THE CROWN BIOGRAPHY

THE CROWN
Biography

The Crown is a death/thrash metal band from Trollhättan, Sweden, formed in 1990. For its first years it was called Crown of Thorns, and under that name it released The Burning (1995) and Eternal Death (1997) on Black Sun Records before pressure from another band of the same name forced it to become The Crown in 1997. On Metal Blade Records it made Hell Is Here (1998) and Deathrace King (2000), and when the singer Johan Lindstrand left in 2001 it recorded Crowned in Terror (2002) with Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates. Lindstrand came back for Possessed 13 (2003), the band split in March 2004, and later that year Crowned Unholy, Crowned in Terror re-made with Lindstrand's vocals, came out. The band re-formed in December 2009 with Jonas Stålhammar as its singer and released Doomsday King (2010) on Century Media Records, and Lindstrand returned in 2011. After Death Is Not Dead (2015) The Crown went back to Metal Blade in 2017 and released Cobra Speed Venom (2018), Royal Destroyer (2021) and Crown of Thorns (2024), an album named after the band's old name. On 1 December 2025 the band announced that 2026 would be its last year, with a final show in Gothenburg on 19 December 2026.

Beginnings as Crown of Thorns (1990-1997)

The band's home town is Trollhättan in Sweden (Metal Blade Records, 2024). According to the biography the band published on its website in 2000, it began in 1990 as a primitive mix of death metal, thrash and grindcore, and by the time it first appeared on record, on a local compilation CD in 1992, it had turned to a more technical and melodic kind of death metal that was still rough at the edges (the band's former website, 2000). The bassist Magnus Olsfelt was there from the start (Metal Blade Records, 2024).

The 1993 demo Forever Heaven Gone drew attention in the underground and won the band a place at the Hultsfred festival in Sweden, on a bill that also had the Ramones and Entombed. Soon afterwards the original guitarist, Robert Österberg, left over musical differences, and in 1994, just before the second demo, Forget the Light, was recorded, Marcus Sunesson took his place (the band's former website, 2000).

That second demo led to a contract with Black Sun Records, a new Swedish label, and in 1995 came the debut album, The Burning, which mixed songs from both demos with new material. A video for "Of Good and Evil" was shown on MTV among other channels, and the band contributed "Mandatory Suicide" to the Slayer tribute album Slatanic Slaughter (the band's former website, 2000; official site). The second album, Eternal Death, was recorded in 1996 and released by Black Sun Records in 1997, and a video for "Angels Die" was edited together from footage of the band's shows (the band's former website, 2000; official site).

The name change and Metal Blade Records (1997-2000)

In July 1997 the band had to give up the name Crown of Thorns and become The Crown. The pressure came from another band called Crown of Thorns, and as the band explained at the time, that band had the backing of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss, which left no room for an argument. The band stressed that the new name changed neither its members nor its music (the band's former website, 2000). Even in 2024 the guitarist Marko Tervonen recalled that the band had been Crown of Thorns for a few years before it had to shorten the name (Metal Blade Records, 2024).

In January and February 1998 the band toured Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands with Sacrilege, whose line-up then included the former At the Gates singer Tomas Lindberg. Someone from Metal Blade Records saw one of the shows and was impressed enough for a contract with the label to follow (the band's former website, 2000).

The band's third album and its first for Metal Blade, Hell Is Here, was recorded over four weeks at Berno Studio in Malmö and released in 1998 (the band's former website, 2000; official site). In April 1999 the band toured Europe on the third No Mercy tour with Morbid Angel, Emperor, Impaled Nazarene, Limbonic Art and Peccatum, and in August it played to 4,000 people at Wacken Open Air in Germany, its biggest audience yet. For Power from the North, a compilation on which Swedish bands paid tribute to the Swedish metal of the past, it recorded Bathory's old demo song "Burnin' Leather" (the band's former website, 2000).

The fourth album, Deathrace King, was recorded in 21 days in November and December 1999 at the newly built Studio Fredman with the producer Fredrik Nordström. Most of the band fell ill during the winter sessions, and Johan Lindstrand's vocal takes had to stop now and then to rest his throat; all the work was finished on 4 January 2000. Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates and Mika Luttinen of Impaled Nazarene sang as guests (the band's former website, 2000). Metal Blade released the album in 2000 (official site), and in Japan JVC Victor took a licence to manufacture Japanese editions of it and of Hell Is Here (the band's former website, 2000).

In 2000 the band played four shows in Scandinavia with Cannibal Corpse, Vomitory and Mystic Circle in April and toured the United States from the end of July to early September. In October it toured Britain and Ireland with The Haunted, and in December it toured Europe with Morbid Angel and others on the X-Mass Festivals 2000 bill (the band's former website, 2000).

A change of singer and Crowned in Terror (2001-2002)

On 3 February 2001 the band announced that Johan Lindstrand was leaving after ten years. In a note dated 27 January, Lindstrand explained that the main reason was the amount of touring: he could not combine the band's progress with his private life. The band, for its part, wrote that the split came without any falling-out and that they would stay friends (the band's former website, 2001).

On 15 March Tomas Lindberg, known from At the Gates and Skitsystem, was announced as the new singer and a full member of the band. He had already sung a few lines on the previous album, and he was to take part in writing the lyrics and the vocal arrangements of the new songs (the band's former website, 2001). The new line-up made its live debut on 19 May at the 2000 Decibel festival in Bengtsfors, Sweden, where the band stepped in for Dismember at short notice (the band's former website, 2001).

The fifth album, Crowned in Terror, was recorded at Studio Mega in October 2001 by Chris Silver, Marko Tervonen and Marcus Sunesson. The band mixed it at Studio Fredman with Fredrik Nordström in November, was not satisfied with the result, and mixed the whole album again at Studio Mega. For the cover it turned to Thomas Ewerhard, who had designed the Hell Is Here sleeve and the Deathrace King booklet (the band's former website, 2001). Meanwhile Sunesson filled in for Mike Wead on The Haunted's tour of the United States in November and December (the band's former website, 2001).

Metal Blade released the album in April 2002. The release dates the band announced in January were 8 April for Europe, 9 April for the United States and Canada and 24 April for Japan (the band's former website, 2002; official site). That spring the band made its first American tour behind the album, with All That Remains and Darkest Hour. According to Metal Blade, the album entered the Swedish metal chart at No. 8 on 26 April, and in the United States it outsold every earlier release of the band within three weeks (the band's former website, 2002).

On 4 June, however, the band announced that it had parted ways with Lindberg over personal differences and that it would not answer any questions about it (the band's former website, 2002). A year later the drummer Janne Saarenpää wrote that, although the band had told interviewers the decision was mutual, it was in fact the band that had let Lindberg go, and that Lindberg had wanted to leave anyway (the band's former website, 2003). Without a singer, the band played the Tuska festival in Finland on 13 July and Party.San in Germany in August with Johan Lindstrand helping out as an old friend (the band's former website, 2002). For a tour of the United States with Kreator and Destruction that year, Andreas "Whiplasher Bernadotte" Bergh of Deathstars was to stand in as singer, but the logistics could not be worked out and the band called the tour off (Blabbermouth, 2008).

Johan Lindstrand's return and Possessed 13 (2002-2003)

On 9 October 2002 Johan Lindstrand rejoined the band as its permanent singer. He promised full commitment this time and said he had already rehearsed a few new songs and loved them (the band's former website, 2002; Blabbermouth, 2002).

In March 2003 the band revealed the title of the new album, Possessed 13, and went on a European tour that began in the Netherlands; in May and June it recorded the album at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg and produced it itself (the band's former website, 2003; Blabbermouth, 2009). Marko Tervonen described it as a record with fewer melodies and more power, and called the lyrics Magnus Olsfelt had written the best of his career (the band's former website, 2003). The lyrics of "Deliverance" were written by Andreas Bergh of Deathstars (Blabbermouth, 2008).

The album was released in Europe in October 2003 (the band's former website, 2003; Blabbermouth, 2009). Its limited digipack added a bonus CD with "Last Rite", the band's first proper recording from 1992, both demos, Forever Heaven Gone and Forget the Light, in full, the Bathory cover "Burnin' Leather" and a demo version of "Rebel Angel" (the band's former website, 2003; Blabbermouth, 2009). The video for the first single, "Face of Destruction / Deep Hit of Death", was shot in Germany in August on the day the band played the Summer Breeze festival, directed by Michael Schneider of 2Dmedia (the band's former website, 2003; Blabbermouth, 2009).

The split and Crowned Unholy (2003-2004)

In October 2003 the band began re-recording Crowned in Terror with Johan Lindstrand singing. Around a European tour that autumn, the work continued, and from January 2004 the whole album was remixed at Bohus Sound Recordings (the band's former website, 2003 and 2004). One show of that tour, in Karlsruhe on 24 November 2003, was filmed professionally (the band's former website, 2004).

On 7 March 2004 the band announced that it had split up. The statement, written by the drummer Janne Saarenpää in the band's name, gave as the main reason the many tours that had gone wrong through poor organisation, which kept sending the band home out of pocket and with damaged equipment. On the timing, it regretted that Possessed 13 would not get the touring it deserved, but counted it a good moment to stop, since the band had decided not to sign a new deal with Metal Blade and had at last got Crowned in Terror to sound the way it wanted. The statement thanked the fans for six albums and fourteen years and apologised to the festivals that had booked the band for the summer of 2004 (the band's former website, 2004; Blabbermouth, 2009).

The re-made Crowned in Terror was titled Crowned Unholy and released by Metal Blade Records Europe in August 2004, after the split. Lindstrand's vocals and Magnus Olsfelt's bass were recorded anew, Saarenpää reworked the drum sound, and he also programmed a new version of the intro and the synthesizer parts. The album came with a bonus DVD, The Crown Invades Karlsruhe, which holds the whole Karlsruhe show (the band's former website, 2004; Blabbermouth, 2004).

In September the band wrote that this was its last studio album, and Lindstrand revealed that a three-disc DVD telling the band's story from beginning to end was in preparation: a two-hour documentary edited by Ben Isaac on the first disc, and live footage, both professionally filmed and shot by fans, on the other two (the band's former website, 2004; Blabbermouth, 2004). Metal Blade Records later released the three-DVD set 14 Years of No Tomorrow (official site; MusicBrainz).

From Dobermann to the reunion, and Doomsday King (2004-2010)

After the split Johan Lindstrand sang in One Man Army and the Undead Quartet (Blabbermouth, 2010 and 2012), and Marko Tervonen also played in Angel Blake (Blabbermouth, 2008). In August 2008 it was reported that Tervonen, Magnus Olsfelt, Marcus Sunesson and Janne Saarenpää had formed a new band, Dobermann, with Andreas "Whiplasher Bernadotte" Bergh of Deathstars as their singer, and were recording what they called pure death/thrash metal (Blabbermouth, 2008).

Bergh left in 2009, and in December that year Dobermann officially renamed itself The Crown and presented a five-piece line-up with a new singer, Jonas Stålhammar, known from God Macabre, Macabre End and Abhoth (Blabbermouth, 2009). Tervonen said that Lindstrand had been asked to join Dobermann but was too busy with One Man Army, and had himself suggested that they use the name The Crown. The band had hesitated for a long time and first wanted a completely different name, but as the album took shape everything sounded so much like The Crown that they went back to it (Blabbermouth, 2010).

In June 2010 the band signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records (Blabbermouth, 2010). Doomsday King, released that September, turned out to be the only album Stålhammar sang on (Blabbermouth, 2014; official site).

Lindstrand back again and Death Is Not Dead (2011-2015)

In September 2011 Johan Lindstrand returned to the band. Jonas Stålhammar stepped aside, welcoming back what he called the true voice of The Crown, and Lindstrand said he was grateful to be with his oldest friends again in the original line-up (Blabbermouth, 2011). His other band, One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, called it a day in December 2012, and Lindstrand said he would carry on with The Crown (Blabbermouth, 2012).

Lindstrand's first show since his return was at Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg on 5 May 2012, the band's first Gothenburg concert in twelve years and its only show in Sweden that year (Blabbermouth, 2013 and 2014).

In February 2013, in the middle of recording a new album, the band introduced Robin Sörqvist, who had played in Impious, as its new lead guitarist; Marcus Sunesson's name was no longer in the line-up. In the same update the band mentioned that it would visit Japan for the first time three months later (Blabbermouth, 2013).

In September 2014 the band announced Death Is Not Dead, an album marking its 25th anniversary, and also that Janne Saarenpää had left to focus on other things for an unspecified time; the band said there would always be a place for him (Blabbermouth, 2014). His successor, Henrik Axelsson, played with the band from 2014 (Blabbermouth, 2022), drummed on the album's bonus tracks, and became a permanent member in June 2015 (BraveWords, 2015).

On 27 October 2014 the band released its first ever seven-inch single, "Headhunter", limited to 1,000 copies, with a cover of Napalm Death's "Unfit Earth" on the B-side (Blabbermouth, 2014; official site). Death Is Not Dead came out on Century Media Records in January 2015 and includes a cover of Paradise Lost's "Eternal"; the Japanese edition, on Marquee Inc., had come out a few weeks earlier, in December 2014 (Blabbermouth, 2014; official site; Tower Records).

Back on Metal Blade: Cobra Speed Venom and Royal Destroyer (2017-2021)

In November 2017 the band announced that it had returned to Metal Blade Records with a deal for several albums and had finished recording a new album at Studio Fredman. The band said that its biggest steps forward had always been taken with Metal Blade. The line-up at that point was Johan Lindstrand, Magnus Olsfelt, Marko Tervonen, Robin Sörqvist and Henrik Axelsson (Blabbermouth, 2017).

Having spent most of 2017 rehearsing thirteen new songs, the band recorded Cobra Speed Venom with Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman, writing, rehearsing and recording it together as a band, which was the point. Metal Blade released it in March 2018, and the first single, "Iron Crown", also came out as a limited seven-inch on 12 January (Blabbermouth, 2017 and 2018; official site).

Royal Destroyer, which Olsfelt called the band's tenth album, was written after the 2019 touring and festival season and rehearsed for a whole year. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the sessions back five months from May, and they took place at Studio Fredman with Nordström in October 2020, where everything was recorded in about a week (Metal Blade Records, 2021; official site, 2020). "Let the Hammering Begin!" is a tribute to the late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman (Metal Blade Records, 2021). Metal Blade released the album in March 2021 (official site).

A new line-up and Crown of Thorns (2022-2024)

In 2022 the founding bassist, Magnus Olsfelt, left the band. Marko Tervonen has said that although many of the band's songs are credited to the two of them, "Gone to Hell" is the only one they actually wrote together: Olsfelt showed him the basic riffs on bass before leaving, and Tervonen took it from there (Metal Blade Records, 2024).

The drummer Mikael Norén and the bassist Mattias Rasmussen joined in 2022, and with the return of the lead guitarist Marcus Sunesson the band became a five-piece again around the long-standing pair of Tervonen and Johan Lindstrand. Tervonen said Norén had brought back some of the wild drive of the Janne Saarenpää days, and Rasmussen, who comes from a punk and crust background, wrote "I Hunt with the Devil" and "Mind Collapse" (Metal Blade Records, 2024).

Crown of Thorns, released by Metal Blade on 11 October 2024, takes its title from the band's name before it became The Crown (Metal Blade Records, 2024; the band's Bandcamp). Tervonen pushed to settle the artwork early and wanted it to show the Strömkarlsbron bridge in the band's home town, Trollhättan, with its statue of the water spirit Strömkarlen, so as to bring everything back to the town where it all began; the cover was painted by Giannis Nakos. Tervonen recorded the album at Studio-MT, and Jonas Kjellgren of Black Lounge Studios mixed and mastered it. The guitars were tuned up from C, the tuning used since Possessed 13, to D (Metal Blade Records, 2024). Kjellgren had also produced an album by Lindstrand's One Man Army and the Undead Quartet in 2011 (Blabbermouth, 2012).

No Tomorrow - Farewell 2026 (2025-2026)

Tomas Lindberg, who had sung with the band in 2001 and 2002, died of cancer on 16 September 2025. On 18 November The Crown announced that it would join Dark Tranquillity and The Halo Effect for a night in his memory at Monument 031 in Gothenburg on 6 December, with the ticket money going to the Swedish cancer charity Cancerfonden and the Gardens of Grief fund set up there (Blabbermouth, 2025).

On 1 December 2025 the band issued a statement announcing that, after 35 years, it was bringing its story to an end. The statement made 2026 both the band's last year of live shows and its final chapter, said the band wanted to finish on its own terms, and dedicated the farewell to the fans who had kept it going for more than three decades. It presented the band's 2026 shows around the world as farewell shows, a last chance to meet its fans, and closed with the words "No Tomorrow - Farewell 2026" (Blabbermouth, 2025).

The dates announced with the statement began at the Mangualde Hard Metal Fest in Portugal on 10 January 2026 and took in Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Zürich in March, the Maryland Deathfest in the United States on 22 May, festivals in Finland, Italy and Austria over the summer, Umeå, Linköping and Skövde in November, the Metal Meeting in the Netherlands on 12 December and Stockholm on 18 December, ending in Gothenburg on 19 December. In that announcement the final show was to be at Valand in Gothenburg (Blabbermouth, 2025). Monument 031 in Gothenburg later listed "The Final Show" for 19 December 2026, with Sarcator in support (Monument 031).

Members

The line-up in 2026 is these five (official site; Metal Blade Records, 2024).

Member	Role	Years
Johan Lindstrand	Vocals	Until 2001 (ten years in the band), 2002-2004, 2011-
Marko Tervonen	Guitar	Until the 2004 split, 2009-
Marcus Sunesson	Lead guitar	1994-2004, 2009 to the early 2010s, back for Crown of Thorns
Mattias Rasmussen	Bass	2022-
Mikael Norén	Drums	2022-

Former members (the band's former website; official site; Metal Blade Records; Blabbermouth; BraveWords):

Member	Role	Years
Magnus Olsfelt	Bass	1990-2004, 2009-2022
Janne Saarenpää	Drums	Until the 2004 split, 2009-2014
Robert Österberg	Guitar	From the 1990 formation until after the 1993 Hultsfred show (his successor, Marcus Sunesson, joined in 1994)
Tomas Lindberg	Vocals	2001-2002 (also a guest on Deathrace King)
Jonas Stålhammar	Vocals	2009-2011
Robin Sörqvist	Lead guitar	2013 on; left before Crown of Thorns
Henrik Axelsson	Drums	2014 on (a permanent member from 2015); left before Crown of Thorns

Concerts in Japan

The Crown first came to Japan in June 2013, for six nights of The Spring Is Gone Tour 2013, presented by Chaotic Music Entertainment. The tour opened at Flying Son in Sendai on the 11th, went on to 3STAR Imaike in Nagoya on the 12th, Pangea in Osaka on the 13th, Graf in Fukuoka on the 14th and Sunash in Shizuoka on the 15th, and closed at Shibuya Cyclone in Tokyo on the 16th. The tour flyer also billed Gorod, Gotsu Totsu Kotsu, Hypocras, As Silence Breaks and Create|Destroy, and gave the ticket prices as 3,000 / 3,500 yen plus a drink (the band's concert list; the promoter's flyer). In February of that year the band had announced that its first trip to Japan was three months away, and filmed a short clip for its Japanese fans (Blabbermouth, 2013). B'n'F Productions and ALIVE, who brought the band back in later years, also describe 2013 as its first visit (B'n'F Productions; ALIVE).

Two years later the band shared the bill of B'n'F Productions' Extreme Death Feast 2015 with Aborted, Rotten Sound and Zuul FX: Nanba Rockets in Osaka on 16 April, with doors at 17:30 and the show at 18:00, and duo MUSIC EXCHANGE in Shibuya, Tokyo, on 17 April, with doors at 17:00 and the show at 17:45, each at 6,000 yen plus a drink. The promoter announced the two nights as the Japanese leg of the tour for the new album Death Is Not Dead (B'n'F Productions; the promoter's flyer).

The third visit was The Crown Japan Tour 2018, planned and promoted by ALIVE, with Origin from the United States and the Australian bands Descent and Primitive. It played FANJ twice in Osaka's Amerikamura on 12 September, 3STAR Imaike in Nagoya on the 13th and Shibuya Cyclone in Tokyo on the 14th and 15th, with doors at 17:30 and the show at 18:30 every night. A standing ticket cost 6,500 yen, a ticket with a poster signed by the band 9,500 yen, and a VIP ticket, limited to five buyers and including a view of the soundcheck, 30,000 yen, each plus a drink (ALIVE; Shibuya Cyclone). ALIVE billed the second Tokyo night as an anniversary show, with a set list celebrating twenty years of Hell Is Here and fifteen of Possessed 13 (ALIVE).

For October 2026, SWD Japan arranged four dates as the Japanese leg of the band's farewell tour, No Tomorrow-Farewell 2026 / Last Roar in the East: SPACE ODD in Daikanyama, Tokyo, on 20 and 21 October, 3STAR Imaike in Nagoya on the 22nd and SOCORE FACTORY in Osaka on the 23rd, each with doors at 18:00 and the show at 18:30. Advance tickets cost 7,500 yen, 9,500 yen with a signed poster and 15,000 yen with a meet-and-greet, with a drink charge on top, and a ticket for both Tokyo nights, at 12,000 yen, sold out. General sale opened on e+ at 10:00 on 16 March 2026 (SWD Japan; e+; SPACE ODD). SOCORE FACTORY's listing names Sight Of Emptiness, Inelement and Anatania as the Osaka date's support acts (SOCORE FACTORY).

Date	Venue	Show
11 June 2013	Flying Son (Sendai)	The Spring Is Gone Tour 2013
12 June 2013	3STAR Imaike (Nagoya)	The Spring Is Gone Tour 2013
13 June 2013	Pangea (Osaka)	The Spring Is Gone Tour 2013
14 June 2013	Graf (Fukuoka)	The Spring Is Gone Tour 2013
15 June 2013	Sunash (Shizuoka)	The Spring Is Gone Tour 2013
16 June 2013	Shibuya Cyclone (Tokyo)	The Spring Is Gone Tour 2013
16 April 2015	Nanba Rockets (Osaka)	Extreme Death Feast 2015
17 April 2015	duo MUSIC EXCHANGE (Tokyo)	Extreme Death Feast 2015
12 September 2018	FANJ twice (Osaka)	The Crown Japan Tour 2018
13 September 2018	3STAR Imaike (Nagoya)	The Crown Japan Tour 2018
14 and 15 September 2018	Shibuya Cyclone (Tokyo)	The Crown Japan Tour 2018
20 and 21 October 2026	SPACE ODD (Daikanyama, Tokyo)	No Tomorrow-Farewell 2026 / Last Roar in the East
22 October 2026	3STAR Imaike (Nagoya)	No Tomorrow-Farewell 2026 / Last Roar in the East
23 October 2026	SOCORE FACTORY (Osaka)	No Tomorrow-Farewell 2026 / Last Roar in the East

About the sources

The sources are The Crown's official website (thecrownofficial.com), with its band page, discography and news; the band's website of 2000 to 2004 (thecrownonline.com) as preserved by the Internet Archive, with its biography, its news and Johan Lindstrand's own farewell note; the band's Bandcamp; Metal Blade Records' artist page (the 2021 version from the Internet Archive) and its press release of 2024; Blabbermouth.net; BraveWords; Tower Records; and the listings of the Gothenburg venues Monument 031 and Valand. The formats and labels of 14 Years of No Tomorrow, Zombiefied! and The Burning / Eternal Death were checked against MusicBrainz.