God Dethroned - Under The Sign Of The Iron Cross

Published December 07 2010

*=Staff's pick	The Declaration Of War Storm Of Steel Fire Storm The Killing Is Faceless Under The Sign Of The Iron Cross* Chaos Reigns At Dawn Through Byzantine Hemispheres The Red Baron On Fields Of Death & Desperation

Genre	Metal Blade	Henri Sattler	Vocals
Tracks	9	Henri Sattler	Guitar
Runningtime	36 Min.	Danny Tunker	Guitar
Label	Metal Blade	Henk Zinger	Bass
Release	22 November 2010	Michiel vd Plicht	Drums
Country	Holland	-	Keyboard
Producer	Jörg Uken
Similar artists	---

Sometimes I wonder if people simply are too lazy to think. Here we have yet another record that deals with the First World War, filled with blastbeats and growling. But, haven't God Dethroned already made an album about that war you wonder? Yes, the previous record, Passiondale, dealt with that conflict. In other words, God Dethroned aren't making it easy for themselves one can argue, but the exact opposite can also be claimed.

With Under The Sign Of The Iron Cross, God Dethroned winds up on the negative side on the originality scale. It's not that the band consisting of some of the more seasoned death metallers out there are bad at playing music, or that they have made a record with lousy production, or even bad songs for that matter - but the entire record infuses me with a heavy feeling of having heard all this before. I think that God Dethroned would have benefited from someone setting down a foot and said, guys - you have already made this album before.

Musically I have little to dislike - God Dethroned have made a very aggressive record, fully packed with very nice stringwork and plenty of pummeling drums from Michel vd Plicht, and this side of the record is very enjoyable but nevertheless the grade will have to be lukewarm.