GOD DETHRONED – The Toxic Touch

Yes, yes, yeeeeeeessss! GOD DETHRONED strike back! Two years after the great The Lair Of The White Worm was released the Dutch cats come up with their ninth full-length entitled The Toxic Touch. Of course another milestone in the death metal genre (did they ever release a weak album?) and as expected only leaving scorched earth and wrecked necks.
Generally speaking nothing has changed that much musically, but it seems, with every new album the dudes enjoy more and more what they do. The Toxic Touch displays a bit more delight, is a bit more homogeneity and sophistication in song structures, while riffing, brutality and melodies a tad straighter get to the point.
The Toxic Touch kicks off with the intro Faithless that a bit bumpy leads over to Hating Life, the first great song with a distinct riffing. Likewise a high recognition- and sing-along factor Falling Down has. What strikes me is the fact that GOD DETHRONED first accelerate before they discover the melodic aspects on their music with the sixth track The Day You Died. This side pushes them almost close to Arch Enemy. You know, brutality paired with an ass kicking groove and a huge amount of energy. Away From Emptiness emerges as an instrumental, beginning with an acoustic part that turns into a somewhat epically sound-robe with a great guitar solo above. Following Macabre World destroys a possibly built homey atmosphere with some fast parts again, containing all classic GOD DETHRONED traits as kind of essence what the band is about. My personal favorite is actually Typhoid Mary, a hymn of a song, which is just outstanding.
The Toxic Touch is again a great masterpiece, diversified, well-balanced between fast and mid-tempo parts, rhythm-driven, heavy and groovy as hell. Bad ass! \m/