GOD DETHRONED has been delivering their own brand of extreme speed metal for twelve years now. Although GOD DETHRONED’s early work was somewhat dull, the band finally hit their stride with the release of the albums, Bloody Blasphemy and Ravenous, both of which combined death, black and thrash metal in to one volatile package. It seemed to hint at what should have been a classic record with Into the Lungs of Hell. Sadly, that’s not the case as the band seems to be out of new ideas with their latest work. Beginning with the plodding, somewhat bland title track, a sharp contrast is drawn to the intensity found on the band’s previous record. The band then displays their knowledge of SLAYER riffs, before testing out some MORBID ANGEL-influenced material on the next two songs. This trend continues throughout the remainder of the album with the band shamelessly splicing SLAYER and MORBID ANGEL riffs left and right without a care in the world. This results in a highly predictable album so derivative, that listeners could actually make a game out of the record by guessing which riff or idea the band will steal next. To be fair, there’s plenty of harsh vocals, blastbeats, and heavy riffs but the problem is everything found on this album has been stolen in one way or another from any number of bigger, more established bands that were churning out similar sounds eons before the band arrived on the scene. While I can’t fault a band for having pride in their influences, there’s something to be said about exploiting the music they supposedly love by doing a little more than “borrowing” from their idols. However all is not lost as this first pressing offers up a second disc of unreleased bonus material which serves as a consolation prize to those disappointed by the band’s latest work. Included is a re-recorded version of the band’s theme song, a cover of POSSESSED’s “Satan’s Curse,” six live tracks, and two CD-ROM videos. Ironically the bonus disc is longer than the band’s current album and is really the only reason to pick this up. (Metal Blade)
