God Dethroned - Into the Lungs of Hell

[Rodrigo]

GOD DETHRONED - INTO THE LUNGS OF HELL
Metal Blade - 2003

By Rodrigo Escandon

There is something quite missing with Into the Lungs of Hell, the latest release by God Dethroned and it all boils down to the fact that I am just not feeling a lot of energy with this album. It has all the trademarks one can expect out of the band with some new twists added such as incorporating more melodies than in Ravenous and featuring a slower tempo throughout the entirety.

The melodies are still excellent such as in the intros to "Gods of Terror" and to "The Warcult" to name a couple of examples. Of note is the latter because right after the melody is done, drums are pounding, guitars are blasting and the speed is at full throttle. All these elements make this song one of my favorites of the album. The slower tempo is also appreciated in both "Soul Sweeper" and "Into the Lungs of Hell" because these songs sound heavier and more menacing. However, I feel that God Dethroned is a band that can play faster and should play faster. There are plenty of times in the album when a song is being played fast like "Subliminal" but things are slowed down halfway through the song. At these moments I can't help myself but to think that they should speed it up. "The Warcult" is a song that definitely manages to capture the essence of what I am talking about and I feel that the band just does not do enough of that throughout.

But don't get me wrong. By no means is Into the Lungs of Hell a bad album, there are plenty of worse releases and I really like about half of the album to make me go and listen to it on occasion. But like I said in the beginning, there is a fire that in my mind seems to be missing, as if the band was just playing along on cruise control. God Dethroned is capable of a lot more and with the recent tide of excellent death metal releases it has required bands that are capable of excelling to do just that.

Of interest is the fact that there is a 2CD version with a few live songs, a couple of videos, a Possessed cover and a re-recorded version of "God Dethroned".

Metal Blade Website
God Dethroned Official Website

 

[SatyriconRebel]

I agree. While not a bad album by any means, the band seems to be falling back on their Slayer influence a bit too much, with many riffs sounding uninspired; the effective blackened riffs from previous albums are conspicuously missing here. The song structures are very lacking; not much imagination, as I was practically guessing where each song was going to go next upon first listen. There ARE some good songs, particularly "Gods of Terror", but really this is a letdown for me. GD seems to be losing their identity, i.e.- it's odd that a band named God Dethroned, on an album entitled "Into the Lungs of Hell", should be tackling subject matter such as how society treats animals or big brother is watching us everywhere we go. The album doesn't seem to be mastered very well, and I noticed there is no mastering credit in the liner notes. 7/10

 

[Timothy]

I don't really agree with you guys. I think the subject matters are more relevant than most bands in the genre and it gives the album that rare quality that it keeps on growing with every listen. Also, the band has never been produced so good as this. And the slower tracks, like Tombstone totally rock. I love the album and think it is on par with Bloody Blasphemy.