Blood Red Throne

Blood Red Throne

Blood Red Throne is a death metal group from Kristiansand, Norway, active since 1999. The band is led by guitarist Død, who begins his career in the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon, where he plays live guitar from 1996 to 1999 before turning his focus to death metal.

Formation and early line-up

In 1998, Død starts writing material for a new death metal project with his friend Tchort, who also plays bass in Satyricon and has links with Emperor and Carpathian Forest. Blood Red Throne becomes an official band soon afterwards. Bass player Erlend Caspersen then joins, followed by drummer Freddy Bolsø, who has just moved to Kristiansand to study. Ronnie Thorsen of Trail of Tears contributes vocals to the Deathmix 2000 demo, which leads to a recording deal with Hammerheart Records.

Debut and Hammerheart years

The debut album, Monument of Death, follows in 2001, with Mr. Hustler added as vocalist shortly before recording. The limited edition includes a package called “The Suicide Kit”, containing the album, a printed razor blade and a poster; these kits are hand numbered in the band members’ own blood. The line-up does not perform live, and Freddy Bolsø later leaves. Drummer Espen “Beist” Antonsen of The Sickening joins for Affiliated With The Suffering in 2002, the band’s final album for Hammerheart Records. Blood Red Throne then tours Europe for the first time and plays Inferno Festival among other festivals.

Earache Records period

Before recording the first album for Earache Records, Beist leaves and the band receives help from Bernt Moen for Altered Genesis, which appears in 2005. After that release, Mr. Hustler leaves because of work commitments and Vald takes over vocals. Anders Haave becomes the permanent drummer in 2006, and the band tours Europe again before recording Come Death, released in 2007 on Earache Records. Later that year, Blood Red Throne tours Europe with Divine Heresy.

Later albums and line-up changes

In 2008, the band writes material for Souls of Damnation, released in 2009 and accompanied by a DVD. After this, Tchort takes a break to focus on family and work, leaving Død as the only guitarist on the band’s first headliner European tour, which takes place with Hate. Anders Haave leaves late in 2009 and Swedish drummer Emil Wiksten replaces him. Ivan “Meathook” Gujic joins as a session guitarist while Tchort is still absent, and the band heads to Italy for a headline festival show. In 2010, Blood Red Throne plays Mexico for the first time and later tours the US and Canada with Dimmu Borgir and Enslaved.

2011 onward

Ivan Gujic becomes a permanent member in 2011. The band signs with Sevared Records and releases Brutalitarian Regime, its sixth full-length album. That year it returns to Mexico, plays several summer festivals and tours the US and Canada again with Grave. In October 2011, Erlend Caspersen and Vald leave; Ole Bent Madsen and Bolt replace them on bass and vocals. This line-up tours Europe with Suffocation in 2012 and plays Hellfest the same year. In November 2012, Blood Red Throne headlines its first Norwegian tour. The band’s seventh studio album, Blood Red Throne, follows in 2013, marking 15 years of the band’s existence, and it then heads out on a headline European tour.