Due to the releasing of their eighth album “Passiondale”, we got in touch with the dutch band GOD DETHRONED for them to talk about this brand new release and other curiosities of the band. Their vocalist-guitar player and only survivor of the original line-up, Henri Sattler, has answered our questions:

- HoM: First of all, thanks a lot for answering our questions. Before talking about your new album, I’d like you to tell us about how God Dethroned was formed and the way your music has evolved and developed all along years till reaching what we can find here in “Passiondale”.

God Dethroned was formed in 1990. We already released our first album "The Christhunt" in ´92 on Shark Records. We disbanded for a little while from early ´94 to early ´96, but then we came back together and recorded the Grand Grimoire which gave us a deal with Metal Blade records with whom we are still signed until today.
We´ve done many tours with great bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Immortal, Obituary, etc, etc.

- HoM: Regarding your new work, “Passiondale”, I’ve seen it’s a kind of conceptual work about Passendale battle during World War I. How did this idea come up?

I got the idea when I visited our former guitar player Isaac Delahaye. He lives in the city Ypres in the south of Belgium. This city is full of war memorials and war graves of World War One. This impressed me so much that I started doing research about it and that impressed me even more. So I decided to write a concept album about the war. I´m a total history freak anyway and on previous albums we usually had one song that had to do with a historical topic, but this time I found a challenge in doing a whole album about it.

- HoM: As I’ve seen, something a bit odd about “Passiondale”, is that it’s going to be available, besides the usual versions and formats, in a special vinyl edition limited to 666 copies. What do you have to tell us about it?

I don´t know what´s odd about it. Metal Blade just told us that were going to do a limited handnumbered edition of Passiondale on vinyl. The reason why they decided to do an amount of 666 copies I do not know. Probably they thought it was a cool number, ha ha !

- HoM: Going into this new work on depth, I believe, there’re more melodic and clean voices parts than in other albums. Is this a group strategy you choose intentionally or just a natural evolution in the group?

No that´s not true. As a matter of fact the new album is a lot more brutal than the album before. We actually went back to our roots on this one. Fast and furious riffing, blast beats, but also some melodic and melancholic parts in it. The clean voice we used in two songs just to point out a special atmosphere that fitted to those songs in particular. Anyway, fans of our older albums like Bloody Blasphemy should definitely check out "Passiondale".

- HoM: By the way, I’ve realized there’ve been two changes into the group’s formation towards the disc. Roel Sanders is back to the drums and Susan Gerl joined the group as guitarist. How were these changes decided? And how do you feel as a group once the changes have been consolidated?

I met Roel again at a festival in Holland. He told me he wanted to join God Dethroned again and as Arien just joined Epica it sounded like a good idea. We discussed the whole thing with Arien and he was totally cool about it. Then a few months before I started working on Passiondale I noticed that Isaac wasn´t too happy about some things. He had to travel for many hours to get to us (like 7 hours), he just got married and bought a house.
He decided to leave and then we decided to record Passiondale as a three piece instead of looking for a new guitar player right before the recordings.
Then Susan contacted us and we had audition with her. She’s really professional, fanatic and above all, a really good guitar player. So for a change we decided to have a beautiful lady in the band instead of another guy.

- HoM: Talking about some of the songs in the disc. Have you got any favourite theme? Personally, I’d pointed out “Poison Fog”, “Drowning In Mud”, “No survivors”, etc. What do you think about it?

Exactly the songs everybody picks out. My favorite is "Poison Fog", because it´s got all the great elements like extreme song with great riffs, great melodies, a clean vocal part and a beautiful guitar solo at the end of the song. I think all of us have that one as our favorite song.

- HoM: Despite the strength that emerges from this work, there’s also an important emotional component of pain and sadness from its inherent war thematic. So, how the God Dethroned’s composition process was? Did you write the song first and then started with the music or is it just the opposite?

I wrote all the music first before I wrote the lyrics, but before I wrote the music I thought about the song titles and what kind of song should be written for that title. Working that way made it a bit easier to come up with the right atmosphere in every song before writing the music.
Then I wrote extreme stuff to represent the war and the battles and I wrote melodic and melancholic stuff to represent the misery of the war.

- HoM: Regarding the disc’s release, have you planned any kind of European/World tour? In case you do it, will Spain be included in that hypothetic tour? I’ve never been in any of your concerts.

Yes we will be doing another World Tour for "Passiondale". First off we have weekend shows-festivals which have already started a while ago. Then we have a tour on the Balkans first starting end of june. Then in September we start touring South America and Mexico. In October the USA and Canada and when we come back we will do a full scale European tour. This will definitely include Spain as well!!!

- HoM: Now that we’re dealing with lives’ matter, have you got any favourite or special songs you like to play in concerts? And what about cities?

Actually I would like to play all the songs of "Passiondale" live, but of course we will have to play a lot of old songs too, so we will play something like 5 songs of f of the new album.
At least "Under a Darkening Sky", "Poison Fog", "Passiondale", "Drowning in Mud" and then we have to switch a bit between songs like "Behind Enemy Lines", "No Survivors", etc.
We just want to play every city! Of course that´s not possible so we will have to do more European tours in the near future.

- HoM: Referring Spain, I think you’ve visited us before. What do you think about Spain? I’m going to visit the Netherlands in a few months, what would you recommend me as the most interesting thing up there?

I love Spain ! We did some extensive touring in your beautiful country with Vader. I totally fell in love with it. I love the country side, the cities, but most of all the metalheads overthere. I can look back on some great shows and I definitely look forward to coming back very soon !
When you go to Holland then you could besides Amsterdam go a bit more towards the east because there the country side id the most beautiful. For the rest, Holland is just a small and overcrowded country.

- HoM: Tell us about your future plans and projects. Apart from tours, what have you got in mind for next months?

Well, we just finished the video clip for "Drwoning in Mud". People can find it on our website  (or right here) if they want to check it out. Afterthe Balkans tour I want to do another video for the song "Poison Fog". Then when we start on the second part of the world tour, there will be no more time to do anything at all!

- HoM: We’re almost done, can you tell us about the best times you’ve lived like group? And by yourself?

Man, I´ve experienced so many things with this band that I wouldn´t know where to start or where to end.

- HoM: A classical question. What kind of music do you usually listen to? Which are the main influencies to the group?

I listen to a lot of different bands varying from Bolt Thrower, Emperor, Slayer, etc to Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins, Golden Earring and such.
Keeping my music varied keeps everything interesting. Listening to non/metal bands widens my horizons and makes me a better metal guitar player.

- HoM: Another classical question: which five discs would you take with you to a desert island?

Entombed – Left Hand Path
Bolt Thrower – 4th Crusade
Morbid Angel – Altars of Madness
Dismember – Like an Evrflowing Stream
Paradise Lost – Gothic.

- HoM: We’ve finally reached the end, thanks a lot for your time. From HallOfMetal we wish you tons of luck with this new disc and the incoming tour. Any word to our readers?

You are welcome !
Everybody check out Passiondale and see you somewhere on tour!!!

Cheers, Henri
God Dethroned

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