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Nov 23, 20222 min read

God Dethroned - Under the Sign of the Iron Cross (2010)

FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…



On November 23, 2010, God Dethroned released their tenth full-length studio album Under the Sign of the Iron Cross via Metal Blade Records.



Background:

With their tenth album, Under the Sign of the Iron Cross, God Dethroned follow up their highly successful 2009 release, Passiondale, with an even greater exploration into war and the not so civilized nature of man.



According to an interview with Henri Sattler for Stormbringer Magazine (Austria), on Under the Sign of the Iron Cross, Sattler drew particular inspiration from a first-hand account of trench warfare by a German soldier (Ernst Juenger’s In Stahlgewittern (Storm of Steel)), but also constructed songs around the Battle of Verdun (a 10-month conflict that produced a quarter of a million battlefield deaths), the Schlieffen Plan (Germany’s unsuccessful strategy to end the war quickly on the Western Front before Russia could mobilize to the east), and The Red Baron (Germany’s ace in the world’s first war in which combat took to the skies).



Here are some words from Sattler on the album;

“Under the Sign of the Iron Cross is our second consecutive concept album about World War One. The idea of doing concept albums is an old idea for which I somehow couldn't find the right topics until a young lad named Isaac Delahaye joined our band in 2004. He happened to live in a town called Ypres in Belgium and this town was one of the centers of war activities in World War One. Being confronted with its history and being a history freak at the same time, it all became clear to me, this was the concept I was going to use for one of our albums." (Continued below)
"Passiondale turned out to be quite a success and my concept was picked up and appreciated by a lot of people. I felt I had to tell more about this war. It's such an unknown event to many people yet it had a major impact on life as we know it now. Under the Sign of the Iron Cross tells about different happenings of the war; the battle of Verdun, the Schlieffen Plan and one of historys most well known fighter pilots, The Red Baron. Musically this album can again be classified a soundtrack to a war movie, but this time around the music is even more grim than on Passiondale, but also includes some over the top hymn styled and bombastic tunes that will stick in your brain forever.” — Henri Sattler/God Dethroned

Critical Reception:

“Under the Sign of the Iron Cross (the band's 9th studio release) is, if anything, even more intense, more emotionally powerful than Passiondale, and it's simply brilliant — a raw, ravaging assault on the senses that's also loaded with infectious riffs and dark melodies.” — NO CLEAN SINGING, Dec 6, 2010. (nocleansinging.com)


Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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