God Dethroned

This brutal, war-themed effort from Dutch blackened death metal masters God Dethroned is based on the particularly gory WWI Battle of Passchendaele. The best part of that is it's not just another blackened death release that praises satan or shuns religion. Passiondale is the eighth studio album from God Dethroned and although it's very melodic and contains some clean vocals it doesn't lack the brutality and strength of death metal. Many of the tracks on the concept album are blitzkrieg assaults from beginning to end, with an extreme metal style, like in "Under a Darkening Sky," which includes shredding guitars and thunderous blast beat drumming. Marco van de Velde of fellow Dutch band the Wounded provides the clean vocals on "No Survivors" and, possibly the best song on the album, "Poison Fog." This standout tune also incorporates vocalist Henri Sattler's evil and aggressive vocals, as well as harmonious guitar leads that segue back into thrash-style riffs, encompassing Passiondale's overall monolithic sound.