Review Summary: Lair of the White Worm is a prime example of what quality metal should sound like. God Dethroned comes through amazingly well with this release and it is perhaps the best album by them yet.
For those fans of brutal, blasphemous deathmetal that havent heard of God Dethroned I highly suggest that you pick one of their albums up and give it a try. Its hard to discribe them exactly but I would view them as an aggressive yet melodic deathmetal band with a thrash influence in their guitar work. I would feel inclined to say that it would be better to start with their earlier works just to get an idea of where they came from before picking up Lair of the White Worm, but if you love this genre of metal and happen to come across it then I think you would find it worth while to give it a try.
This is a superb album. It takes the band in a new direction and has a more melodic element than there previous releases, yet at the same time seems just as heavy (if not more so)than their past work. Lair of the White Worm starts off with the song Nihilism, which is a really catchy track that is both brutal and melodic at the same time and gets the listenters attention from the get go. The second song, Arch Enemy Spain adds to this aggresive attitude that God Dethroned has brewing.
While the first two songs are both very catchy and aggressive the third song, Sigma Enigma slows things down slightly and gives a break from the aggression that is typical for God Dethroned. This, however is short lived once the next song, which happens to be the title track kicks in.
The song Lair of the White Worm is probably the hardest song on the whole album and is a great follow up to Sigma Enigma. Its both hate filled and aggressive and reminds me why this band kicks so much ass.
Right after this really heavy hitter is Rusty Nails, which is an interesting piece from the band considering its slow amd somber tone. It is perhaps the dare I say, "the softest" song done by the band yet, but it still manages to add to the diversity of the album without making it seem tame or weak.
The next song is an interesting one in its choice of title. While the song name Loyal to the Crown of God Dethroned may seem a bit conceded, this track is one of the strongest the album has it offer. It is God Dethroned cut down to the most prime example of what they represent which is brutal, unrelenting blasphemy with catchy aggressive guitar riffs to back it up.
The Last Zip of Spit seems to be a bit of a continuation of that attitude and is just as heavy as its predessesor. It is lyrically sound and has some excellent guitar work throughout.
After these two adrenaline fueled songs is The Grey Race, which seems to leave me wanting more. It is still heavy and contains some riffs thats are characteristic to God Dethroned but its too familiar to me and while newer listeners may appreciate it, older fans will just see this as "stock" material that isnt new or progressive for the band.
The final track to this excellent album is Salt in Your Wounds. This is a decent track but thats about it. Nothing spectacular but still a solid song which wouldnt be that big of a deal except its ends things in a medicore way that just doesnt give the rest of the album justice.
