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Effectively a comeback album, following its creators’ demise in 2012 and re-emergence in 2014, The World Ablaze offers a bleak worldview that could hardly be timelier. Extreme metal has always had a ferocious obsession with war and while God Dethroned may not seem like the band most likely to give those well-worn themes an upgrade, this cohesive body of work may cause a few bands to pause for thought before embarking on another trip back to the trenches. Respected more than revered, GD have made some decent records in the past, but… Ablaze obliterates the lot. From the lavish harmonies of A Call To Arms and the pulverising, strafe-attack of Annihilation Crusade to On The Wrong Side Of The Wire’s morbid mid-tempo mulch and epic closer The 11th Hour’s shades of ornate funeral doom, it’s hard to find a moment that doesn’t sound like some grand, definitive statement on the power of bludgeoning but melodic extremity, replete with harrowing tales from the battlefield.

Dom Lawson has been writing for Metal Hammer and Prog for over 14 years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He also contributes to The Guardian, Classic Rock, Bravewords and Blabbermouth and has previously written for Kerrang! magazine in the mid-2000s.