THRON – Vurias
Release Date: 31st October 2025
Label: Listenable Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Melodic Black Metal
FFO: Dissection, Necrophobic, Hyperion.
Review By: Aeons Burning
There’s not a lot better than some good old-fashioned comfort food, especially in musical form. To me, Thron is that comfort food, having been consistently impressed by their love of the old-school greats, like Dawn, Dissection, and Necrophobic on their previous records that got me hooked. Pilgrim was the first record I discovered, and it got me obsessed with following this band. Catchy, easy-to-love melodic black metal is always great to just put on whenever, and Thron once again deliver that with fifth full length record Vurias, although this time, there were some twists, as Vurias delivers that classic sound I’ve come to expect from Thron, but with a dash of 70s-style prog thrown in, courtesy of added saxophone and Hammond organ. Altogether, this is pretty ambitious, and Thron have managed to pull it off quite well.
Vurias takes on a more melancholic tone right from the get-go than previous Thron records, as instead of instant fury like on Pilgrim or Abyssal, The Serpent’s Path builds up a bit before exploding into the blackened fury I’ve come to expect. Each of the other songs on Vurias continue in this vein, but Thron are at their proggiest on Ungemach (Stilles Ende), which is a nine-minute epic that includes the use of Hammond organ, culminating in an organ solo at the end I didn’t ever think I’d hear on a Thron record, and is my personal favorite track of the bunch. This is a mesmerizing piece of melodic black metal that adds in a fantastic touch of moodiness and tension to Vurias. Production is also top-notch, and overall I have minimal complaints.
The small issue I have with Vurias is that it’s a bit front-loaded. After Ungemach (Stilles Ende), the rest of the tracks aren’t nearly as strong, while still being solid overall. The saxophone inclusion in closer The Hunter and the Prey is welcome, but it also leaves me wanting it present on more tracks. However, these complaints are more nitpicky than anything else, because as I’ve stated, Vurias is a solid record that takes the worship of the olde into a burgeoning new guard of melodic black metal that I hope will continue on for the years to come. Thron are consistently good, comfort-food melodic black metal, and I can only hope they’ll continue this trend further, because it’s hard to find a band that’s remained solid across all of their albums. Don’t sleep on Vurias if you’re a fan of melodic black metal in any way.
(3.5 / 5)
