Artist: God Dethroned
Venue: Blender Theater at Gramercy (New York, NY)
Opener: Abigail Williams, Augury, Praetor Morte, Regain The Heart Condemned, Woe Of Tyrants
Date: 10/16/2009
Label: Metal Blade Records

I know the Fall season was upon us, but man was it cold the night of this show and perhaps some of the kinds of music that we were about to witness had something to do with it. After all, this would be the first time in about four years that the guys in God Dethroned had made an appearance in NYC. The last time they came around was for a Death Metal festival that took place at the long shuttered C.B.G.B.’s. Direct support would come from Abigail Williams who we saw in this same venue as a headliner not too long ago and if that was not enough to spark your interest well there were four other bands on the bill that made this a very awesome treat for the ticket price.

Preator Morte: What I caught was not bad at all but I missed the larger part of their set based on the show starting much earlier than it had been announced as starting. Generally a show like this starts off at 7:30 which was when I arrived but by this time the band was almost done with their set. Oh well. Regain The Heart Condemned was up next and another new name in my Metal book.

Regain The Heart Condemned: Apparently these guys were also local openers and I had heard their name before and yet never managed to catch them. Their sound was very Black Metal meets Death Metal and their singer wore face paint of some kind but it did not strike me as the conventional corpse paint we find being worn by bands of this kind from the Scandinavian countries. I was not enjoying the sound that they had this evening as it was very, very muddy and since the singer’s growl was standard against that of his peers I felt the group needed to up their game to make some impact in this. He would wander around the stage with a prop crucifix that he held upside down but for me this was a very cliché thing to do. Their name is interesting and there is hope for them but I feel that they need to observe more of the masters who are still in action to see what and where this sound can take them if they choose to continue on. They had a strong show of support from their friends and that said something. Good luck guys. Augury was up next.

Augury: From Montreal, the Technical Death Metal artisans were very on top of their game and let us know that the major label bands were on point from now on. I knew the group had just released an album on Nuclear Blast Records entitled “Fragmentary Evidence” and while the set list was not on the stage to quickly observe, I am certain that most of what was being played tonight by the band came from this recording. The downside was how quickly Augury came on and off the stage based on the restrictions of being the third group on in a roster of five. If Technical Death Metal is your game then definitely make sure you watch out for them since they do it so well. Congratulations Montreal for delivering such a band to the Metal community. Woe Of Tyrants was next and again another new band for me.

Woe Of Tyrants: First time seeing this band as well and as I understand they are a couple of years old signing to Metal Blade Records but they are very new to me. Based on their sound they are definitely a Death Metal enterprise but there was a lot more of a Progressive feel to their sound which was rather appealing to my ears and a nice difference from that which we just enjoyed with Augury. Their latest album is entitled “Tribunal Kingdom Of Might” and its something that I want to look into based on how solid their set was this evening. Going in blind as I did for this group, I will have to leave it simply with the positive words of “nice work guys”. Abigail Williams was coming up as the direct support act and we have not seen this band in ages.

Abigail Williams: I’m only kidding about a long span of time since I last saw Abigail Williams as the band recently played this very same venue back in July when they headlined over Goatwhore. Oddly enough Goatwhore was just here two weeks ago as direct support for Obituary and that brings us into the now. That night Abigail Williams sounded good but their set was cut short based on running too close to venue curfew and I must admit that I was not all that crazy about the sound they had that night anyway. Tonight they would be more in tune with the band that I enjoyed that very first time that I caught them even if a number of lineup changes had come to pass since that time. The set this evening was only seven numbers, but they played longer tunes and practically everything came from their no longer new album “In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns” which at this point in time has a special edition being planned. This evening Sorceron was also playing some guitar which was interesting to observe and the band was going over well with the fans of God Dethroned which was good. The down side which was very clear by the time of their set was the really lackluster attendance that was in the venue. Despite this, Abigail Williams kicked some ass and were better than I had last seen them which made their part of the night’s fun worthwhile for me. Now it was time for the return of God Dethroned.

God Dethroned: To the best of my knowledge, God Dethroned has not been on US Shores since this Death Metal festival from hell that took place back in 2005. I describe this festival as being “from hell” more based on its logistics than its content as over the short course of its run a number of bands had dropped off by the time that it reached us in NYC. Since that time a lot has happened as far as the lineup of the band was concerned as drummer Arien van Weesenbeek left to join Epica and he would be followed by the bands guitarist Isaac Delahaye and now the band finds Michiel “Mike” van der Plicht and Susan Gerl in the drum and guitar roles. The tour was labeled the “War Propaganda Tour” and the band has a new release called “Passiondale” out on Metal Blade Records and yet while there was a new album to support the band would only do three numbers from the release. Fronted by Henri Sattler, who handles guitars and vocal growling, the band would focus a larger core of their set on both “The Toxic Touch” and “Lair Of The White Worm” which as you might expect are two very powerful albums for this kind of Metal. Tonight the guys and girl would do really well with their sound and I enjoyed seeing that some classic Death Metal acts were being supported by the guys who wore both Possessed and Pestilence shirts on this evening.

Overall I had to say that the show was good despite the super lackluster show of support from the Metal faithful. The downside to this economy of late has found the fans really being choosy at events and to be brutally honest there have been a massive amount of killer shows happening one after the other which makes it harder to decide and often find a gig like this suffering just a little bit. The upside was in how the band didn’t let this fact bother them and before the show had ended Sattler mentioned that God Dethroned would be returning with Vader in the New Year. That was an interesting comment to make because Vader would be playing at this venue in November, but he meant sometime next year and this show will find each of the bands opening up for the one and only Overkill. I think that this particular show will be good for the Metal scene on the whole and not just for the bands that are on the bill. A big part of what I felt affected this particular show was the fact that Moonspell was doing a gig on Sunday over at B.B. King Blues Club and this headlining appearance would be the bands first in the area in a couple of years and they always pack the place. Let’s see what happens and when this Overkill show comes to pass I will most certainly be on point for that one.

Abigail Williams Set List:
1. I
2. World Beyond
3. Acolytes
4. Imperian
5. Into The Ashes
6. Watchtower
7. The Departure

God Dethroned Set List:
1. Under a Darkening Sky
2. Serpent King
3. Soul Sweeper
4. Nihilism
5. Hating Life
6. No Man’s Land
7. The Execution Protocol
8. Drowning in Mud
9. War Cult
10. Poison Fog
11. Boiling Blood
12. Villa Vampiria
13. The Lair of the White Worm

Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/goddethronedofficial/
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/abigailwilliamsofficial/
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/woeoftyrants/
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/augury/