BLACKENED DEATHSTRAVAGANZA: GOD DETHRONED / HORRESQUE / SVART CROWN

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Feb 052020
 


God Dethroned

 

(In this post Andy Synn combines reviews of three forthcoming or just-released albums by God Dethroned (Netherlands), Horresque (Germany), and Svart Crown (France).)

Genre terms are funny things, aren’t they?

While I often find them very useful as a form of rough-and-ready heuristic shortcut, one which helps me, and my readers, quickly get into the right mindset and formulate our expectations accordingly, their misuse (or outright abuse) can be even more confusing than just saying nothing at all.

It’s even worse when we get down to the fine grain of things, as these terms and definitions become even more nebulous, and it gets harder and harder to tell precisely where Death Metal becomes Blackened Death Metal becomes Melodic Blackened Death Metal becomes Progressive Melodic Blackened Death Metal… and so on, and so forth.

The three albums you’re about to read about all fall somewhere in/along this spectrum (whereabouts exactly is sure to prompt some lively debate), and while all have their flaws (which I’ve not been shy about highlighting) I’m pretty sure many, if not most, of our audience will find something to appreciate from their myriad metallic delights. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: GOD DETHRONED

 WAXING LYRICAL  2 Responses »
Jun 092018
 

 

(After a brief hiatus, Andy Synn’s WAXING LYRICAL series resumes today with the results of Andy’s interview of God Dethroned’s Henri Sattler.)

Those of you who’ve been paying attention may have noticed that there was no new “Waxing Lyrical” column published last weekend, largely because Islander and co. were busy with Northwest Terror Fest (and also because I was at a wedding all weekend).

Thankfully normal service can now resume, and today’s entry is particularly special to me, as it features insight and input from Henri Sattler of the resurrected God Dethroned, who just so happen to be one of my all-time favourite bands! Continue reading »

GOD DETHRONED: “THE WORLD ABLAZE”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
May 032017
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by the reunited God Dethroned.)

Like many of you I have been waiting for this album with a sense of near-breathless anticipation ever since it was first announced in 2014 that God Dethroned were getting back together.

And even though nothing had been announced about new material, I always knew that it was only a matter of time before the band would eventually get round to completing the WWI-themed trilogy of albums which began with 2009’s Passiondale.

So now here we are, seven long years since the group’s last release, all set to receive the third and final part of that trilogy, The World Ablaze, and the big question is — has the passage of time blunted their edge, or has it simply allowed the band to martial their forces for one final assault? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): GOD DETHRONED, AUROCH AND ÆVANGELIST, PESTIFERE, MICO

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Apr 062017
 

 

As explained yesterday, since writing the first part of this SEEN AND HEARD collection I’ve discovered more news and more new music that I want to share with you. Rather than try to cram all of it into a single Part 2, I’ve divided it again, sort of like an amoeba. It may continue to divide, the cells combining to form something horrid and parasitic. Or not… but there will at least be a Part 3 (which I plan to finish in time for posting tomorrow).

GOD DETHRONED

In January 2012, God Dethroned played a farewell performance at the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise. That farewell was a sad development for me and many others. But then, in July 2014 frontman Henri Sattler announced that the band would be returning to the stage. At that time only Sattler and drummer Michiel van der Plicht remained from the band’s last line-up, to be joined by guest musicians whose identities weren’t then revealed. In writing about that news almost three years ago I noted that although Sattler’s statement hadn’t explicitly addressed whether the reunion would consist of more than new live shows, “we can only hope that a new album will be coming, too.” That wish has been granted. Continue reading »

GOD DETHRONED ARE REUNITING

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Jul 302014
 

 

I had planned to save this news item for our next “Seen and Heard” post, but the more I thought about it the more I thought it deserved to stand alone: God Dethroned are reuniting. Last November I speculated that this would happen based on a sequence of posts on the band’s Facebook page, and now it has come to pass.

In January 2012, the band played a farewell performance at the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, and today the band’s frontman Henri Sattler announced that they will be returning to the stage at the January 2015 edition of 70000 Tons of Metal. From the band’s last line-up, only Sattler and drummer Michiel van der Plicht will remain, to be joined by guest musicians whose identities haven’t yet been announced. But Sattler also made clear that this will not be a one-off performance — additional shows are being planned in 2015.

Sattler’s statement didn’t explicitly address whether the reunion will consist of more than new live shows, but we can only hope that a new album will be coming, too.

Here’s Sattler’s statement in full, followed by a bit of God Dethroned music. For more info about the new 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, go here. Continue reading »

THE RETURN OF GOD DETHRONED?

 Metal News  13 Responses »
Nov 112013
 

Could it be that Dutch death metal heavyweights God Dethroned, in some form or fashion, may be returning after the announcement more than two years ago of of their permanent demise? Consider the following sequence of posts on the band’s Facebook page, all of them presumably authored by God Dethroned’s founder Henri Sattler:

In February 2011:

2011 is God Dethroned’s final year in existence.

We could have spent another year in a tourbus because the amount of offers was endless, but I just don’t feel like touring anymore.

People told me to take a break for a year or maybe two, but as I’m an “all, or nothing at all” type of person, I decided to call it quits.

Not immediately, but in December of this year we will definitely play our last show.

Continue reading »

FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE . . . BANDS I WOULD LOVE TO RE-FORM

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  37 Responses »
Sep 132013
 

(Andy Synn brings us another installment in his occasional series of favorite things that come in fives.  Leave a comment and let us know what you think of Andy’s picks . . . and who you’d pick if you had your wish.)

So the last several years have seen some amazing ‘comebacks’, I think we can all agree? Everyone from Alice in Chains to Byzantine to The Crown have been lacing up their boots and getting back in the saddle to show the world just how much they’ve been missed in their absence.

Some of my personal favourites – bands I never thought I’d hear another record from, let alone get a chance to see live – have come back with a vengeance, with artists like Antestor, Vision of Disorder, and Extol all returning to justify their near-legendary status.

Still though, there’s a number of bands I just can’t let rest in peace. Bands who need to come back. Bands who have unfinished business. Bands I have to see live!

So here’s five of my favourites, each with a song from their very last album, to show you what we’re all missing. Continue reading »

THIS DAY HAS TAKEN A TURN FOR THE WORSE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Feb 142011
 

Just when we were feeling unusually upbeat about Valentine’s Day, what with a new Amon Amarth track and yet another new track from Scale the Summit‘s next album (which is called “Gallows” and is streaming here), we got an e-mail from Andy Synn with nothing but “I am in mourning” in the subject line, and a link. A fucking depressing link . . .

. . . to a news item reporting that one of our favorite metal bands on the planet, God Dethroned, is disbanding. Unfortunately, it’s official, and confirmed in a statement by the band’s guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/mastermind/World War I historian, Henri Sattler.

This is particularly surprising since Sattler has been quoted as saying the band’s next album would be the completion of a trilogy about World War I that began with Passiondale and 2010’s amazingly good Under the Sign of the Iron Cross.  (more after the jump, including Sattler’s statement . . . and a song) Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 12

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  No Responses »
Jan 082011
 

Today we have two more additions to our list of most infectious songs.  Just in case you’re visiting NCS for the first time today, read this if you want to know our definition of “most infectious” and visit the Category link on the right of this page called MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS – 2010 to see and hear the other 22 songs we’ve named to the list so far. And to cut the suspense and get to the point, today’s songs are from Enslaved and God Dethroned.

ENSLAVED

Sometimes we don’t review albums because we know they’re going to be swamped with critical attention from all quarters, including net sites and magazines with massively larger audiences than we have here. Those albums don’t need our help, and so usually (though not always) we tend to focus more on bands that might slip under the radar of those other media outlets. And so it was with the 2010 release from Enslaved.

The absence of an NCS review didn’t mean we were meh about Axioma Ethica Odini. Far from it. In our opinion, the album was one of last year’s highlights. We weren’t alone in thinking that.  Several of our guest contributors who provided Best of 2010 lists for us — including Fredrik Huldtgren and Andy Synn — also raved about the album.  (more after the jump, including those tracks we like so much . . .) Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 1: ASTARTE – AN INTRODUCTION AND RETROSPECTIVE

 THE SYNN REPORT  12 Responses »
Jan 072011
 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the debut of a new column which Islander has kindly allowed me to write and display here at NoCleanSinging.

Each week (ok, whenever I get round to it, they may not be weekly – or they may be more frequent, we’ll see) I’m going to be providing an introduction, a retrospective, or simply a re-consideration of  a band which I feel merits the treatment. Certain bands will be more well known than others, and primarily these bands will be part of THE SYNN REPORT simply because I feel that with all the bullshit media hype in the world, the band in question has been perhaps judged unfairly due to the influence of matters non-musical. Certain bands, however, you may not have heard of before at all, as although I do not consider myself a paragon of underground taste, there is only so much time each of us can devote to finding new music and really exploring it. Hopefully this column will help a little!

Each column will deal with a single musical entity, considering their works and progression in turn. Certain columns will be dedicated perhaps simply to eras in a band’s career and progression, considering and evaluating changes in style and direction with the benefit of hindsight and (hopefully) critical objectivity. Although that probably won’t last very long!

Anyway, for my first column I would like to introduce you to the Greek band ASTARTE.  (more after the jump, including sample songs from the band’s discography . . .) Continue reading »

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