I truly think that all forms of religion need to be abolished and banished from the face of the Earth. This blunt philosophy was one of the reasons why I approached this Dutch band in the early 90's, and since then, they have not disappointed me. As time goes by GOD DETHRONED becomes more experienced in what they do and the quality of the albums is increasing. We have already interviewed this band on another occasion when we wrote our fanzine in Spanish and printed it in black and white, but this time we do it for the new album The Judas Paradox. The new album is set to be released on September 6, 2024, through Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). Henri Sattler, guitarist, vocalist and, founding member, answered our call and made this interview a tribute to Atheism and Anti-Christianity.

If I were to visit and do some metalhead tourism in your region in Holland, what would be your best advice? “… I live in the north, so not very close to the hot spots like Amsterdam and so on, but we have a great metal scene around here. Definitely, go to the Vera Club in Groningen to see awesome bands. Furthermore, there are woods, nature, and ancient grave sites in here. If you are into that, then you are good. If not, then stay away, hahaha! …”

What is a good plan to dethrone God? Does God exist in yourself or the band’s conception? “… I am not a Satanist, so I also do not believe in God. For the past 30 years, I have tried to give a down-to-earth view of religion and its many flaws on its way to self-destruction. It is a passing thing, as mankind will find out during the remainder of this century. I just called them out for killing and abusing so many innocent people over the centuries…”

Some scholars assured that Jesus was 33 years old when he died on the cross, and coincidentally, it has been 33 years since the Christ Hunt demo in 1991. How did those early '90s years treat an anti-Christian act like GOD DETHRONED? “… Of course, we had, and still have, many people opposing us because of our views and opinions. It works pretty hard against us, I can tell you. But it’s a decision I made and one I will stick by until the day comes that I’m sick and tired of it…”

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Do you feel that this new recording keeps the band in the game as one of the leading acts when we talk about metal in Holland? “… Well, yes, that’s the plan, obviously, but it’s too early to tell how much people will or will not like the album…”

Four years have passed since Illuminati, and there you are with a new offering. What have you done differently that can grant a diverse touch to “The Judax Paradox”? “… First of all, this album is mixed by myself this time. I was sick and tired of getting my ideas across to someone else behind the mixing desk. I knew how many layers were put in our songs, how to get them out properly, and how to mix them accordingly. Now you are hearing an album as it was supposed to sound…”

The Grand Grimoire was my first approach to the band, but I must confess that the band’s name was the very specific reason I wanted to listen to you guys. I guess you get that a lot? “… You are the first one who told me so, haha! You are probably right about this, but I cannot be sure since no one has ever said that to me before…”

It often happens that the more anti-Christian a person is, it is because was forced or exposed to this religion in the early ages. Did it happen to you in any way, and that was why contradicting this dogma interested you growing up? “… No, I was not raised in a Christian way myself. My parents did not care about religion at all. It is just my knowledge and research that made me question religion in general. Just looking at the number of people killed and abused because of a book and its crooked interpretation. We are talking about innocent people here! I gave them a voice in the past 34 years! …”

Was 2024 a good year to reflect on the Judas Paradox? Do global societies need to reflect on the Judas Paradox more often? “… I reflected on this idea by the end of 2023, and I was just as surprised as most people are when I told them that there are contradicting stories in the Bible about Judas Iscariot. The story where it is assumed that Jesus could look into the future and therefore gave Judas no choice made Judas a victim instead of a perpetrator! The lyrics are sung from the point of view of Judas, which was a really nice thing to do and gave the song a beautiful twist…”

Thanks for the interview and the time responding to it. Some more words for the fans, our readers, and what’s more for GOD DETHRONED after the new album is released? “… Thanks to our fans for checking out this interview and the new album! We will be coming by on tour in early 2025. See you then!