Sweden’s Dethrone have been around for some time, cranking out a hybrid of death metal and thrash that sounds akin to Dew Scented meets At The Gates. With two full lengths under their belt and about four years since their last album they’ve given fans a small EP to enjoy for 2020. Clocking under 15 minutes it doesn’t give new fans much to go on save for a preview into their full lengths, but for older fans it serves as just enough to get one excited for the next full length album. “State Of Decay” has everything that has made Dethrone what it is the last ten years – fast riffs, groove, and brutal vocals.

Tracks like ‘Divine Supremacy’ and ‘Room 101’ are more standard thrash fare. With barked vocals and a mid paced groove fans of mid era Slayer will probably find this enjoyable. The production is pretty clear so everything can be heard- no raw fuzz of 80s thrash here. Other tracks like ‘Revolt’ and ‘Flesh Harvest’ give more way to the death metal side with growled vocals among the barked ones that feel almost more in the vein of Deicide and carry a lot more ferocity. To balance this out, some of the riffs are extra groove laden such as the chugging rhythm of ‘Flesh Harvest’ which are sure to stick with listeners long after the track is over. The drumming is a little more on overdrive as well to keep up with the ferocity which tends to lose its technical ability, but for those seeking awesome drum work in thrash should check out ‘Divine Supremacy’ for its thunderous tones and infectious rhythms.

Overall Dethrone will be sure to gain some new listeners with this EP. It isn’t a huge step up from their previous full length but serves as a bridge between that and what they have in the future. Definitely worth listening to for those who like death metal and thrash blended together right out of the mid 90s- not too polished but also not sounding like a demo tape. Hopefully these guys will have new full length material to give to fans to digest and bang their heads to in the next year or so.

3 / 5 STARS