides fantastic German beer also had a lovely little cocktail bar with very reasonable prices. By the time Obelyskkh went up on stage, I might have indulged in more than a few of the aforementioned beverages, and my brain instantly compelled me to stumble to the front of the stage, repeatedly yelling “THRONEHAMMERRRR!” at the very top of my lung capacity with fists raised. The rest of the band looked bemused at the hairy screaming troll, while poor Stuart smiled and laughed at me while probably furiously regretting ever telling me anything on the inside.
Foretunately I’ve had many opportunities to redeem myself of these shenanigans by becoming a fan of the band itself, and not just the name and idea of it, all through their career so far, which already includes two remarkable previous albums, ‘Usurper Of The Oaken Throne’ (2019) and ‘Incantation Rites’ (2021). Barely did I know during my drunken yelling - in my defense, however, it’s the name, isn’t it? “Thronehammer” feels fucking awesome and weighty to say, it’s a word that begs to be screamed out -, or maybe I really did know, that the band would become such a powerful entity, fleshed out by a fantastic line-up that now includes Tim HammerSmith (aka Tim Schmidt, from Seamount, Hexenhammer, Naked Star) alongside Stuart on guitars, Absent/Minded’s Uwe Void on bass, powerhouse drummer Markus Ströhlein (also Seamount) and crucially, Kat Shevil Gillham on vocals. Yes, the thunderous clapping of the riffs, the colossal weight of the songs and the variety they employ in the songwriting which goes from full on charging-ahead metal to melodious melancholy, are the foundation on which their success resides, but Kat’s formidable, commanding vocals are the final defining characteristic, the chocolate chip in the mint ice cream, if you will, that brings it all together in the end. A veteran of the UK scene, a versatile drummer and vocalist, she’s done and continues to do many things in many bands of many genres (Enshroudment, Lucifer's Chalice, Nine Altars, Uncoffined, Winds Of Genocide, ex-Blessed Realm, ex-Morstice…), and her unique vocal style for this genre fits the gruff, almost playful vibe of the rest of the band perfectly.
And now, we welcome the ‘Kingslayer’!
For now, you can just stream the title-track, complete with that absolutely delightful Kat wail as introduction - no, they don’t take themselves too seriously, as no metal band of this kind ever should - but you can rest assured that your moneys are very well invested in the pre-order that you can also do straight from the player above. Clearly the best Thronehammer effort so far - which is saying something, as the previous records were already superb, as mentioned before -, it feels like the band finally coming finding its own giant stride. It sets a very high bar, as from here on out all future records will measure up against the mountainous highs that songs like the resounding ‘Echoes Of Forgotten Battles’, the richly melodic ‘Shieldbreaker’, or the mournful ‘Sacrosanct Grounds’ (featuring the mighty Daniel Kaufman from Eyes Of Fire, Destroy Judas, ex-Mindrot and ex-Dystopia as guest vocalist!) achieve, but that’s a good problem to have.
‘Kingslayer’ is out on November 3rd, pre-order up there or go directly to their Bandcamp. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
To kill some time until that release date, why not enjoy a cool interview with Kat, right after this jump?
“I did a falsetto at the beginning of one song though which was very spontaneous, that’s my 80s Tom Araya moment!”
- Kat Shevil Gillham
And just like that, we are on Thronehammer’s third album already! How are you looking at this one? Do you feel it’s your strongest yet? What aspects on it would you consider an upgrade over the previous ones?
Kat Shevil Gillham (vocals): Yes, third album in four years, not bad going! I guess you always feel your latest work is your strongest but I honestly think it is in every aspect, it is a different beast both musically and vocally, much more diverse and there is a wider scope of influences and inspiration sources at play on this album. I think Tim and Stuart have outdone themselves with the songwriting on this album and I honestly think I have wrote some of my best ever lyrics.
“The most doomed metal album we ever did!”, you proudly stated on your Facebook a few weeks back! Is this the general direction you think your sound is going? Further and further into (epic) doom?
Kat: Hah! More towards epic heavy metal with doom influences in my personal opinion! This is definitely our most HEAVY METAL record in my opinion mixed with the epic doom/death doom/death metal/black metal influences. This new album is a HUGE melting pot of musical and vocal influences, overall it transcends the basic doom tag hence the epic DOOMED metal description! Like a doomier viking era Bathory in places.
Did you have any particular goals when you started writing, or did it all come out like this more or less spontaneously/organically?
Kat: Vocally speaking, I wanted to challenge and push myself even more than on the last album and try some new things out like the multilayered chanting parts. I did a falsetto at the beginning of one song though which was very spontaneous, Stuart asked me to try it so I did it and it turned out cool, that’s my 80s Tom Araya moment! Musically I know Stuart was wanting to try new things out musically and push the band’s sound, bringing in some different influences to go alongside the influences we already have, we didn't just want to repeat the exact same formula as the last album musically, which also made me add in more diverse vocal styles this time. It is definitely our most diverse album so far.
How have your recent live shows been, have you played songs off ‘Kingslayer’ already? How has the reaction of the crowds been? The photos from the Stoned From The Underground gig look awesome – even if you all look a little hot!
Kat: Awesome! No songs played from ‘Kingslayer’ yet but we will play a few on the upcoming tour in September/October in Germany and Switzerland. Yeah, Stoned From The Underground Festival was awesome, an amazing experience for all of us and also quite a challenge as it was 35° when we hit the stage that weekend, but we got through the set without anyone collapsing of heat exhaustion or whatever and the crowd reaction was really cool! Really awesome location too, next to a big lake in Eastern Germany, and it was so well organised, we got treated great by the staff and organisers. Hopefully we can play more outdoor fests!
What did it feel like to have the mighty Daniel Kaufman guesting on your album? His old bands are an obvious influence on your tastes, right?
Kat: Awesome to have him on! I am a huge fan of Mindrot and early Dystopia since the early-mid 90s! It was Stuart’s idea initially to have him involved as he is also a big fan of his other bands Eyes Of Fire and Destroy Judas who I also enjoy a lot. Dan did an awesome job with his guest vocals! They really compliment my vocals in those parts.
Can you tell us a bit more about the lyrics? Is there any kind of concept or theme to the album as a whole? What is your mood and general inspiration when writing lyrics?
Kat: Stuart gives me a title and basic lyrical concept and I run with it from there and expand upon his initial ideas. The theme of warfare and battle is ongoing and prevalent in the new lyrics, battles for domination and kingdoms… There's a definite huge viking era Bathory influence in my lyrics in places too. The lyrics are continuing in the same vein as previous albums overall I'd say. If it ain't broke don't try to fix it!
Do you have any favourite tunes on the album, anything that might mean a little more than the others?
Kat: I love every song on the new album (well, I would say that wouldn't I!) but the following tracks stand out to me at this moment: ‘Kingslayer’, ‘Reign of Steel’, ‘Shieldbreaker’, ‘Sacrosanct Grounds’, ‘Mortal Spheres’. That might change in a few months!
How do you see the future of Thronehammer? Keep getting DOOMED, and releasing a whole bunch more albums and doing a bunch more shows? Please?
Kat: We will see where the musical wind takes us, we have a great vibe in the band at the moment and are all on the same page both personally and musically, there's a good friendship and camaraderie between us too which is definitely important. Just take each month and each year as it comes and see where we go. As long as the fire and inspiration is there then we will push onwards into new territory!
