Review: “Dethroned Reimagined” by No Kings Allowed

““Dethroned Reimagined” revisits four songs from the beginning of No Kings Allowed and rebuilds them as the band sounds today. These are not remasters. The guitars were re-recorded, the production was rebuilt from the ground up, new vocal parts from the current line-up were added and arrangements were updated after two years of rehearsals and live shows. Four songs from our past. Rebuilt to close the first chapter of No Kings Allowed before we move into the next one.” ~ No Kings Allowed

Following in the footsteps of Canadian Heavy Metal force Kittie who re-recorded a quartet of tracks from their album “Spit” as EP “Spit XXV” to celebrate its 25th Anniversary, No Kings Allowed have done likewise and offered up four fresh takes on cuts from their debut “Dethroned“. The Netherlands–Belgium based collective have long infused Deathcore, Metalcore and cinematic layers into something both brutal yet emotive. That means you get something cathartic and heavy at the same time and re-creating these songs with their current line up so the songs mirror their live performances is an intriguing prospect.

The masked six piece begin this journey with title track “Dethroned“, the new rendition capturing the spirit of “XX” era Mushroomhead with rampaging riffs, brutal barks and eerie synths transcending into soaring cleans and Melodic Death Metal leads. Rather than mellowing out the song gets heavier with some brutal Deathcore style vocal outbursts, the live energy of the band captured perfectly within the recording. Fierce and direct it’s exactly what you want from an opening cut and by being so it gives the bands eponymous track “No Kings Allowed” more space to breath. That of course has a two minute surpassing cinematic introduction before the vocal begin, the balance between the harsh and clean perfectly weighted for headbanging delight. Metalcore leads take us back to 2003 and bands like It Dies Today giving the song a warmth in nostalgia but it doesn’t sound dated even for a second with the cinematic layering and polished production ensuring crushing tones and crisp percussion.

A demonic roar raises the hairs on the back of the neck as the skull splitting “My Queen” begins, the first verse a full on sonic assault on the senses. Skilfully avoiding a slow down for the clean chorus before snapping back for the Slam vocal inspired second verse is a demonstration of impeccable musicianship. Distant thunder and almost operatic vocals in the cinematic layer add that depth and texture that sets the band apart from the pack, fuelling the spoken word before the powerful finale.

The earworm introduction to “A Bloodsoaked Crusade” gets the blood pumping, the contrast between the death growled vocals and the shriller uncleans working incredibly well as the neck snapping energy flows. Haunting, eerie keys add to the ethereal darkness, the crushing weight of the core sound more than enough to decimate the weak and thin the heard. What No Kings Allowed have have done is manage to chemically enhance a quartet of tracks that were already impressive and somehow give them something else without taking anything away from them. That’s something that few achieve when they re-record their prior convictions and in all honesty it would be interesting to hear what they could do with the full album [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Dethroned
2. No Kings Allowed
3. My Queen
4. A Bloodsoaked Crusade

“Dethroned Reimagined” by No Kings Allowed is out 7th August 2026 via Arson Theory and is available over at bandcamp