

Twelve albums into their nearly 30-year career, Norway’s Blood Red Throne is still serving up the kind of meat-and-potatoes death metal that fuels circle pits and minor neck injuries. “Husk in the Grain” delivers relentless blasts and huge slam riffs while providing space for guitarists Ivan “Meathook” Gujic and Daniel “Død” Olaisen to slice off glistening harmonized leads. Newish vocalist Sindre Wathne Johnsen, on just his second outing with Blood Red Throne, gives good gutturals throughout, while bassist Stian Gundersen—the band’s secret weapon—drops in with killer sci-fi breaks on “Vermicular Heritage” and “On These Bones.”