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Hi Beef, what`s up in little Holland?
Hello Marcus. All is well here thanx.
You got a new drummer in your line up, right? Where does he come from? Any bands before?
Yes we have, and a damn good one too. His name is Arien van Weesenbeek and he is a very talented young guy from the south of Holland. Arien just finished his study at the conservatory in Rotterdam. He studied drums for four years there, and not the classic way like jazz or something but rock. Arien send us a CD of his band at that time, Pandeamonium because he heard that we where looking for a new drummer. So we invited him to the audition, and from the moment he started playing we knew he was the one we where looking for. He is a very tight drummer maybe not as fast as Tony but certainly as good as him.
Congratulation to your new hammer called "Into the Lungs of Hell"! A real blast! Your opinion about the album! Are you satisfied with the album?
Yes we are very satisfied with the album. Finally the production we where looking for for a long time. We made some very good decisions before we started writing songs this time. We wanted to slowdown a little and we wanted more melody back into the music. And we wanted to record in a different studio this time. This changes worked out very well we think. I think this album is more balanced than the previous one's. There are some very groovy mid tempo parts and cool melodies on the album. Production wise this is also a big step forward, a fat sound with heavy guitars and a pounding bassdrum. But still a bright production.
Ok, Beef, tell me, WHO is the "Soul Sweeper"?
He is the Devil. The song is about what the difference is between the Devil and God. Because in our opinion there is no difference. A small example , when I talk to people who claim to be Satanist it occurs to me that they sometimes have more respect for life than someone who beliefs in God.
"Slaughtering The Faithful" reminds me from the rhythm a little bit to old Napalm Death! Do you agree with me?
Yes that's also a possibility. Actually when we didn't have a title for the song we called it the Terrorizer song. You also can say the Driller Killer song. We thought this would be a welcome change on the album. In the end it seems to be a very good live song as well.
Why you choose to place the slowliest track at the beginning? To give later only full speed ahead, hahaha?
We did this because nobody would expect us to do this. And after we finished recordings we didn't know what song should be the opening track of the album. So we tried different things but in the end it came out that this was the best thing to do. I think it is very cool that just when you think that God Dethroned has gone soft All hell brakes loose again.
I love this fast and straight shit like "The Warcult", "Soul Sweeper", "Slaughtering the Faithful", "Gods of Terror", "Subliminal"? What are your favourite tracks on the album?
My favourite song is Into the lungs of Hell. For me the atmosphere the song has is really special.And because before we recorded this song I did not expect it to be this good. But when we added the lyrics to the song I thought it was great. The atmosphere remind me of the slow Morbid Angel songs like "Where the slime lives" and "Hate work" songs I really like.
It seems that the lyrics are an important thing in God Dethroned! You wrote them to "Gods of Terror", Jens wrote "Subliminal" and Henri wrotes the rest! What will Henri, you and Jens tell us in your lyrics? I cannot believe that you write only about fiction also you don`t have stupid lyrics about dragons, sword and fuck like that ! I`m not so into lyrics and I haven`t the time to study all that shit , to me the music must be a blast, hahaha
The lyrics on this album are actually a little more serious than on the previous albums. I don't deny that we always wanted to deliver a message to the people. Although I think that a lot of people took us a little too serious in the past. What we always tried to do is to provoke people. Or to try and get people to think about certain things that where written in the bible , if this is al true or not. This time the subject are a little more serious but this all happened spontaneous because when we entered the studio we only had 3 lyrics finished or something like that. The rest is written after some discussions we had in between recording songs. For us lyrics are important and not only the subject but we also see vocals as a fifth instrument.
Can you describe every God Dethroned album in your own words? Feelings, emotions, production, differences etc.!
Ok but I wont talk about the Christhunt because I'm not involved with that one.
- "The Grand Grimoire" has a very good atmosphere, a good balanced album with a lot of melody, only a little rushed. Too bad that the production is crappy otherwise it would be one of the best albums.
- "Bloody Blasphemy" has a better production. But I think that not all songs on this album are as good. Although this album has a very aggressive attitude I think it's not our best.
- On "Ravenous" we improved on our production again. Actually when I think of it I like this album very much. Although it's a little over the top. Maybe that's the reason why I like it because of the aggression. I think when we had a drummer at the moment we where written songs the album would have had better songs on it.
- What can I say, "Into the lungs of Hell" is the best thing we did so far. I cant find one song on it I don't like. And the production is much better that all the previous one's.
I don`t know your last record but anyway, where do you see the biggest differences from your last output next to "Into The Lungs of Hell"?
I think that the biggest difference is that this album is more interesting to listen to than Ravenous. There is much more diversity on this album , Mid tempo parts Fast parts and slow melodious parts all very well balanced.
When it goes about the stile that God Dethroned follows the opinions goes from Black Metal to Death Metal and Thrash Metal. My opinion about Into the Lungs of Hell is that this album is pure Thrash Metal. What do you think about your stile?
We still look at our music as DM but I must admit that there are also a lot of influences from thrash in our music. We lost the Black Metal influences as little and I regret this actually. Maybe its something for the next album to put a little more of that into it again. I also think that when you look at the way we write songs you also would find a lot of Heavy Metal in our music.
Do you have a deal for the U.S.A.? I mean, will "Into the Lungs of Hell" be released in the States?
Yes we have a world wide deal with Metal Blade.
If you have the deal right longer, how many copies have God Dethroned sold in the States? What do you think about George Bush actually (not a politically discussion please! Only your statement!)? Is George Bush the new Antichrist? That's my opinion about him!!!
I don't know how much copies we sold in the US. But I do know that we are just as popular in the US than as we are in Europe. We noticed that one third of the visitors of our website are from the US. Bush=Asshole!! I don't think that he is the new antichrist because then everything that was written in the bible would be true. Electing Bush as the American president is the same thing as giving a razor blade to a child.
What`s up with a tour? Any plans for a tour?
Yes we have. At the end of May we are doing a four week American tour. And that's about time because it has been too long since we have been there. We also will do a European tour but this will be around October or November I think. E negotiated with Metallisee about this but there is nothing confirmed at this moment.
Do you know any bands from Henri's label Cold Blood Industries? I.N.R.I. or KATAFALK?
Yes, I know both bands. I went to see the CD release party of KATAFALK a few weeks ago and INRI was also playing there. Henri signed another band lately called MONOLITH. Very brutal DM, like NILE. Check them out because they are on tour with THE CROWN at the moment.
What do think about these outfits and their stile of radikal speed thrash massaker, hahaha?
I think both bands are very good bands with a good future ahead of them. Katafalk I already knew for a long time, and we played some shows together last year. I like their music very much. Its very aggressive but also they have catchy riffs. After seeing INRI for the first time on stage I bought their album right away. A band with a very good stage act, very brutal
Are you a little bit into the dutch underground? What can you tell us about your underground?
I lost track of the underground the last few years. The only thing I know is that there are still a lot of good bands in Holland. And I know that they work really hard to get there. It only seems to be a problem when you are a Dutch band, its very difficult to find a good record label like if they don't want to sign Dutch bands. But there is some hope, Inhume has just finished their new album which is going to be released by Osmose Prod. very soon I think. And there are also bands like Severe Torture that finally get their recognition.
Some shit at last: Are you into football? What do you think about the last World championship? I mean the Dutch team was sitting at home, playing with their balls. Any chances for the Netherlands to play 2006? Or will it be again without The Netherlands, hahaha.
I'm not into football that much but if there is a worldcup or something like that I always watch. Don't tell me you think that Germany did not win the championship because of the arbitration. Look The Dutch knew that it would be like this so we stayed home.But next time We will be there and kick every one's ass.
Ok Beef, that's all from this point of time! At last you can say why should anybody buy Into The Lungs of Hell?
Because it's a fucking great album!!!! And if you don't belief me check it out yourself.
Let's finish, last words are yours and GOD DETHRONED! Hope to see you on tour! Good luck with "Into The Lungs Of Hell" and greetings to the Soul Sweeper! Hahaha. Bye, Marcus/Carnage zine,
Thanx, Hope to see you people at a show somewhere in Germany. Metal rules!!
Interview: Marcus
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