Dead Label – Throne Of Bones

Irish death-groove trio Dead Label return with their second album, Throne Of Bones. Recorded at East West Studios on Sunset Boulevard towards the end of last year, it sees the band maturing into a well-oiled machine. Dead Label toured sections of the States between their visits to the studio and you can feel the tightness that comes from playing countless live shows on this album.

Kicking off with title track, ‘Throne of Bones’ is a full on metal kick to the teeth with generous portions of groove. The first growl from frontman Dan O’Grady is just inhuman and exudes unbridled power.  There is something unique about the sound that Dead Label have crafted. They have chiseled for themselves a style that is full on brutality yet carries a melodic groove that is just so robust, potent and compelling.  I’ve been listening to this album loud on repeat. Even at 5am driving to work it has me head-banging along and loving every second.  There is a great natural progression in the album as it flows into ‘Salvation in Sacrifice’. Having already treated us to a music video for the track, this tune is a firm favourite for me and I love the added guitar intro on the album version. ‘Ominous’ follows with the most incredible opening. This song is a pure stomping anthem. As Throne Of Bones progresses I am blown away more and more by the talent of these guys and lady.  I was lucky enough to catch them supporting Fear Factory at the end of last year and caught up with them before to speak a little about Throne of Bones.  They told me that in the writing process every single note and beat that made it onto the album only did so with great thought and consideration.  This hard work and perfectionism has led them to create an absolute monster of an album.

‘The Birth of Suffering’ is another track with a beautiful guitar line that kicks into heavy contrasting riffs. I really like this track as it has a lot of variety to it; this showcases a lot of the range of which Dead Label are capable, whilst still fitting perfectly into the theme of the album.  It follows into instrumental piece ‘The Cleansing’, a track that is stripped back and very different to what I have heard from Dead Label and gives a nice change of pace before launching into the twin metal assault of ‘Exhume the Venom’ and ‘Void’.  Throne of Bones closes with one of Dead Label’s best ever songs, ‘The Gates Of Hell’. Preceded with a haunting piano piece that progresses and builds seamlessly into an aggression fueled metal work of art, I can’t get enough of this track. The Gates Of Hell is an absolute highlight and is the perfect song to finish off Throne Of Bones.

Whilst there are only 8 tracks on Throne Of Bones, I feel that every song is strong and fits perfectly on the album. So many albums these days are littered with obvious ‘filler’ tracks but every single note on this album is as well placed and fitting as the next, which delivers a death-groove metal album of absolute perfection.  Dead Label should be incredibly proud of all they have achieved with Throne Of Bones. All the hard work they have put in has paid off and even this early in the year, I can say that this will be one of the top contenders for me for album of the year. I warn everyone reading this review that Dead Label are a band who need to be on your radar.  This year is very much theirs! I really hope they get back on the road ASAP so I can see them again. Dead Label truly are one of the most talented young metal bands out there right now and they are proving it with their live and studio work.

Throne Of Bones is a massive jump for Dead Label as a force on the international scene in 2016 and beyond. Taking all their strengths and pouring their hearts into these songs has yielded a dynamic album, busting with ballistic anthems.

Track-List

1- Throne of Bones

2- Salvation in Sacrifice

3- Ominous

4- The Birth of Suffering

5- The Cleansing

6- Exhume The Venom

7- Void

8- The Gates Of Hell

Members –

Dan O’ Grady: Bass/Vocals

Danny Hall: Guitar

Claire Percival: Drums

Links –

https://www.facebook.com/DeadLabel

Throne Of Bones will be released on May 27th.