» God Dethroned 2004 11 26  
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Reviewed by Tommy
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Special guest: Instil + As It Burns
City: Groningen, The Netherlands
Venue: Vera
Date: 26 Nov. 2004
God Dethroned setlength: 100 minutes
Instil setlength: 45 minutes
As It Burns setlength: 40 minutes

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Dutch death metallers God Dethroned are currently promoting their new album The Lair Of The White Worm, just out on their new label Metal Blade, and were this night holding a releaseparty in their hometown Groningen. Supported by 2 smaller, locals acts, I could not resist go and check them out. It turned out to be an enjoyable evening. God Dethroned delivered and one of the support acts was surprisingly good. The venue was small, and took approximatly a few hundred people and when God Dethroned played, it was filled to around 75%. Check out the rest of the review for pictures and comments.

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As It Burns

As It Burns got to play, since the band that initially had the spot - Dead Head - could not make it this night. This is a young, local band that has 2 albums in their back so far, and since I had never heard them before, they surprised me with well played death metal with some thrash elements. The stage presence was not perhaps the best, but they let the music talk instead. Nice riffs and groovy as well as heavy songs, and a band that sometimes popped up in my head as reference was Dark Tranquillity, but only sporadically and only in the heavier parts. The use of a keyboard in the music gives a nice touch to their music. The singer was a spitting image of John Tardy of Obituary, both regarding facial features as well as the hairdo, and vocally he was not far away either. Good gig, with good sound, and I enjoyed it very much. A nice acquaintance to make, and I will certainly check up more from this band.

(Sorry, no setlist)

7,5 chalices of 10


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Instil

Entering the stage next did Instil, and seeing short pants, woolhats and such ornaments on the guys, I feared that the music was not going to be my cup of tea. Prejudice, perhaps, but in this case it turned out to be true. Musically it can be descibed as hard/metal core - agressive riffing and vocal efforts in the same line. The guys seemed to have some routine on stage, as the show was intense and energetic. But mostly I hung out more at the back, sipping on a beer and waiting for the main band. Credit must be given to one of the guitarists, though - the one on the right side of the stage, wearing a woolhat - as his fingerplay was impressive. I could not make out half of the tones he apperantly was playing, as it got drowned in weird and non-saying riffs, but I constantly was thinking Chuck Schuldiner when I saw him, as the style of playing was similar. I just wish the music would have been as good....

(Sorry, no setlist)

4 Chalices of 10


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God Dethroned

God Dethroned entered the stage, and we were faced with quality again. Their brand new album The Lair Of The White Worm is just out, steaming hot from the presses, and logically the material during the show was focused on that. God Dethroned has the past years made quite a name of themselves in the scene, but with their previous album Into The Lungs Of Hell they, according to me, stagnated a bit. The new material is very good, though, as it is classy and fat death metal with good melodic riffing as well as pure old school elements. The songs are diverse enough to not feel repetitive, and they manage to keep at least my interest up for a whole show. The sound was good and the audience was not big, but the energy on stage was answered tenfold on the floor.


The gig was quite long and they served us a long cavalcade of death crushers from their back catalouge. During the encore, which was almost as long as the first part of the show, they brought up the singer of Instil for a vocal appearance in one song, and we also got a cover in form of Children Of The Grave by Black Sabbath, during which they brought on a guest guitarist, unknown to me. All in all a great night out, and if you have the chance to catch God Dethroned on a future show in your town, don't miss the chance. Quality death metal lies before you.



(Sorry, no setlist)

8,5 Chalices of 10

Related links:
www.goddethroned.com
www.instil.nl
www.asitburns.nl