The Christhunt

Most people will remember God Dethroned as a band that gained a great deal of popularity (and infamy) later into their career as one of the "second wave" death metal bands. That is to say, bands such as Vital Remains, Vader, Krisiun, and many others, all of whom were around in some capacity releasing albums around 1991-1993 (save for Krisiun, whose first album did not come out until 1995), but wouldn't achieve scene-wide acclaim until the late-90's/early-00's, when these bands stuck to their guns during a period when most of their heroes (or contemporaries, in Vader's case) were breaking up (Death, Obituary, Carcass, Pestilence, Thanatos, etc.), or simply starting to fucking suck (Desultory being the worst example). "The Chirsthunt" was the only album God Dethroned managed to release during the original incarnation of the band, and the only member present on this album to be featured on any future God Dethroned album was the band leader, Henri, with the rest of the lineup seemingly vanishing into thin air and never performing again with any bands after 1992. Naturally, the sound present on this album is quite a different one from the style we know God Dethroned for, on later albums.

Here, the band is playin' a style much more reminiscent of traditional death metal, similar to Morbid Angel and Deicide. There is a larger focus on groovy riffs, and the overall style is slightly more technical with some more intricate arrangements coming into the mix. The end product is far more brutal and far darker than anything God Dethroned would do afterwards. Still though, it's easy to hear a lot of the elements that would later become staples of God Dethroned's sound. Listening to a track like "Christ Carnage" will show fans the same melodic, black metal tendencies that would make masterpieces like "The Grand Grimoire" become so legendary. Vocally, Henri growls in a much deeper style than he does on most of the later stuff (though he has pulled this vocal style back out on occasion). His growls are very impressive, if not a bit monotonous, but very strong and filled with hate and conviction, which easily makes up for it. The lyrics are pure Satanic, anti-Christian blasphemy. Though not the most well-written in the world (not the worst either), they get the job done and are somewhat endearing in their complete and total rejection of all things holy.

The album's production, naturally, is rather rough, though not entirely unlistenable. The guitar tone is a bit limp, but the drums sound relatively decent and everything is audible. The vocals are drenched in tons of reverb, which helps give this album a very dark, disturbing atmosphere. The musicianship is a bit rough here and there. Though the songwriting is actually pretty mature and it's obvious the band put a lot of effort into writing and perfecting these songs, it's pretty obvious that the drummer wasn't really pulling his weight in some songs, most obvious being the title track, "The Christhunt". The verse riff (at 1:04) is a rather technical, thrash kind of riff that has a few twists and turns in it. I think it sounds a bit silly but overall it's very interesting to hear...but the drums don't follow the riff very well, and simply go through a pretty standard thrash beat that doesn't fit with the riff very well and feels pretty off-beat. The man does fine when it comes to the slower or more groove-oriented sections of the disc, and I think the guy was pretty smart about using the blastbeats sparingly...when they do come up, I think they add a lot to the riffs & overall feeling of the music (there's something so endearing about it all).

"The Christhunt" is a truly excellent blackened death metal release and is absolutely essential in the collection of any self-proclaimed God Dethroned fan. This is one of the best albums the band ever made (I still like "The Grand Grimoire" and "Passiondale" better - but it's far better than the terrible melodeath albums they released with Isacc Delahaye!!), and it's rather strange I think, that so few people seem aware of it's existence.