Review Summary: A shot in the arm for Deicide garners stunning results.
In my early teens, when Death Metal as a genre was a fascinating yet petrifying area to explore, Deicide were the band that always attracted my interest the most. Hearing rumours of a Satan worshipping front man branding crucifixes into his forehead and vowing suicide at thirty three to mirror the death of Christ, of course, is always going to captivate an adolescent nerd. When it actually came to listening to the music, I found myself just as spellbound by the ferocious barrage of ‘Legion’ as I had been by the image and reputation of the band, and my foray into Death Metal began.
Of course, from here on, I found bands that I much preferred over Deicide, yet they retain a certain affection with me for opening the door to so much fantastic music. The bands satanic aura lost any resonance it once had, and it was left down to the music alone to preserve their appeal. Unfortunately, from 1995’s ‘Once Upon The Cross’ onwards, a series of poor releases left me cold, and I ultimately forgot about Deicide, believing them to be past their prime and devoid of any innovation and creativity.
And so, when I finally got around to listening to their eighth full length ‘The Stench Of Redemption’, to say I was surprised is an understatement. From the off, it is clear that the guitar work is the discs highlight, and that newly recruited six string duo Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla have re-invigorated the band, providing a new sense of melody and a element of musicality that the Hoffman Brothers could never compete with. The clean picked intro to ‘The Lords Sedition’ and the snaking guitar lines of ‘Desecration’ demonstrate a new awareness for dynamics which I would say had definitely been lacking in any previous Deicide release, whilst the quite frankly stunning guitar solos imbue the songs with a majestic, neoclassical edge, flawlessly running the gauntlet between soaring, fluid virtuosity and all out technical aggression.
Glen Benton’s vocals remain as guttural and indecipherable as ever, yet the introduction of some parallel high pitched shrieks is welcome, as it provides a fresh formula to a vocal style that is prone to becoming wearisome and tedious very quickly. Although, Glens voice continues to be very much an acquired taste, and TSOR is not going to alter anyone’s opinions when it comes to Deicide’s approach.
Steve Asheim’s drumming is, predictably, superb, as he executes a bombardment of blast beats, rapid fills and blinding double bass work and generally delivers a typical Asheim performance in its superiority and inventiveness.
The Stench Of Redemption displayed how Deicide could still compete in a Death Metal scene where the old hands looked to be overrun by a vigorous and creative new breed of bands. An injection of fresh (and more importantly, a great deal more talented) blood lit a fire under the band which resulted in a rejuvenation that brought about, in my opinion, Deicides best ever work. The signature brutality is present is spades, along with the satanic themes that epitomize the band, yet the heightened musicianship and the inclusion of some melodic strains mean that this is a album which many thought Deicide could never make, but should be enormously thankful that they did.
