The Black Crown is the third full-length 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. 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. 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."
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." 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" coupled with the statement "All the familiar elements that make this band are present in spades." 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."
