Zerre Rotting On A Golden Throne Review
ZERRE
Rotting On A Golden Throne
Dying Victims Productions
2026
Germanic thrash has a long, storied history in the annals of metal. Since the dawn of the ’80s, bands such as Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator have been cranking out pit-worthy anthems and quality albums alongside Darkness, Tankard, etc. The country’s latest export, Würzburg’s Zerre, are no exception. Let's dive deep into these mosh merchants’ fourth full-length, the savage Rotting On A Golden Throne.
ZERRE operates as a quintet and, upon checking out their earlier releases, I can ascertain one thing: they are committed to waving the flag and carrying the torch for old-school thrash, with a few twists and turns giving them a unique sense of individuality in a very crowded scene. This newest effort is of that same mind, yet a bit darker and more aggressive than previous albums. With top-notch production (that relies a bit too heavily on the overly reverb-soaked, yet vicious vocals of Nico Ziska, to my ears anyway), all their guns are blazing here. Guitarists Dominik Bertelt and Rocco Lepore crank out fast alternate picking, churning and chugging riffs as if it's second nature. Meanwhile, the lightning speed and tasteful drumming of Basti Spahn and the galloping yet in-the-pocket simplicity of Tim Müller (bass) hold down the airtight rhythm section. Together they crank out an intro and eight songs that plod, stomp, and swiftly worm themselves into your brain.
The songs here all seem to have an overtly more political and social tone to them this time out, as is evident by the mere album title. Yet, upon a closer look, there's more meat to those bones in the rapid-fire d-beat of “Pigs Will Be Pigs,” the double-kick-lined punch of “Deception of the Weak” (the open strings and chording of the guitars on the gang shouts in the chorus are chef’s kiss), and the title track “Rotting On A Golden Throne.” ZERRE knows how to write catchy yet scintillating tunes that are definitely not short on anger, heaviness, and pure headbanging bliss (the mid-paced breakdown of the title track is a certain vertebreaker live). I'm not big on comparing bands, but if I had to reference where they are coming from, imagine elements of classic Exodus and Metallica colliding with Municipal Waste’s more crossover-related material and the Bay Area nods Faith No More dished out on The Real Thing, and you are pretty much in their ham-fisted, denim-vest-wearing ballpark. It's certainly nothing groundbreaking, but they combine all of these influences to make for an engrossing, song-oriented listen. I have done far worse things with 40 minutes and 5 seconds of my time.
ZERRE can comfortably hang their bullet belts amongst the progenitors of German thrash lineage. They are giving them a run for their money, too. Crank this. If you can listen to the opening of “Concrete Hell” without gritting your teeth, then you just don't like good thrash… Bang on, gentlemen!
RIYL: Exodus, Municipal Waste, Slayer, early Metallica, Faith No More
~TB