It took Dutch death metal band GOD DETHRONED 15 years to release their best album. Or maybe I should say it took 'him' 15 years, because the only constant factor in GOD DETHRONED's existence has been singer/guitarist Henri Sattler. In order to do this they/him had to mellow with age somewhat, but the end result is really giving fellow Dutchies GOREFEST, PESTILENCE and CALLENISH CIRCLE a run for their money. The first half of the record is still pretty much GOD DETHRONED as we know it, although with fewer blastbeats. Purist metalheads will no doubt raise their eyebrows somewhat when they get to the 6th track. The mid-tempo "The Day You Died" not only has plenty of melody, it also has one of those catchy singalong choruses. Don't get me wrong, there's enough growling vocals, heavy riffing and double-bass drums to keep it at a safe distance from power metal-country but this is definitely catchier than your average death metal band. Said eyebrows will get a definite workout with the track that follows, an acoustic ballad! The last four tracks all combine brutal death metal with more catchy, melodic arrangements. Personally I think it's awesome when a death metal band has the guts to do things like this, especially when the end result is this good. But then I'm not a metal purist. I hope GOD DETHRONED will be spared the abuse a band like GOREFEST received when they tried to do something different. Considering the quality of "The Toxic Touch" that would be grossly unfair.

- Van Hoften

OFFICIAL SITE: www.goddethroned.com

RELATED ITEMS: No related articles at this time.