Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Deicide
Label: Century Media
Release: 2011
Length: 35:43
Rating: 3/5
There was a time when death metal was still a young punk, just spat out of the depths by the jaws of hell. Back then, bands like Morbid Angel, Death, Obituary and Deicide were charting the pioneering territory of extreme death metal and writing its history. Probably the most Satanically minded of that young pack of death metallers was the last one on the list, who spawned a few immortal genre classics in their early years, with the albums Deicide (1990) and Legion (1992) belonging there without question. But the band led by our favorite devil worshipper, Glen Benton, has been more or less stuck in postpartum cramps ever since. The priest performing the exorcism only got to rest when Deicide seemingly triumphed in 2006 with the masterpiece The Stench of Redemption. But the Scourge of God struck again and sent Deicide back into the darkness with the wretched Till Death Do Us Part. The beast, though, kept watch in the dark, waiting for its return, and the fire is being lit once more by the wonderfully imaginatively titled To Hell With God.
So what does Deicide’s tenth album bring? Well, nothing all that earth-shattering that we haven’t heard from them before. In a good half hour, Deicide scatter ten death metal outbursts at us, averaging three minutes each. Okay, some of them spew out only a small flame rather than a pyroclastic flow. But the first thing that is a big and pleasant surprise is the excellent production, which stabs into your eardrums like the devil’s pitchfork. Every single instrument is clear and well separated, and the sound is sharp and clean. For a brutal death metal album, the guitar tone is a bit of a surprise: it isn’t deep and crunchy like you’d normally expect, and in places it’s even slightly monotonous and tasteless, like alcohol-free beer. On the other hand, a big plus is the more thrash-flavored, varied songs, which, especially in Jack Owen’s riffing, strongly recall the rawness and aggression of Slayer. Sadly, though, the riffs this time around aren’t the least bit surprising, since they’re the same evil-sounding guitar patterns we’re already well used to from Deicide. It is nice to hear, though, that the repetitive songs, of which only a few stand out and stick in your memory, get a noble boost from Ralph Santolla’s fast, melodic and super clean-sounding solos. Santolla is the biggest “culprit” for the extra dynamics and variety in the songs. Benton’s growl is also more distinct and understandable this time, no longer piglet-deep like in the past, but even though that makes the lyrics actually audible, that’s more of a minus. Benton still barks the same old clichéd Satanic lyrics at the level of a grade-schooler who secretly draws pentagrams, upside-down crosses and 666s on the cover of his Nature and Society notebook. And so, after that first encounter with Deicide, there’s another half hour of more or less the same blast beating, growling, similar-sounding riffs, and whining and moaning about the jock on the cross.
To Hell With God is a far cry from the uncompromising assault of The Stench of Redemption, but it’s still a big improvement after Till Death Do Us Part had us wading knee-deep in a huge, steaming cow pie. But if Benton jumped off the cover like Porky Pig at the end of the album, his “that’s all folks” wouldn’t have nearly as satisfying an effect.
Lineup
Glen Benton – vocals, bass
Jack Owen – guitar
Ralph Santolla – guitar
Steve Asheim – drums
Production
Steve Asheim, Glen Benton & Mark Lewis
Tracklist
1. To Hell with God
2. Save Your
3. Witness of Death
4. Conviction
5. Empowered by Blasphemy
6. Angels of Hell
7. Hang in Agony Until You’re Dead
8. Servant of the Enemy
9. Into the Darkness You Go
10. How Can You Call Yourself a God
