DEICIDE — Deicide (review)

Album · 1990 · Death Metal

4/5 · 2013-08-19
arcane-beautiful

Deicide's debut couldn't come at a better time. Death Metal had just been seen as one of the heaviest genres. But, there was a problem. In Norway, the first wave of Norwegian Black Metal had started to circulate around the underground scene. Death Metal bands where meeting their European peers and bands had to really step up their game. While Cannibal Corpses lyrics where getting more bloodier, Death's music was becoming more technical, Deicide emerged playing the fastest and heaviest brand of death metal they could possibly muster to make.

The signing of Deicide is one of absolute legend. Apparently Glen Benton stormed into Roadrunner Records, threw a copy of the bands demo and said “Sign us you f**ing a**hole.” And the rest is history. I can kind of see how this marketing technique worked well for the band, because if I was listening to this for the first time, I'd sign these guys to my record label.

The music on this album has a very Slayer sound to it, with the fast tempos, razorblade guitar sound and noisy unplanned solos. But, with there influences clearly noticeable, the album is faster and heavier than anything Slayer could ever produce. Glen's vocals on this album are absolutely insane, and if I was hearing this for the first time in the early 90's, I'd probably be scared to death by the sounds this guy can make. The most unique aspect of Glen's vocals is his diversity. From low grunts to high screams, he really can scare the shit out of you, and when the two mix together, it sounds like a grunt from Satan himself.

Lyrically the tracks change between blasphemy and fiction. Obviously, you expect God hating on this album, mainly due to the band's slight Satanic interests and beliefs, but sometimes the lyrics lean more towards news stories, movies and mainly any story or tale that involves evil.

The opening track “Lunatic Of God's Creation, ” a song based on the Manson family murders, is a brilliant opener, and has some hellbent vocals from Glen.

“Dead By Dawn” is one of the most catchier moments on the album. With lyrics based on the Evil Dead movie, the lyrics do talk about the mythology of the movie itself (being a big fan of the movie, I do favour this song a lot).

The track “Carnage In The Temple Of The Damned” is probably one of the most interesting and unique songs on the album. In the chorus, Glen almost sings some of the phrases and really shows how much of a diverse vocalist he is. The time changes throughout make it pretty musically interesting.

One of the albums most fiercest songs on the album is the track “Mephistopheles.” One of the most fastest and most extreme tracks on the album, Glen's vocals are incredible yet frightening at the same time. I think the song may be a bit too lengthy, especially with the instrumental section at the end.

In conclusion, this has to be one of the best and smartest death metal débuts I've ever heard. Deicide at this point knew exactly what they wanted to achieve and could obtain it easily. At this point, these guys where the heaviest and . If you want to really get a sense of metal history, check out this album and see an underrated classic gem.

8.3/10

more than 2 years ago
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arcane-beautiful wrote:

more than 2 years ago

there latest stuff im more of a fan of. ill review their last 4 albums in the next few days. one of them i think is the best death metal album ever...well at least one of them

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

You´re right! Glen´s vocals were really innovative and scary back when this album came out. I still love this album even though I´m not really a fan of most of their other stuff.