(RockAndMetal.com) (03/12/04)

By Michael Bennett

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - THE CROWN has decided to call it a day after spending 14 years together as a band.

The following message is posted on their official website: "Today, we, the dudes of The Crown, have decided to call it quits.

I'm sure every member in the band can still come up with 10 reasons for continuing and 10 reasons for giving up, but after some heavy consideration we have decided to finally find out what life is like without playing in The Crown.

It's been a blast writing/performing together all these years, taking this band to levels that we never even knew of.

Also getting to know other people in other bands on the road has been amazing.

Seeing new places and getting to see and hear new, great bands has totally blown us away - we sure had our share of fun!

Too many tours gone bad due to not at all professional tour arrangements is maybe the main reason for giving up (we do indeed have stories about tour managers/agencies and the business in general; the best ones would surely make a best-selling book...).

Coming home from tours with empty pockets, equipment falling apart and having a pile of bills on the doorstep is simply "horns down."

Paying the bills with tour memories and floor scores is just not possible.

We do love standing on stage but we don't know much about the business part, and that's a bad combination. Trust me on that one.

The timing for giving up now is both good and bad:

Bad because 'Possessed 13' is an incredible album that deserves some decent touring, but I guess all professional booking agencies have their hands full as it is.

Good because we decided to not sign a new deal with Metal Blade, and now that we finally have 'Crowned In Terror' ('Crowned Unholy'!!!) sounding like it was supposed to, the timing is superb.

We made 6 killer albums, we did stuff our way, and we sure as hell paid our dues.

Or as we say to conclude usual setbacks: "We came, we saw, and we fucked up!"

So we want to thank our fans for the support: you people made it last for 14 years!

Thanks to Metal Blade, thanks to all bands that we've shared the stage with.

Our apologies to the festivals that had us booked for the summer of 2004.

And last but not least: thanks to our girlfriends for putting up with us through the rehearsals, gigs, studio sessions and tours!" - Janne and The Crown.

THE CROWN was originally formed back in 1990 as a primitive garage act under the name "CROWN OF THORNS." And it was in 1992 that they made their first public appearance on a local compilation CD.

In 1993, the band recorded the now infamous "Forever Heaven Gone" demo with its' dark & brutal sound.

It received some underground attention, and got the band to play at the Hultsfred festival alongside major acts like THE RAMONES and ENTOMBED.

Shortly after that appearance, original guitarist Robert Osterberg left the band and was replaced by Marcus Sunesson just before the recording of their second demo, "Forget The Light."

By now, the band had grown into better songwriters and musicians, and the result was a very brutal, intense and evil Death Metal - but with a lot more feeling and melody to it.

Some 'zines wrote that it was the perfect mix between the American and the Scandinavian sound...

That classification eventually led to a deal with the new Swedish Metal label, Black Sun Records.

CROWN OF THORNS' debut CD, "The Burning," featured songs from both of the demos, alongside some new material and was praised as being one of the strongest and most brutal albums of 1995.

A video was shot for the track 'Of Good And Evil,' and the band was also featured on the "Slaytanic Slaughter" tribute album to SLAYER with their version of 'Mandatory Suicide.'

In 1996, the band entered Berno studio once again to record their second album, entitled "Eternal Death," which showed an even more focused, black and epically breathtaking sound.

Its unique blend of hellspawned riffing, blasting drums, beautiful melodies, ripping heavy metal solos, killer vocals and possessed lyrics in catchy arrangements makes "Eternal Death" a very dangerous and highly addictive album to this day.

It also features a mindblowing version of their 1991 garage cult-classic 'Kill (The Priest).' A video was also made for the song 'Angels Die.'

In July 1997, the band is forced to cut their name short into just THE CROWN, due to pressures made by a Christian glam-pop outfit also called CROWN OF THORNS.

The name-change however did not affect the bands musical future as they stated that they still are the same nightmare-team as before and will continue to spread hell and terror in an even more wicked way with more sinful material.

One nasty little taster was 'The Poison,' featured on a compilation album from Wicked World Records, and a blasting cover of the Sepultura hymn 'Arise' appeared on the "Sepulchral Feast" tribute album.

In January/February of 1998, THE CROWN hit the road and raised some serious hell together with SACRILEGE featuring Tomas Lindberg (ex-AT THE GATES).

After having seen a show on this European tour a member of the Metal Blade Records team was very impressed (even after having a beer kicked in his face by singer Johan).

And after some conspiracy (with Satan), the deal was done between the hellish band and the legendary metal label.

After a busy summer playing festivals -- plus extremely hard and extensive rehearsing and writing of new material -- THE CROWN was ready to create their third album, "Hell Is Here."

The result was 11 ripping new tracks of Death, Darkness, Destruction, Revolution,Violence, Mystery, Satanism, War, Drugs, Armageddon, Sex, Black Magic and Rock 'n' Roll.

To celebrate and promote their new musical hell on earth, THE CROWN was proud to participate on the NO MERCY TOUR Part III, and stormed Europe in April of 1999 together with the Death/Black Metal majesty of MORBID ANGEL, EMPEROR, IMPALED NAZARENE, LIMBONIC ART and PECCATUM.

The tour -- including Wacken Open Air -- was a huge success with thousands and thousands of people witnessing, and getting off to the sheer power of THE CROWN on stage.

THE CROWN's 4th album, gloriously entitled "Deathrace King," was recorded during Winter 1999 in the newly-built Studio Fredman.

The result was a top-notch superfat and modern production to really push the music like a bullet through your soul.

This was Death Metal as the ultimate Rock 'n' Roll Uberbeast, laughing and destroying everything in its' way.

"Deathrace King" set a new standard for albums in the new millenium, as it only contained all killer songs without any filler.

The recording session also featured guest vocal performances from Tomas Lindberg (ex-AT THE GATES) and Mika Luttinen (IMPALED NAZARENE), to really kick it in.

During the following year, the DEATHRACE 2000 Tour was on.

57 shows of hell-paced death throughout Scandinavia, North America, England and Europe alongside CANNIBAL CORPSE, NILE, KRISIUN, THE HAUNTED, MORBID ANGEL, ENSLAVED & VOMITORY.

THE CROWN blasted away, night after night, giving it all as if born to race.

In early 2001, singer Johan Lindstrand decided to leave after 11 years down the line, and Tomas Lindberg was recruited as the band's new singer.

After destroying some Summer festivals in 2001, THE CROWN's 5th album, "Crowned In Terror," was recorded, and then released on the April 8th, 2002.

That album was highly praised in the media, and, among other things, got the cover-issue for Metal Maniacs magazine.

THE CROWN then did a full-on blasting headline U.S. tour in the beginning of 2002, together with the road-warrior dudes of DARKEST HOUR.

Back in Sweden again, after a show in Stockholm, Tomas Lindberg was kicked out of the band.

When told about it, he said he wanted to leave anyway - so it was kind of a mutual descision to end the musical co-operation there.

Because there were still some festivals booked in the Summer, original vocalist Johan came up and said he could do it as a favour for the band.

That way there would be no cancellations because of the line-up trouble that he started in the first place.

Those shows went very good, so one hazy night at the bar Marko asked Johan if he wanted to be a full-time member again, and his answer was "yes."

So THE CROWN was back in their original line-up form come Fall 2002.

While rehearsing new material, smaller tours were done in Finland and Italy, and a full two-week headlining tour was done all over Europe.

In May 2003, THE CROWN's new album was recorded at Studio Fredman.

As it marked the 13th year anniversary of the band and contained 13 songs, the album was appropiately entitled "Possessed 13."

On that album, THE CROWN summed up all that they were about in one great album.

"Possessed 13" was a total tribute to all that they had done, filled with brand new riffs next to specially selected and finely matured 13-year-old riffs ripped up from the unreleased past and awoken in new deadly fashion.

Their power was striking.

Classic catchy old-school riffs done in a whole fresh new way of sound and songmaking.

The artwork was also killer, created by Locust Constructions, responsible for the infamous "Crenom" design.

It was a total hammer horror concept: White, black and bloodstained.

There was also be a black limited-edition deluxe version of "Possessed 13," which came with a bonus disc containing 13 previously unreleased demo tracks (where you could here some of the "Possessed 13" riffs in their original form).

The album was first announced to some specially-invited journalists who got to hear the album on a boat-trip through Trollhattan.

And a small teaser was also performed on The 2003 Wacken Open Air festival before tens of thousands of dirty metalheads.

"Possessed 13," THE CROWN's final studio recording, was subsequently released on October 20th, 2003 to worldwide critical acclaim.

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