The Toxic Touch

God Dethroned

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 2006)
• Original Release Date: October 31, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metal Blade
• ASIN: B000INAUYK
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,045 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist
"The Toxic Touch is the product of two years of extensive and intense touring all over the world. The new line-up has proved to be superior to all the previous ones. You could see it as a learning process. While everybody knows us as a band with a fine mix between the brutal and the melodic parts, people appreciate us mostly for our groove and melody, especially live. The new album reflects that more than ever before.

The number of blast-beats on this album has been decreased to a minimum. Why? Simply because in a live situation it's probably the most boring part. In the new situation the blast-beat adds something special, the explosion, whereas in the past it was just a common part of our style and therefore `nothing special'...

The fact that our two `new' guys had a lot of time to adapt their style of playing to the band resulted in an album which shows a lot of devotion and intense playing like we were waiting for the fury to be unleashed! And it was...

We decided to choose a relatively unknown studio and producer this time. Jörg Uken's Soundlodge Studio was the chosen one. We heard some of the demos and CD's he produced and in how much time that was done. We felt he would be able to do a killer job when given a proper amount of time. He did the best mixing job we could have wished for. Never before did a God Dethroned album sound this good.

Isaac managed to improve his leads a lot compared to our previous album, we gave Henk his distortion back on the bass, Henri came up with his catchiest lyrics ever, but Ariën totally went over the top on his drum kit. When you play with a drummer on his level, the world needs to hear it. Whoever didn't recognise his skills before cannot escape it this time...

The Toxic Touch has become an album with new and broader influences, techniques and songwriting, but sounds exactly the way God Dethroned should sound anno 2006. This time with our best and heaviest production to date." (Henri Sattler)

About the Artist
GOD DETHRONED was formed by main man Henri Sattler in 1990. After one demo they released their debut album "The Christhunt" in 1992 on a tiny German label. Due to problems with the other band members and the record company, Henri decided to split the band. He then formed Ministry Of Terror, a Thrash Metal band, and released the "Fall of Life" album with them in 1994. After a European tour Henri left the band and re-formed GOD DETHRONED. With new band members and better songs in his back, Henri and the new GOD DETHRONED recorded "The Grand Grimoire" and inked a deal with Metal Blade. Many successful tours followed in Europe, the U.S. and Japan with great Death and Black Metal acts like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Immortal, and Marduk, just to name a few.

In the meantime most of the renowned festivals were played: Dynamo Open Air, Wacken, Graspop and Summer Breeze. However, not everything went smooth. Drummer Roel Sanders left the band after the US tour promoting "Bloody Blasphemy". Nile's Tony Laureano played on the "Ravenous" album, but couldn't stay for obvious reasons. Janne from The Crown played on the tour and finally new drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek came in, whose first recording experience with the band was "Into the Lungs of Hell". This album was received very well by the press around the globe and again the band toured around Europe and played more festivals like Party San and Summer Breeze.

The time following the release of "Into the Lungs of Hell" was one of the most difficult periods in the band's history. The band had been together so long that the individual band members had developed new views on life and the band. Somehow the challenge was gone. At a certain point Beef and Jens decided to leave. The remaining band members Henri and Arien wrote a new album, "The Lair of the White Worm", based on a novel by Bram Stoker. New band members Isaac Delahaye and Henk Zinger joined the band right before the recordings. After the release the band played numerous shows and festivals like the Summer Breeze and With Full Force, headlining tours in Europe and the U.S. as well as support slots for bands such as The Haunted and Bolt Thrower.

In between tours the band worked on a new album and went straight into the studio after the European tour with Bolt Thrower. Two months later "The Toxic Touch" was a fact. After the release of the album the band will start an extensive touring program again. Not only in Europe and the U.S. but also South America is on the list this time. Be prepared, because the infection is about to begin!!!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE metal CD to own!, January 16, 2007

By	Metalblond (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Here is the thing with God Dethroned-- when they came out with "Into the Lungs Of Hell" I was so blown away with it that I told everyone that that was THE metal CD to own...and then when they released "The Lair of the White Worm" they outdid themselves and it became THE next CD everyone needed to own. Now they did it again with the " The Toxic Touch". Trust me, this is THE CD you need to own! Actually, all three CD's are MUST haves and if you own all three about 90% of your music collection is now obsolete. Henri is THE voice of metal, the drums are the best on anything I have heard- guitars, bass-- you name it--it can't be beat. The mix on the Toxic Touch CD is heart pounding and the only fault I can find on it is that I want more of it--it ends with me wanting it to keep going on...I can't believe God Dethroned isn't the biggest metal band going but with the way they are heading here with each CD it won't be long now.....All three CDs are different but necessary and your collection is totally lost without them. The most addictive band there is!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this release is poisonous!, November 13, 2006

By	king beagley "metal maven" (warsaw, in usa) - See all my reviews

the blast beats may be limited, but God Dethroned still knows how to tear it up with or without them. pardon me for saying this, but they seemed to pick up some melody since their last album "Lair of the White Worm". God Dethroned has proved to the death metal community that it can make do with less blast beats and more melody, and still kick some serious butt!

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality stuff!, August 21, 2007

By	A. Stutheit "Teyad" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

With 2003's "Into The Lungs Of Hell," Holland's God Dethroned took a substantially large leap towards melodic death metal territory. Then, they followed this up with arguably their best album, 2005's "Lair Of The White Worm," which was an even further departure from their roots in blackened death metal. And now, with the release of their eighth full-length, 2006's "The Toxic Touch," the Dutch quintet's transformation is almost officially complete.

It would be a stretch to call "The Toxic Touch" experimental or groundbreaking, but it is a little different than past God Dethroned releases. Firstly, as hinted above, there is almost no black metal influence here (aside from frontman Henri Sattler's ever-present intelligible, mid-range growling/snarling/ shrieking vocals, which evoke classic Enslaved and Amon Amarth.) Next, drummer Arien Van Weesenbeek has all but eliminated his use of blast beats this time around, so, the album features a wealth of awesome grooves. That's not to say that it isn't plenty heavy though, because this is still quite a brutal and abrasive little bugger. Plus, the tempos are quite a bit faster here than they were on "Lair Of The White Worm," so this is some of the tightest and most blistering music the band has recorded to date!

The album's sequencing is also of note, because it flows seamlessly from beginning to end. Even mid-tempo tracks (like the almost doomy "The Day You Died"), and atmospheric numbers (i.e. the nice, keyboard-accented "Typhoid Mary") fit perfectly and don't dilute the album's overall intensity. Plus, no matter how fast the tempos get, God Dethroned never forget to include irresistable hooks and usually memorable choruses. As a result, several of the songs on "The Toxic Touch" are among the catchiest and most infectious you will ever hear in death metal.

The album begins with an ominous intro track called "Faithless" before launching into "Hating Life," which is a full-fledged attack backed by crunching, churning riffs, a catchy, pounding rhythm, shout-worthy chorus, melodic solo, and mean, double bass-driven outro. Following that, "2014" is an explosive, crushing thrasher with two mazey solos and a spine-tingling chorus; "Falling Down" is thunderous and features a catchy, shrieking chorus; and "On Wings Of Pestilence," is another fast, driving ripper with a flood of great, thrashy riffs, blistering grooves, and excellent, slamming double bass work. The record's biggest highlight is probably the instrumental seventh track, "Away From Emptiness," which consists of a spacey ambiance, well-placed choral effects and a wealth of gorgeous, slow-picked acoustic guitars. Even the unexpectedly blazing solo around a minute and a half doesn't prevent this from being a very melodic, mellow, and moody piece that breathes really well. But as soon as its over, then God Dethroned go back to business as usual: "Macabre World" returns the album to its original brisk, breakneck speed.

When considering the album's excellent musicianship, focused, inspired songwriting, and polished (though not overly so) production, "The Toxic Touch" is the sound of a band that is more-or-less firing on all cylinders, and definitely one at the musical and creative height of their fifteen-year long career. Good stuff, indeed; be sure to check it out.