It’s nice to have God Dethroned joining us once again. And by that I mean another reactivation of the band not unlike they had in 1996. Yeah, extreme metal is a tricky business to try to make a living in, but lineup changes and restarts aside, it seems like this Dutch metal institution is stable enough again to crank out a new LP in The World Ablaze (Metal Blade).
What’s different now? Thematically the focus is still very much military history as this rounds out God Dethroned’s WWI trilogy and features song titles such as ‘A Call to Arms’ and ‘Messina Ridge.’ As far as the music is concerned, mastermind Henri Sattler and his mostly new outfit are settling back into melodic Death Metal territory.
And for the most part the return to melody pays off well. ‘Close to Victory’ jackhammers its way through the better part of five minutes without ever losing any of its catchiness. ‘Annihilation Crusade’ and the namesake track that follows it are other melodic thrashers in the vein of Carcass’ Heartwork. And what does that mean exactly? That despite being technically intricate songs, they are still framed by conventional songwriting verse-chorus-verse structure.
Also worth applauding is God Dethroned’s willingness to play around with slower tempos other F1 speed. ‘Escape Across the Ice (The White Army)’ never abandons its mid pace pounding, but is always backed up by layers of staccato riffs and complex leads from Sattler and Mike Ferguson. ‘The 11th Hour’ is built on a doom metal foundation and manages to never lose the listener’s attention with its thundering drums and sinister guitars. I wouldn’t mind if future albums focused strictly on this style.
Is it perfect? Not really. ‘On the Wrong Side of the Wire’ and ‘Messina Ridge’ don’t have the melodeath thing quite as nailed down as the rest of the album. And while production royalty Dan Swano’s mix is very strong, the vocals are just a tad too present.
So welcome back, boys. Get comfortable and stay a while.
7.5/10
HANSEL LOPEZ