Review by Saxy S for Zerre - Rotting on a Golden Throne (2026)

Thrash is not a genre I spend a lot of time with these days. The favour continues to grow thinner with each passing year. But every so often, an album will pop up, whether it be through Metal Academy's featured releases, or a record that just continuously gets rammed down my throat by the online algorithm. And just so we're clear, if that later option happens, you certainly would not be seeing a review for an album, but rather a concerted effort by myself to push it as far away from my vision as possible!

I come from a background where my appreciation of crossover thrash comes from the punk family tree. I absolutely fell in love with the Black Flag's, Husker Du's and Rites of Spring during my exploration of the genre many years ago. So crossover thrash had an appeal to it that was novel, but really had an appeal to me; traditional thrash was always too long with not enough substance. Modern outputs like Power Trip were punchy, relentless, and straight-to-the-point. And while Zerre show promise of that here with Rotting on a Golden Throne, it feels lacking in other aspects. My main criticism towards thrash is how bloated it becomes, and I was worried at first glance as "Pigs will be Pigs" storms out with riff swapping, guitar solos after every stanza, and a hard to follow through line. Ironically, "Mental Vacation", the albums longest song, is far more connected. There were a few times while listening to this where I was surprised just how quickly and smoothly the album was passing by. Songs like "Rotting on a Golden Throne" and "Concrete Hell" were so easily digested that I lost track of how much time had passed; I thought for sure there was supposed to be another four minute guitar solo after!

Alas, it can't all be good. The mixing is very much in the style of the old thrash giants like Exodus and Slayer with tons of reverb, along with high treble and not a lot of bass. The riffs themselves are sporadically solid, but without that thud of a foundational bass line, the album just sits there. This is most egregious during the guitar solos where the lead is not allowed to build and transform into the Kerry King/Jeff Hannenman solo it desperately wants to be. If Zerre could tighten up their mixing, or find a new producer altogether who values those sweet bass tones, while continuing in the same vein as Rotting on a Golden Throne, they very well could be on their way to ascending to the top.

Best Songs: Deception of the Weak, Mental Vacation, Rotting on a Golden Throne, Killing Taste

For Fans Of: Power Trip, Exodus, early Kreator