God Dethtroned

Posted on Jul 4, 2005

by Anders

In 1999 I heard the track 'Boiling Blood' on a sampler from a Danish magazine, it moved something in me, with its harsh, brutal and straight forward Slayer attitude. I went out and bought the album "Bloody Blasphemy" with the Dutch band God Dethroned, the album the track was featured on. The album revealed itself to offer a lot more than straight ahead death/thrash, there was a lot of atmosphere and some grande epic songs as well, together with some good melodies. Its been a bit up and down since, "Ravenous" from 2001 was pretty good, but the last effort "Into The Lungs Of Hell" from 2003 was rather boring. God Dethroned is now ready with their new album "Lair Of The White Worm" and that shows a band back on track with a lot of new found energy. I hooked up with drummer Ariën Van Weesenbeek, who gladly answered my questions.

You are now ready with your new album "The Lair Of The White Worm", how do you feel about the album?

I feel very satisfied! This is another step forward for us, and we managed to write songs that are moving, and with a lot of energy. The atmosphere turned out to be even more threatening than on our previous album, and our playing has improved too.

How has the album so far been received?

Very well! It’s almost unbelievable to read such good reactions and that’s very rewarding! I hope the fans feel the same way about the album as the critics and as we do ourselves. A lot of people say that this is our best album since "Bloody Blasphemy"… I guess they mean that we’ve gone back more to the early sound of God Dethroned, with more of a rough energy in the overall sound. And I agree in some ways.

Have the band experienced a new found source of energy? The album seems much more powerful and energetic than the last album.

I guess that the half year break has been well for the band. Henri Sattler and I started working on the new material, and we really had an enthusiastic and creative way of working. That’s one of the reasons that makes the new record spontanious and with a lot of energy. But as I said: with "Into The Lungs Of Hell", we felt just like we feel now. What I mean is that we had the feeling that we made a record where we stood behind for 100%. And from there we improved ourselves as a musician and songwriters. So I hope that is going to be the same with our next album.

Did you have a goal in the back of your head, you wanted to accomplish with this record, when you started to write the material?

We wanted to surpass "Into The Lungs Of Hell", and at the same time we wanted to make an album which stands on it’s own, with it’s own atmosphere.
And we wanted to go back a bit more to "The Grand Grimoire" days with more blackmetal influences. I think that 'Nihilism' is a good example for that; blastbeats, evil chords combined with melodies in the style of Emperor, sick vocals… So most of all we wanted to make an album with killer songs, that were more extreme than the songs on "Into The Lungs Of Hell".

Did the album turn out as you initially thought it would?

Despite from little things that could have been better from a musician’s point of view, the album turned out like we wanted it to be, yeah. There are of course always little details that I’d like to have done different of better after the drums have been recorded, but that’s always the case with me, haha.
But when I listen to the album when everything is finished, I am proud of our performance.

You have returned to the writing style that was used on "Bloody Blasphemy", very direct thrashy death metal, with some atmospheric elements, and you have that same great sound and feel to the music, were that intended?

Those elements are typical God Dethroned, and we feel that they need to be in our music to make it interesting to listen to. So we start writing, and see what comes up, and than we decide if it’s good enough for God Dethroned’s music.
We only wanna put music on an album if it’s totally worth it.

What inspired you to make the music you made for "Lair Of The White Worm"?

We wanted to do something again with the band after the half year silence. And we ran to our instruments and started working out all the ideas that we had, and writing powerfull songs without slumbering nonsense-details.

Have your sources of inspiration changed throughout the years'

The new songs were more insprired on breaks and accents, played with force and energy. The ways of how the songs are put together are also different than songs like 'Villa Vampiria' (from "Ravenous", ed), or 'The Warcult' (from "Into The Lungs Of Hell", ed). Those songs are more straight forward with not too much accents, or short breaks. I guess that’s the biggest change and inspiration to write these songs.

How do you write music, do you have to be in a certain mood or do the riffs just pop up?

It’s a combination of both. When we feel good, than the riffs pop up by itself most of the time. When we have to think really hard before we have found something that we can use, than it doesn’t sound spontanious anymore.

Which bands have meant a lot do you and the creation of God Dethroned’s sound? I bet Kreator is one of them…

Slayer, Morbid Angel, a bit Dissection, Dismember, a bit Strapping young Lad, and maye a bit Kreator.

You have always included a great deal of real history in the lyrics, and judging from the song titles, that’s the deal this time too, will you tell a bit about the lyrics on the album?

We have a song called 'Arch Enemy Spain', which talks about the 80 year-war between Willem van Oranje who fought for religious freedom, versus Fillips II, who wanted to maintain the Catholic regime. Furthermore we talk about: annihilation, self-destruction of mankind, corrupt politicians, our description of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, a story of a book from Bram Stoker (titletrack), and post traumatic feelings of hatred towards persons in someone’s family that abused people, or because of alcohol-problems....

How much do the lyrics mean to you, is the lyrics as important as the music to create a wholesome?

It starts with great music. And with the lyrics we lead the music to a higher level and give extra vibrations to the music. It all has to be right and ok.

There have been a big change in the ranks of God Dethroned since "Ravenous", how has the new members affected the band?

I came in the band a couple of months after the release of "Ravenous" (in 2001, ed). It was a great time, and we could get along very well, and we had a stable line-up. But Beef (bass) and Jens Van Der Val (guitar) eventually didn’t have the motivation anymore to go on and wanted to focus themselves more on their private lives and on their other musical activities. Than Henk Zinger (bass) and Isaac Delahaye (guitar) came in, and with them in the band everything is ok again, and we are ready to strike again!!
But whatever happens, the one who’s responsible for the musical direction is still and always will be Henri Sattler. After all, he’s the founder of the band.
And that’s a good thing. When one man in a band knows where to go, it takes a lot of discussions and waste of time away. But there’s always room for ideas.
But commonly speaking, the line-up changes didn’t affect the band that much. But when you talk about details, then it’s a different thing. Every musician has got his own style of playing. For example: I have a totally different approach to drumming and a total different sound than Roel Sanders (drums) or Tony Laureano (drums) have. And it’s the other way around too. The same thing with Isaac and Henk compared to Jens and Beef, you know? But it’s still God Dethroned, and that’s because of Henri.

Have the new members brought a lot of new ideas and fresh energy to God Dethroned?

They sure did!! To be honest, Henri was almost ready to give up because Beef and Jens left the band. But he’s totally motivated again now that Henke and Isaac are in the band. With them, we can try out different things with song-writing, and add new techniques in the God Dethroned sound. And that’s important: to stay innovative and sharp.

Is this the best God Dethroned album since "Bloody Blasphemy" or maybe the best God Dethroned album?

I can’t give you an answer at this time: You should ask me after a couple of years. Then I will be more objective and I can judge without prejudice.

Will you share your 3 all time favourite albums with us metal heads?

Morbid Angel - All albums
Slayer – Live: Decade Of Aggression
Napalm Death – Harmony Corruption.

Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have a final comment or 2, feel free to add them now!

Check out the new album if you wanna go crazy with brutal stuff!!