The Black Crown

The Black Crown (stylized as THE BLΔCK CRΦWN) is the third studio album by American deathcore band Suicide Silence, which was released July 12, 2011, through Century Media Records. It is the final album to feature vocalist Mitch Lucker, who died on November 1, 2012.

For the 1951 French-Spanish film, see The Black Crown (film). For the Karmapa symbolic tradition, see Black Crown.
The Black Crown
Studio album by
Suicide Silence
ReleasedJuly 12, 2011
Recorded2011 at The Omen Room Studios, Garden Grove, California
Genre
Length39:24
LabelCentury Media
ProducerSteve Evetts
Suicide Silence chronology
No Time to Bleed
(2009)		 The Black Crown
(2011)		 Ending Is the Beginning: The Mitch Lucker Memorial Show
(2014)
Singles from The Black Crown
  1. "Human Violence"
    Released: May 13, 2011
  2. "You Only Live Once"
    Released: May 27, 2011
  3. "Slaves to Substance"
    Released: June 28, 2011
  4. "Fuck Everything"
    Released: October 8, 2011

With anticipation for their third full-length after the release of No Time to Bleed, Suicide Silence prepared recording for The Black Crown on a course of several months starting from the beginning of 2010 with writing ideas and plans before their arrival to the studio for recording in 2011. The album was produced by Steve Evetts.

Lyrical themes

Vocalist Mitch Lucker revealed that the controversial anti-religious lyrics that were included on Suicide Silence's previous albums would not be included on The Black Crown.[4] When asked by Kerrang!, Lucker revealed that the album's lyrical themes would feature more of the personal topics that No Time to Bleed had in-concept. Lucker explained: "I'm not trying to put people's beliefs down - it's about me and my life. This is my head cracked open and poured on the paper! I still have the same beliefs and same views, but I'm more open to everything," he adds. "At this point in my life, I don't see the good in making people hate you for something you say. This record is for everybody."[4]

Cover artwork

The cover for The Black Crown was designed by Ken "K3N" Adams, who designs the artwork for Lamb of God albums as well as many other artists such as Coheed and Cambria and 88 Fingers Louie.[5] The Black Crown was released in several editions such as the standard CD, vinyl (limited to 1000), deluxe edition box set, Digipak limited edition, hot topic version, and a picture disc.

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [7]
Metal Underground[8]
Rock Sound7/10[2]
Thrash Hits[9]
Under the Gun4/10 [10]

Garnering positive reviews, The Black Crown was praised by Rock Sound earning a 7 out of 10 rating with a review headline reading "There's no more of that deathcore monotony from Suicide Silence..." and went on further to state "blastbeats and breakneck discordant technicality aren't lacking on the five-piece's third LP, but nor are they over-prescribed. In fact, to the group's merit, there's very little outright and over-used death metal fury, instead it's partially replaced by modern metal ambiguities and churning, lengthy breaks."[2]

Metal Underground stated "What really makes 'The Black Crown' a worthy listen and elevates it above the dime-a-dozen dreck of today's deathcore, though, is the apparent love and respect Suicide Silence has for its two pillars of musical influence: death metal and hardcore. Not metalcore… real hardcore, the tough stuff."[8]

Diminuendo gave much praise to the album, giving the album a rating in amplifier attenuation of 8 out of 11. The held the statement; "Coarse with rapid fret board shred, Suicide Silence does not fail to bewilder fans with mind-blowing disharmony you'll always remember, and pinch harmonics you wish you could forget. The Black Crown demonstrates that deathcore does possess musical merit."[11]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Mitch Lucker; all music is composed by Suicide Silence

No.TitleLength
1."Slaves to Substance"3:28
2."O.C.D."3:19
3."Human Violence"3:48
4."You Only Live Once"3:13
5."Fuck Everything"4:34
6."March to the Black Crown"1:30
7."Witness the Addiction" (featuring Jonathan Davis)5:32
8."Cross-Eyed Catastrophe" (featuring Alexia Rodriguez)3:25
9."Smashed" (featuring Frank Mullen)3:06
10."The Only Thing That Sets Us Apart"4:10
11."Cancerous Skies"3:14
Total length:39:24
iTunes edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Superbeast" (Rob Zombie cover)3:39
Century Media Exclusive Limited Version
No.TitleLength
12."Revival of Life"4:07
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Revival of Life"4:07
13."Slaves to Substance" (Big Chocolate's Dubstep remix)4:41

Charts
Chart Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 63
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[13] 15
US Billboard 200[14] 28
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[15] 7
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] 3
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[17] 6

Personnel

References
  1. "Suicide Silence – The Black Crown - REVIEW". One Metal. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  2. Cartey, Richard. "Suicide Silence - The Black Crown | Review". Rock Sound.
  3. "Suicide Silence - The Black Crown". Dead Press.
  4. "Kerrang! Suicide Silence get personal on The Black Crown". Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  5. "SUICIDE SILENCE reveal album art / set release date". Hails and Horns. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  6. "The Black Crown by Suicide Silence". Metacritic. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  7. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "The Black Crown - Suicide Silence". Allmusic. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  8. "Suicide Silence - "The Black Crown" CD review". Metal Underground. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  9. "Album: Suicide Silence - The Black Crown". Thrash Hits. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  10. "REVIEW: Suicide Silence: 'The Black Crow '". Under the Gun Review. July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  11. "Diminuendo: A Musical Discourse: Suicide Silence - the Black Crown (2011)". Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Suicide Silence – The Black Crown" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  13. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  14. "Suicide Silence Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  15. "Suicide Silence Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  16. "Suicide Silence Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  17. "Suicide Silence Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
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