If the Devil actually had his own gospel, then Deicide, a band's name that literally means death to deities, with the release of their new album, "The Stench of Redemption", would be Hell's choir. The evil atmosphere around Decide never really drew my attention to their music, it was the first time I heard the title track song off their 2004 release, "Scars of the Crucifix", that turned me into a fan of this band's music. Deicide has been around for a pretty long time now and has gone through a few line-up changes, and their style has gradually evolved over time as well.
But even a death metal band this old can still create a solid sounding album, and now with Jack Owen from the legendary Cannibal Corpse and Ralph Santolla on the electric guitars, Decide delivers an album full of insanely fast riffs, heavy blast beats, and even more technical drum work. It's fair to say that this is probably their greatest work yet, and Glen Benton, Deicide front man, isn't sure if this will be his last album or not. After hearing this album though you can agree that hopefully this won't be his last album for Deicide. With the excellent work done on this album, I'm eager to see what they can do next.
"The Stench of Redemption" was released on 6/6/06, surprised? Production on this album I can say is rather good, but at times it's hard to hear some of the riffage due to the insaness of the drums. I love double bass drum, and if you do too then you have nothing to worry with this album. Steve Asheim, drummer for Deicide, has improved so much since this band first started. He uses a lot more variation and excellent fills for these tracks, and after you listen you'll agree that this is one of death metal's top drummers. The guitar work is even more worth the listen. One thing that I really like about Deicide is they use a lot of fast speed-picking riffs, real fast, almost sounds like one note at some times. The heavy open and palm-muted power chords are always present as well, but not nearly as noticeable as the lead guitar work done on this album. If you like what Nergal from Behemoth can do, then you will love what these guys have to offer, more or less. The guitarists use a large combination and variety of arpeggios, harmonics, soloing, and melody to blow their listeners away, it did to me anyways. I love the timing changes throughout the album, and there are no weak transitions between riffs.
Overall I think the album is excellent in the death metal genre, not absolutely superb or a classic, but straight up an excellent display of musicianship. I don't know where everyone stands on this guy's vocals, but for me I think it's a good vocal, the high and low. It sounds like pure evil, and I'm pretty sure that's the exact impression he wants to give the listeners, so good job Glen, even though I really can't understand exactly what you’re saying. Deicide is very unique in there own way, and if you're a Cannibal Corpse and/or Behemoth fan, then nothing should be stopping you from picking up this album.
Pros:
- Great work done with the guitars, lead and rhythm.
- The drumming is exceptionally good for death metal.
- Lots of timing changes and variation.
- The vocals lines are aggressive and sound purely evil.
Cons:
- Some may be annoyed by the vocals, understandable.
- Drumming can be too loud at times and mute out the riffage.
I recommend all the tracks, because they are all different from each other and all deserve multiple times of listening to.
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