Review by Adam M on November 29, 2014.

The new Bloodshot Dawn, Demons, is a shot in the arm for the melodic death metal genre this year. Had it not been for a new comeback album from At the Gates, this album would have taken the honour for melodic death metal album of the year. The element that this particular work does well is primarily the guitar work, which is absolutely versatile and stellar throughout. The riff patterns make for some of the most exciting this sub-genre has seen in some time.

The speed of the album is at a high pitch and bolstered by this excellent guitar work. On the downside, the vocals on the album are not up to the standard of the musicianship, but only act as a placeholder for the remainder of the material. Thankfully, the instrumental portions of the album are driven towards focused song-writing rather than over-indulgence. Rather, a large amount of focus is put on creating memorable songs and this helps the large majority of the disc. Tracks such as "The Image Faded" are pure melodic bliss that will remain in the listener’s head for a long time after hearing it. There is very little to improve upon for the next album with Bloodshot Dawn, other than narrowing down their style into more of a niche.

There’s still a great deal to appreciate with this album and it fills in the void of melodic death metal in recent times. It’s a professionally written and performed album that excites with both the technicality and harmoniousness present in the music. With the template set, there is almost nothing but positives for this band in the times to come. Bloodshot Dawn is a band to watch out for in the future, for sure.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Tobias on March 29, 2002.

Even after the dust settled from Deathrace King, I never realized how apropos the name The Crown really is. Now the kings of all that is intense are back with raging depth and voracious sound in their latest release.

This album is loud as hell. Lots of albums are as well, but unlike the masses, Crowned In Terror has a sense of depth and three-pronged whipping precision that will strike you in many places at once.

The rhythm section alone could bore a hole through the earth. Faster than a jackrabbit on crack and heavier than a pile-driver, the only drawback here is that this rage machine can occasionally drown out the ripping six-stringers.

Marko and Marcus burn well patterned welts on you before you can blink with dynamic and refreshingly varied styles resulting in uniquely identifiable tracks. This ability to make each song a separate entity is often a skill that is grossly under-dispersed in most extreme metal bands. Although there are times when the guitars can sound on the verge of being out of control, those times seem to fit the music very well as demonstrated in some of my favorite tracks Speed of Darkness and Out for Blood. The creativity and diversity shown by these two really push this album over the top.

Our man Tomas utterly destroys with his delivery on the mic. While many people may concede to the point that death screams like those of The Crown and The Haunted can be and are often easily replicated in many bands, it is that fine point of delivery that makes the difference; the timing and infused intensity make for a blazingly fantastic performance. It’s that delivery which will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up when listening to tracks like the insta-classic Death is the Hunter.

While the music played here doesn’t rock the scales of originality, the deft intensity and propensity with which The Crown assaults the listener cranks turns all the judgment dials up a few notches.

Bottom Line: It makes my nipples hard! When this album is unleashed, come hell or high water, you’d better be on it.

Categorical Rating Breakdown
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8
Originality: 9
Overall: 10

Rating: 9.2 of 10