God Dethroned – Into the Lungs of Hell (Metal Blade Records)

Henri Sattler is the mastermind behind this band. He created the band in 1991, released one demo and one album, both of them very widely critically acclaimed (although not commercially successful, obviously), and then, as is mandatory of all “true” black/death metal leaders, disbanded the group and pursued other projects only to reform the band with new members in 1994 and release a series of great death/black metal records. The sound on this one is definitely more death/thrash than black, although they were never really black metal per se. Great, powerful guitars with a tone that is very reminiscent of recent Grave (i.e. fucking fantastic), pounding, always-on double bass drums, growled lyrics, some high-pitched screams here and there; at least the vocals are intelligible (although some purists would claim that makes this album less “brootal”). You know, the usual. Nothing spectacular. Not a landmark work in the genre by any stretch of the imagination, but still a damn solid album, very likely their finest yet. What I like most is that they have moved thematically from typical death/black lyrics and are instead shifting towards a more straightforward, socially critical approach. As a result, not many songs about death and destruction, the downfall of God, the dead and dying, and so forth, but more an emphasis on political, socially conscious topics such as war, Big Brother, animal mistreatment, and other commentary on current social values. I dig it.

Tracks:
1) I’ll never be able to read this title and not think of the opening chords to Megadeth’s song of the same title (an arguably superior, though instrumental, work). Still, this is badass. It opens up with some male choir, and then takes this melodic, slow, dirge-like path to destruction. The vocals are striking on this (and the whole CD, actually) because they sound so pained. So very, very pained.
2) Best track on the CD. Melodic death about war and its stupidity. Excellent chorus, excellent lyrics (“timebomb intellectuals”), but beware the FCCs in the chorus (“shit).
3) Tackling the Big Brother issue in a grandiose, almost epic way. Very cool song, albeit a tad more standard.
4) Totally sweet riff-n-drum work to carry the song, although with some cheesy lyrics. Cool melody too, preceded by a manic drum part. Hypnotic chorus, it will be stuck in your head for hours.
5) Fast, almost punk-sounding chord progression about how we treat animals. Cool song, but I dunno if this is a topic they should tackle. Hyper-fast leads, though, so that’s cool.
6) The intro to this song is where you get to see how great the production on this album is. The bass is actually audible! Holy shit! Add some crazy fast, 30-note riffs, and you’ve got a great song. Oh, and great lyrics, too, about how the media fucks with us and manipulates our brains. Killer solo and evil melody.
7) More thrash sounding, and the most black-metalish song on here, thematically. Not one of my favorites, but the Slayer-worshipping solos, again, make it worth a listen. Cheese abounds in the lyrics.
8) Correction. This is the greatest song on here. Mid-paced, melodic, growls-galore, and very important/smart lyrics. Awesome chorus with a fuckin’ eeeeeeeeeeevil chord progression.