deicide to hell with god

Released: 21 February 2011 Label: Century Media

Twenty four years, and ten studio albums later, Deicide are still belting it out in their typical blaspheming, brutal, and signature classic death metal way.

The one variable in Deicide's past has always been the quality and caliber of the albums they put out, and how well they fared, (or didn't) with fans and critics. One never knows if a Deicide release will warrant praise screamed from the rafters, an indifferent shrug, or a collective dry heave from the metal community.

Their latest release, To Hell With God is most definitely pure Deicide, and not a tremendous departure from their steadfast but somewhat predictable sound. That's not a bad thing - listeners often complain when a band noticeably deviates from the musical course of their early offerings, and it can't be denied that Deicide have certainly stuck to their guns, and stayed the course over the past two decades.

To Hell With God is a strong release, and while it undoubtably is laden with archetypal Deicide elements, a few glaring distinctions are present.

The first and most obviously detectable one being superior, clean, modern production, and the readily discernible presence of each and every instrument. Gone (at least for now) are the days when the Hoffman brothers' technical, capable, but overlapping riffs fought viciously through an auditory pissing contest with vocalist Glen Benton's guttural, overpowering bellowing, and drummer Steve Asheim's AK-47 style of vicious, maniacal drumming.

Hoffman brothers Brian and Erik have been replaced with veteran death metal guitar heavyweights Ralph Santolla (ex-Death, current Obituary) and Jack Owen (Ex-Cannibal Corpse) and this duo manages to cleanly and effortlessly trade off technical riffs and add a level of sophistication not always heard on earlier Deicide records. Benton's vocals appear to have gained an octave or two, and are at times, particularly catchy and harmonious, and tend to vacillate between his quintessential throaty growl, and some slightly higher pseudo screams. He sounds cleaner, healthier, and more decipherable, particularly on title track To Hell With God, Into the Darkness You Go, as well as Conviction where he actually belts out some infections choruses that tempt you to scream along. There isn't much in the way of blasphemy, anti-christianity, and hatred of organised religion that Benton can offer lyrically that he hasn't done already, ad nauseum, but that's what Deicide's always been about, and it's unlikely they'll ever change that formula - and why should they? Steve Asheim is invariably on point on all ten tracks with his superior drumming skills showcased beautifully and conspicuously in the well-balanced audio mix.

Back to back tracks Save Your and Witness of Death nostalgically capture the brutal, classic Deicide sound found on earlier and often more highly regarded albums such as Legion and Once Upon the Cross but with the added benefit of brisk, clean production.

Overall, Deicide have managed to successfully carry the pitchfork and torch with To Hell With God and offer a solid, heavy, well-made, and not at all disappointing death metal offering to the masses. I'll definitely keep this one on rotation for a while.

by Aline Miladinovich