Maximum Metal Rating Legend

God Dethroned - Lair Of The White Worm - Metal Blade Records 2005 --Chaoslord

Track Listing1. Nihilism 2. Arch Enemy Spain 3. Sigma Enigma 4. The Lair Of The White Worm 5. Rusty Nails 6. Loyal To The Crown Of God Dethroned 7. Last Zip Of Spit 8. The Grey Race 9. Salt In Your Wounds

Alright, this was the album that was going to make or break this year for me as far as metal releases went. This album held my excitement about other future releases in its hand regardless of how good I heard these other releases were. The past two God Dethroned albums have been good but have left me disappointed in the length of the album with each one clocking in less than thirty minutes. Now I don't know what goes in to the recording of an album or how long it takes and how quickly you get burnt out, but that really irritated me that a band who had released two previous albums over forty minutes long cut it short like that. I felt that the lack of song length took away from the album but maybe the guys of God Dethroned felt that the short songs made more of an impact. Irregardless of that, I was waiting in anticipation for this next release.

On January 25th I got that new God Dethroned release. I was filled with fear and anticipation upon putting it into my CD player. Then the opening notes of "Nihilism" blasted through my speakers and all my worries disappeared. As the band blasted through the next eight tracks I was filled with excitement and happiness that God Dethroned was finally back with a vengeance. The songs are what you would expect from God Dethroned with a lot more aggressiveness and melody. From "Arch Enemy Spain" to "Salt in Your Wounds" God Dethroned blasts and pummels you with blast beats, crunching riffs and guttural death metal screams. "Rusty Nails" gives a bit of a departure from the heavy for only a moment with a slow, somewhat peaceful intro which leads into a groove heavy riff throughout the song. Singer/guitarist Henri Sattler uses some deeper vocals on the album for an added atmospheric edge. New members Isaac Delahaye (guitars) and Henk "Henke" Zinger fill the void left by former bassist Beef and guitarist Jens very nicely. Drummer Arien Van Weesenbeck pounds the hell out of the drums with killer doubles and some very timely blast beats. There are two songs that are probably my favorite on the album. The first one is "The Lair of the White Worm" which is based on the old horror movie. The lyrics of the song are just taken out of the movie and the music adds a great touch to it. The bridge breakdown makes me bang my head so hard if I hit something it would knock me out. And then there's the track "Loyal to the Crown of God Dethroned" which just crushes everything. I just can't say enough about this song or this album for that matter. This song is a constant headbanger and a really great song overall.

As for the length of the album there are only two songs that are shorter than four minutes and the album clocks in at about 44 minutes. So my fears for that were put to rest and I have found my death metal album of the year if not album of the year. If you have bought any God Dethroned CD's or are after something that will kick your ass and make you bang your head go and become immersed in "The Lair of the White Worm". Watch out for the lady dressed in white, it may be the last thing you see before you.......


--Chaoslord 02.10.05