Live-Metal.Net - Interviews: God Dethroned

The Battle of Passchendaele was one of the largest battles of World War I. It was fought for control of the village of Passchendaele near the town of Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium. Hundreds of thousands of Allied and German soldiers perished, many drowning in the thick, muddy landscape while bombarded by heavy artillery.

What does this have to do with anything? It's the concept behind God Dethroned's new album, Passiondale (the name that Passchendale was later changed to) and could very well be the band's defining record. Set against a backdrop of melodic death metal, the history and story of Passiondale comes alive through God Dethroned's violent, literal lyrics, painting vivid images of war in the listener's mind.

Active since 1990, God Dethroned has long been a rising force in extreme metal, releasing strong albums such as Lair of the White Worm (2004) and The Toxic Touch (2006). Several lineup changes have occurred over the band's career, but it hasn't derailed this death metal force. Their latest addition is a girl, but she's not to be underestimated--guitarist Susan Gerl. Live-Metal.net's Jeff Maki had a Q&A with the new God Dethroned guitarist, in which she answers questions about females in metal, Passiondale and more.

Live-Metal.net: First off, let me say congratulations with your new album, Passiondale. Just when I thought that you wouldn't be able to top The Toxic Touch and then we get this. It's awesome!

Susan Gerl: Well, thank you very much!

So regarding the new album's concept, most fans probably already know the story, but for those new readers, tell us what Passiondale is all about.

Passiondale is a concept album about World War I and deals with all the cruelties that happened during that particular war around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, which was basically completely wiped out after WWI.

Lyrically, the songs paint a vivid picture. The lyrics are very literal, straightforward and not so much metaphoric. Different strokes for different folks, but what lyrical style do you think is more effective for a metal band?

Everyone should be able to get the lyrics straightaway. It should be not too poetic, but straight to the point. People need to be able to understand what you’re talking about.

I know you joined the band after the album was recorded, but how much input did the rest of the band have into the album lyrically, or was it all Henri's doing?

Everyone was involved in the creation of this album, but as usual, Henri did the most and he also wrote all the lyrics.

Speaking of that, explain the process of how you came to be the guitarist for God Dethroned.

I joined them by coincidence really because I only heard by chance that they were looking for a new guitarist. So I sent them an e-mail and I was invited for an audition two weeks later. They asked me to learn four songs: "Nihilism," "Sigma Enigma," "Soul Sweeper" and "Hating Life." I played them at the audition and after they had discussed the matter for a few mintues privately, I got the job.

When we have a situation like this—with a new guitarist coming in—do you do your best to learn all of the band's past material, or do you just stick with whatever songs you'll be playing live? How does that work?

At this point, learning all of the band’s past material wouldn't really be feasible since it’s simply too much and we always play a set amount of songs live. So at this point I know how to play more songs than we will play live— which also holds true for our new drummer Michiel [van der Plicht]—which is good because this gives you space to make changes during a gig or to play a song extra.

No. And that would be weird, wouldn’t it? I mean it’s up to me to learn all the songs properly.

I started playing the guitar in ’93. In ’94, I formed my first band called Catafalque. We only recorded a demo, but played some very good gigs. Then things became more serious with Desensitised in 2001. We recorded two EPs and one full-length CD, and supported bands such as Arch Enemy, Suffocation and many others. In 2007, our singer, Wilbert, and I reformed and renamed the band to Murder Syndicate. And last year we recorded our full-length debut CD, but we’re still looking for a label to release this CD.

I don't want to sound at all like a male chauvinist, but God Dethroned is an extremely heavy band and one that you wouldn't expect a girl to be in. What has been the overall reaction amongst fans of the band, family and friends of your joining?

Very positive! I received tons of mail when we announced on our Web site that I had joined God Dethroned, which was really great! And there will probably always be a few people out there who think that women should not be part of an extreme metal band, but I only have one message for them: fuck ‘em.

Most females in metal bands tend to be vocalists, but the number of female musicians is growing. How important is this for women in metal? Is this just a trend or will it continue from here on?

When I speak for myself it was never that important cuz I mainly had male role models, but I always really liked female muscians such as Jo Bench and Corinne vd Brand. So for other women out there deciding whether or not to join a metal band, it might be very helpful for them if they see other women perform. And that might also be the reason why it’s becoming more and more common to see females in extreme metal. Because if you take [Arch Enemy vocalist] Angela Gossow, for example, I think she has become a very important female musician who acts as a role model and will do so for generations to come. [Editor's Note: Jo Bench is the bass player for Bolt Thrower and Corinne vd Brand was the vocalist/bassist of Acrostichon.]

What do you think of the exploitation of females in metal bands? If it helps sell records, does it matter? In other words, would you ever participate in a "hottest chicks of metal" type thing for a magazine or Web site?

I have said this a million times before: I think you should earn recognition for what you do as a musician and not because of your gender. I discovered Carina Alfie on YouTube the other day and I was really blown away by what she could do on guitar, but that had to do everything with her way of playing and technique. I look at her as a fellow guitarist and would have had the same appreciation for her had she been a man. But you can’t deny the way the music industry works—the fact that she is a small, slender and good looking woman who can play the guitar like that makes it more special. That’s true and apparently it helps drawing attention to her as a musician.

I don’t really like the typical "hottest chick of metal" competition kind of thing. I would not take part in such a thing voluntarily, but if I was suggested I wouldn't really mind either. If people want to keep themselves busy with something like that it’s fine by me.

The band has an upcoming U.S. tour starting in September. Tell us who's coming out with you, how much new material you'll be playing and what you're looking forward to most out on tour.

We are playing together with Woe of Tyrants, Abigail Williams and Augury. We will play at least five new songs off the new album. The thing I’m really looking forward to is playing live every night and meeting our fans and people I’m in touch with on the Internet. I’m also curious in finding out more about the States, since I have never been there before.

With a band name like God Dethroned, is it safe to say that the band is anti-Christian? What are the religious beliefs of the band as a whole?

The time that we could be described as an anti-Christian band has long passed, but I would like to point out that none of us are into religion, but we just don’t sing about it in an explicit way anymore.

And finally, both drummer Ariën Van Weesenbeek and the guitarist you replaced, Isaac Delahaye, have both went on to join the symphonic metal band, Epica, so the question is, are you going to be joining Epica anytime soon?