Review by Felix on September 11, 2024.

Vom Schwarzen Schmied, the predecessor of Uranium, was a massive statement with excessive melody lines, a lot of drama, and dynamics. Uranium points into the same direction. It’s a logical successor. Dauƥuz still wallows in the fascinating mining scenarios of total darkness, fear, superhuman efforts, and exploitation of natural resources. As a guy from West Germany, I admit that for years I only thought of the “Ruhrpott” in Northrhine-Westphalia in terms of mining. Therefore I enjoy that Dauƥuz add the East German perspective, spanning a line from the year 1666 to the second half of the twentieth century. Especially their lyrics about the murderous and inhumane Russian regime after World War II are very interesting, even though they lack the occult charm of the opener’s lyrics which deal with alchemy and the birth of the name-giving element of the actinide group (isn’t it exciting that there is seemingly nothing that the world wide web doesn’t know, haha?).

Uranium, upgraded by its atmospheric, ominous, and stylish artwork, cannot completely achieve the class of Vom Schwarzen Schmied. It does not suffer from a lot of weak details, but in my humble opinion, tracks like 'Radonquell 1666' (almost nine minutes) and 'Ein Werkzeug Des Todes' (ten minutes) are a bit too long and not totally immune against a few rather vapid sections. The drama of the lyrical content thus loses density, in no moment to a great extent, but nevertheless noticeably. In addition, the melody lines are maybe five or ten percent less expressive than those of the predecessor. This means that most of them are still very good, but the final iota of excellence is missing from time to time.

But let's stop lamenting, after all, only luxury problems are being complained about here. Uranium is another intelligently designed work, meticulously thought out and very competently executed. The single parts of the songs create an organic flow and the single songs almost coalesce with each other, giving the album the feeling of just one track, divided in six chapters. The vocals offer a broad portfolio from grim nagging to heroic singing and the band still does not care about commercial aspects. No doubt, the approach of the duo reflects a lot of the artists’ individuality and despite the lengths of the songs and their different sections, they are more or less easily accessible. Speaking of individuality, the only obvious reference to another band is the bone-chilling guitar line in the opener and the closer which reminds me of the riff in "Daudafærd", the masterpiece of Sweden’s Pest. Apart from this detail, I am sure that every fan of pretty melodic yet always desperate black metal will enjoy the album.

By the way, I am speaking of a very well produced work. Uranium is not based on a furious wall of sound, but it scores due to its masterly balanced and transparent appearance. Each and every single component has found its place. This and the strength of the song material makes the album to a very enjoyable listening experience. The many facets of the songs guarantee that convinced black metal fans will find something good in each and every one of them. Those who think they should skip a song make a mistake, because one can feel the passion and dedication of the two artists in almost every moment. With that said Uranium is no gigantic milestone and very picky maniacs will moan about too many theatrical moments. I also cannot completely rule out that the album loses a bit of its fascination outside of Germany, due to the lyrics in my mother language and the very German lyrical topic. Either way, from my Teutonic perspective, I can recommend Uranium with a clear conscience.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Jeger on November 13, 2025.

In 2015, from out of the Black Forest region of Germania arose Thron - a powerful Black Metal entity whose presence has been a polarizing one. Those of us who've experienced Thron understand the band's importance, while on the other hand, they remain the German Black Metal scene's best kept secret. Not one of those toiling Underground bands that produce a thousand demos, EPs and splits, but a collective that evidently understands the value of patience. Their four, soon-to-be five LP discography itself speaks volumes as to Thron's intentions: to exude the highest levels of class, character and integrity. A career band, the real fucking deal is Thron…

Whilst other German Black Metal bands swill ale and create BM that is fit for Oktoberfest or to celebrate the hunt, Thron harbingers the coming of apocalypse and the coming of Satan. A new Aeon! A new and deadlier kind of Black Metal to see us into a rapturous tomorrow. Thron began to become notorious following the release of 2021's "Pilgrim" and the subsequent release of 2023's "Dust" only tightened their grip on the genre. Now, here we are a couple years later on the cusp of total societal collapse and Thron is back! Today, Hallows Eve 2025, "Vurias" has arrived by way of Listenable Records.

"Vurias" is the product of pure professionalism. There is no punk attitude bullshit or Ad Hominem-level antics here. Let's make a comparison: on one hand, you have Sweden's Dark Funeral and on the other, you have Thron. Both bands are super talented, however, one band represents everything that is wrong with Black Metal, while the other stands as a testament to BM evolutionary perfection. Thron's music is something for the genre to be proud of! Unforgettable album cuts off of "Vurias" like "The Serpent's Path" are like trophies. So many immersive passages to traverse; like being in your favorite art museum and just trying to soak it all in as the mood takes hold. There's this melancholy quality to the opening track that sets a very dreadful tone. Even as the tempo picks up, the mood remains the same: dark and despising…

It's in the little things like the perfectly wet tone of the drums, the elaborate harmony between rhythm and lead guitars and just the smooth, inertialess tempo. It's in the big things as well: mixed to perfection, expertly composed and packaged gorgeously in epic cover art and stunning track visualizers. There are other such impressive tracks like "Hubris' Crown" and "A Paradox" - the former beguiles you with a rich sense of melody before the latter emerges; and with it a sinisterly-tempo'd rhythmic attack along with some violent guitar riffs that leave you a bit ragged in preparation for the temped "Ungemach (Stilles Ende)" - a bewilderingly psychedelic cut during its first couple of minutes and a fittingly evil cut during its midway parts, but then it's back to the Blake Judd - Nachtmystium-level psychedelics. Interesting song to say the least. Thron displays a lot of diversity throughout, as each part becomes increasingly imaginative.

In a class of their own are Thron, and it's bands such as they along with other well-grounded contemporary Black Metal collectives such as Nordjevel and Doedsvangr that will help to steer the genre into a respectable direction moving into the future. Yes, the Underground stuff is really important, but who doesn't love listening to fully-maxed-out Black Metal? Who didn't enjoy watching the Patriots when Tom Brady was Quarterback? Get what I'm saying? Of course you do, because you're a smart fella who listens to great BM like Thron. Just like me! But don't get your hopes up, because it's very difficult to achieve Jeger Black Metal status. And was that a saxophone? It just gets better… With "Vurias", Thron covers all of their bases, as they deliver a comprehensive, genre-exploring, epic fucking record. It's okay to listen to it over and over again… Play it for your knucklehead friends and reap the cred. It's 2025! Here's some 2025-level BM up your ass…

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Michael on October 8, 2025.

Boom, that was quite a surprise when the promo flew into my mailbox. Clandestine and in absolute silence German Thron are back with their fifth album "Vurias" out via Listenable Records. Kicking off with some cool "Where Dead Angels Lie" memorial riff but evolves more and more into a typical Thron anthem with some super-epic melodies. Nothing to find here concerning any huge surprises guitarist PVIII told me about when I hit him up about "Vurias".

The surprises come a little bit later on that album. For example "Ungemach (Stilles Ende)" starts with almost ambient sounds, very calm and relaxing and you can see that the guys were a little bit more open-minded this time when they composed their new songs. Also that they used some German lyrics is something new here but matches quite well to Samcas' grim vocals. And the Hammond organ is something that sounds quite unfamiliar first but matches quite cool into the whole song. Out comes a very strange mind-boggling song with some crazy 70s-vibes.

Another very challenging song if you are more on the "we-hate-changes-side" is "The Hunter And The Prey". First of all the whole song sounds like an ill-fevered nightmare you struggle to get out because of the manic, repetitive riffing and to that are some strange keyboards and a saxophone added to make this bad trip complete. This is definitely not easy listening.

But for this Thron have composed some other songs like "A Hubris' Crown" that comes along pretty light and accessible in comparison to the two aforementioned  tracks. It sounds (like the guys had it on the predecessor "Dust") a little bit like Tribulation or Cloak, only with some harsh black metal vocals.

Another quite nice one to listen to is "A Paradox". Although the vocals remind a lot of Vorph / Samael and also the basic arrangements are similar to Samael at the beginning of the 00s, they soon break out of this frame and set their own marks again.

"The Metamorph's Curse" (a self-reference maybe?) starts dragging very slow and keeps up this melancholic atmosphere. Only here and there are some faster outbursts which underline the very rousing and special atmosphere in that song. It seems that the metamorphosis in the band isn't done yet and there will be many more surprises to come.

What is a very positive aspect of "Vurias" is the powerful production. It is well-balanced and I personally like the thunderous drums – they spread a lot of power in the songs. Also the vocals are well emphasized and have a bigger range than on the previous albums.

But in comparison to "Dust" Thron's fifth album has become a little bit bulkier, which doesn't make it that accessible. It truly is a really good album but I needed some time to get into some of the tracks. Because of that "Dust" which I gave 10/10 back then is still #1 in my Thron-ranking.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10