There’s a lot to be said about persistence and sticking to one’s guns, and in that you have to credit GLEN BENTON of DEICIDE for keeping his satanic crew going for over two decades. With the release of TO HELL WITH GOD, their first release through Century Media, DEICIDE deliver yet another another blast of death metal fury that will surely please the most die-hard of listeners.
The album is an aural assault, containing ten tracks that clock in at a combined 35-minutes of sound. While not matching the achievement of the band’s 2006 album THE STENCH OF REDEMPTION (of which I was a first-day buyer), nor the initial shock value of classics such as LEGION (1992) or ONCE UPON THE CROSS (1995), all of the elements that one would expect from a DEICIDE album are front-and-center. Machine-gun drumming with technical leads, and a heavy dose of hatred for religion and Christianity – they’re all here.
There’s interesting time signatures to be found, some of the short, stop-and-go grooves shifting direction and taking songs to places not expected, with four songs in a row – “Save Your,” “Witness of Death,” “Conviction,” and “Empowered by Blasphemy” – all following the same formula, but remaining completely effective. Later, the band hints at their earliest beginnings (SLAYER on speed) with tracks like “Angels of Hell” and “How Can You Call Yourself a God?” bearing a striking resemblance in structure to the King/Hanneman style of guitar playing.
In the marketing materials for TO HELL WITH GOD, the R.I.Y.L. (recommended if you like) section names two things: “True Death Metal,” and “Killing God.” If you’re an enthusiast of either, then this is probably one of the first albums of 2011 that should top your “must buy” list. A solid album from one of the true legends of the early Florida-based Death Metal scene.
Rating: 3.5/5
