Xothicon: GOD DETHRONED "Passiondale"

The Netherlands own GOD DETHRONED has just released their latest full length album entitled “Passiondale”. The new CD is an amalgamation of melodic death metal and balls-out thrash that marks GOD DETHRONED’s return to the more extreme and furious song writing style they had a decade ago .

GOD DETHRONED features originator Henri Sattler on Guitars & Vocals, and veteran bassist Henk Zinger. Returning on the drums is Roel Sanders who had played on the “Grand Grimoire” “Bloody Blasphemy” albums, two of GD’s finest albums. Sanders contributes a lot to the faster and more aggressive sound of the new CD, as can be heard in tracks like “Under A Darkening Sky”, “Drowning In Mud”, and “Fallen Empires” where blast-beats and fast double-bass drumming are prominently featured. Also returning to work on the new CD is keyboardist Danny Servaes, who also played on the “Grand Grimoire” and “Bloody Blasphemy” albums. Servaes adds a dark aura to tracks like “Poison Fog”, “Behind Enemy Lines” and “Artifacts Of The Great War” with his atmospheric elements. And most impressive of all is the opening piece “The Cross Of Sacrifice” in which Danny Servaes creates a feeling of listening to the soundtrack of a war movie with gunfire effects, spoken word narrations, and creepy stereo whispers. New to the GD line-up is female guitarist Susan Gerl (formerly of MURDER SYNDICATE) who rocked the audition held after Isaac Delahaye left the band due to creative differences. Although Gerl does not officially appear on the new “Passiondale” CD, she’s been sharing the stage with the boys of GOD DETHRONED since March 21^st.

All the lyrics on “Passiondale” are loosely based on the events World War I, where each track is like short journey through time focusing on the grimness of the Great War. Many of the songs refer to the death-ridden town of Passchendaele where close to 900,000 casualties occurred. Songs like “Under A Darkening Sky”, “No Survivors”, and “Fallen Empires” offer no remorse with the lyrical recollection of the atrocities of all out warfare, screaming words like “9 million dead!” But not all tracks are explosive on the new CD. The title track “Passiondale” for instance is a mid-tempo melodic song that opens with military style drumming and retains is slow and heavy feel throughout. Then there are tracks like “Poison Fog” and “No Survivors” that feature melodic singing in their bridges, a complete polar-opposite to the growls and screams heard through the rest of the CD. The final track, “Artifacts Of The Great War” is mid-tempo instrumental piece that fades in and out like eerie dreamscape, but never really goes anywhere. There are plenty of tracks that have a Slayer-like feel to them with their thrash drumming and dueling guitar solos, but all in all the new CD falls a little short of my high expectations for the return of the “Bloody Blasphemy” line-up. “Passiondale” is a step in the right direction for GOD DETHRONED in 2009, but it’s not enough of that old Dutch black metal feel to please this head banger.

Rating: 2 ½ skulls