The Crown

Biography

The Crown is a Swedish death metal/thrash metal band from Trollhättan, active from 1990 to 2004 and again since 2009.

History

They originally used the name Crown of Thorns but changed it because an American band already had it. Their music and lyrics are inspired by death, antireligious themes (mostly targeting Christianity) and rebellion. They are known to fuse melodic death metal with aggressive old-school death metal and considerable thrash metal reminiscent of Possessed and early Sepultura. The Crown disbanded in 2004. After that, Lindstrand formed One Man Army and the Undead Quartet. Tervonen formed Angel Blake, named after a song by Danzig. Sunesson is in a band called Engel. Olsfelt is in a band called Stolen Policecar. The band reformed in December 2009 with new vocalist Jonas Stålhammar of God Macabre.
On 30 June 2010, it was reported that The Crown signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records. The band's eighth studio album, Doomsday King×Doomsday King24 September 2010 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Doomsday King4:072Angel of Death 18393:483Age of Iron3:134The Tempter and the Bible Black4:415Soul Slasher3:226Blood O.D.4:097Through Eyes of Oblivion3:498Desolation Domain4:529From the Ashes I Shall Return6:0810He Who Rises in Might - From Darkness to Light6:06Disc 21Die Before Dying3:352In Bitterness and Sorrow3:393Kill 20101:354Falling ’Neath the Heaven’s Sea3:21, was released in September 2010.
The Crown celebrated their 25th anniversary with the release of their ninth studio album, Death Is Not Dead×Death Is Not Dead24 December 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Reign1:552Headhunter4:533Iblis Bane4:094Eternal4:035Struck by Lightning5:006Speed Kills (Full Moon Ahead)3:347Herd of Swine4:498Horrid Ways5:179Ride to Ruin5:5010Meduseld5:4411Godeater5:1412We Come in Peace (Piece by Piece)4:4213Agent Orange6:0114Candles - Burn Again6:30, on 12 January 2015. First single "Headhunter×Headhunter27 October 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Headhunter4:522Unfit Earth5:01" was released on 27 October 2014 as well as the music video was made on the same date.
On 28 November 2017, it was announced that The Crown had returned to Metal Blade Records, and released the first single, "Iron Crown×Iron Crown8 January 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Iron Crown3:24", from their then-upcoming tenth studio album Cobra Speed Venom×Cobra Speed Venom14 March 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Destroyed by Madness5:192Iron Crown3:233In the Name of Death4:554We Avenge!5:165Cobra Speed Venom4:556World War Machine5:057Necrohammer4:018Rise in Blood2:589Where My Grave Shall Stand4:3510The Sign of the Scythe7:0211Nemesis Diamond3:4812The Great Dying6:0613Ride the Fire3:22, on 12 January 2018. On that album, The Crown used a string quartet with Alexander Bringsoniou playing violin, viola and cello. Their eleventh studio album, Royal Destroyer×Royal Destroyer10 March 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Baptized in Violence1:182Let the Hammering Begin!6:133Motordeath4:234Ultra Faust6:215Glorious Hades5:066Full Metal Justice3:017Scandinavian Satan2:578Devoid of Light3:329We Drift On4:4010Beyond the Frail5:1911Absolute Monarchy2:5512Dawn of Emptiness (demo), was released 12 March 2021. Their final album, Crown of Thorns, was released on 11 October 2024.
On 1 December 2025, The Crown announced they were disbanding following a farewell tour in 2026, with the final show scheduled on 19 December in Gothenburg.

Musical style

The Crown's music is an aggressive mix of a more melodic version of death metal and thrash metal. Their first demo recording Forever Heaven Gone was described as "truly brutal Swedish death metal that didn't have the typical Swedish sound that bands like Entombed and Dismember were known for." Rather, their aggressive style with heavy riffs and deep powerful vocals was compared to Florida death metal.
The lyrics deal with "diabolical blasphemy, [...] death, darkness, destruction, revolution, war, drugs, sex, black magic and of course rock'n'roll." Jon Kristiansen described The Crown as "a less philosophical, unyielding thrash band". Legacy writer Volkmar Weber described it as surprising "what depth the lyrics have [...] profound inner views and attitudes to life from people who know what they are talking about".

Members

Current line-up

Marko Tervonen – rhythm guitar (1990–2004, 2009–present)
Johan Lindstrand – vocals (1990–2001, 2002–2004, 2011–present)
Marcus Sunesson – lead guitar (1993–2004, 2009–2013, 2024–present)
Mattias Rasmussen – bass (2022–present)
Mikael Norén – drums (2022–present)
Former members

Magnus Olsfelt – bass (1990–2004, 2009–2022)
Janne Saarenpää – drums (1990–2004, 2009–2014)
Robert Österberg – lead guitar (1990–1993)
Tomas Lindberg – vocals (2001–2002; died 2025)
Jonas Stålhammar – vocals (2009–2011)
Robin Sörqvist – lead guitar (2013–2024)
Henrik Axelsson – drums (2014–2022)
Timeline

Albums

The Burning (1995) (as Crown of Thorns)
Eternal Death (1997) (as Crown of Thorns)
Hell Is Here (1999)
Deathrace King (2000)
Crowned in Terror (2002)
Possessed 13 (2003)
Crowned Unholy (2004)
Doomsday King (2010)
Death Is Not Dead (2015)
Cobra Speed Venom (2018)
Royal Destroyer (2021)
Crown of Thorns (2024)

Demos

Forever Heaven Gone (1993) (as Crown of Thorns)
Forget the Light (1994) (as Crown of Thorns)

DVDs

The Crown Invades Karlsruhe (2004), pro-shot live show included with Crowned Unholy CD
14 Years of No Tomorrow (2006), three DVDs consisting of a documentary and live shows