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God Dethroned - Under The Sign of The Iron Cross [Album]

Metal Blade Records

by AEaston, February 16th, 2011 and has been Read 2743 times.
Last Edited by: Jack Stovin February 17th, 2011.

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In between receiving Under The Sign of The Iron Cross and writing it, I have since learned that God Dethroned have announced that 2011 will be their last year of playing their brutal death metal to global audiences. The Dutch veterans have been tearing the shit out of stages since the early ‘90s and will be sorely missed in the metal community. In their time, they have shared stages with such household names as Impaled Nazarene, Deicide and Immortal. Under The Sign of The Iron Cross is God Dethroned’s 11th studio album and the first to get an album of the month in a Dutch music magazine in the 20 years since their formation. Isn’t that nice? However, it sets God Dethroned a high standard of expectancy now and I’m hard to impress.

Under The Sign of The Iron Cross is a concept album, the second after Passiondale, based around the First World War. So, naturally with a death metal album, it’s going to be a happy one, full of violence, death and blood. Indeed, the song titles reveal a rather aggressive outlook on life by these Dutchmen: “Fire Storm,” “On Fields of Death and Desolation” and “The Killing Is Faceless” are just three examples of the nine songs on Under The Sign of The Iron Cross.

We’re set under way with a 58 second introduction, "The Declaration of War," a rather useless melee of guitars and drums, serving little purpose. Nevertheless, it clears the path for first proper song, "Storm of Steel." This is the proper heavy stuff - guitars tuned so far down the strings may as well not be attached to the body and drums being pounded as fast as possible. Henri Sattler’s vocals are typically non-existent, merely a series of growls, uttering the usual words like “attack” and “sacrifice”.

there are songs that, when cropping up on my crammed iPod, I would skip past, but there are ones that I would leave on repeat all night

"Fire Storm" is up next, obliterating the previous tracks with its ear-grabbing hooks and head-bangin’ chorus. Right, now, skip the rest, with the exception of the title track, "Under The Sign of The Iron Cross" and "On Fields of Death and Desolation". These two tracks incorporate the more musical side of God Dethroned, displaying intelligence and, occasionally, emotion. The seven minute epic of "On Fields of Death and Desolation" is a personal favourite, providing the listener with a slow introduction, bursting into full on, in-yer-face metal.

When I heard the first track (not the introduction) I thought, “oh bloody hell, here we go” - another overly-aggressive concoction of noise. Yet, I find myself truly appreciating, respecting and even liking Under The Sign of The Iron Cross. It’s a very well planned and executed metal album. Yes, there are songs that, when cropping up on my crammed iPod, I would skip past, but there are ones that I would leave on repeat all night.

Under The Sign of The Iron Cross is not the best album in the world. But it’s a fantastic ending to an illustrious career for God Dethroned. They could not have said their goodbyes much better. As Austin Powers would say, “it’s a little bit of alright”.