Deicide - In The Minds of Evil (Album Review)

 

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 25/11/2013

Label : Century Media Records

 In the Minds Of Evil, album track listing

1. In The Minds Of Evil 03:53
2. Thou Begone 03:44
3. Godkill 03:11
4. Beyond Salvation 02:58
5. Misery Of One  03:22
6. Between The Flesh And The Void 03:55
7. Even The Gods Can Bleed 02:58
8. Trample The Cross 03:00
9. Fallen To Silence 03:10
10. Kill The Light Of Christ 03:30
11. End The Wrath Of God 03:14

Bio :

Always at the forefront of the death metal movement, DEICIDE was an original pioneer of the brutal sound and imagery associated with the Florida death metal scene. In 1987, Glen Benton and Steve Asheim teamed to launch one of the most talked about, controversial and venomous crusades in metal history and have since risen to international notoriety and released two of the highest selling death metal albums in the SoundScan era.

DEICIDE quickly became known for their technical yet brutal sound as much as the rumors that surrounded them. After famously marching into the office of Monte Conner (Roadrunner Records) and demanding “Sign us, you fucking asshole!” the band went on to create the definitive sound of 90s death metal thanks to their ability to play technical solos at blazing speeds with overlapping riffs. DEICIDE also created an astounding nine studio albums that have changed the face of the extreme metal scene. The message of Glen Benton and the incendiary writing of Steve Asheim proved the two of them to be the core of the band when lineup changes shook DEICIDE’s foundation in the early 2000s.

During this time, Asheim and Benton held DEICIDE together, adding Jack Owen (Cannibal Corpse) and Ralph Santolla (Death, Iced Earth, Obituary) to their arsenal for the creation of the fiery and oft-championed “The Stench of Redemption”. Now, the band is gearing up to unleash their 10th slab of vehemently anti-Christian brutality – the effort also becomes their debut for Century Media, after inking to the label in 2009.

“To Hell With God” is the new album’s title – being produced by Steve Asheim and Glen Benton himself along with Mark Lewis (The Black Dahlia Murder, Chimaira, Devildriver). The title shines light on exactly what fans can expect – a blasphemous hell ride with their favorite death metal veterans. This gargantuan album will see an early 2011 release and will be supported by the band with extensive touring and festival appearances already in the works.

No stranger to controversy, it is already apparent that DEICIDE will be the whipping post of the religious right with the album’s release due to its title alone. However, after 20+ years of playing songs such as “Fuck Your God”, “Kill the Christian” and “Behead the Prophet”, it’s quite apparent that these satanic stalwarts will continue spreading their message of hate and evil upon the masses. In fact, it can be seen as a testament of the band’s strength and refusal to conform to continue their blasphemous career after facing a copious amount of bans, fines and strife in the name of their art.

DEICIDE is back and stronger than ever – “To Hell with God” will surely prove this to the masses. As one of the original curators of death metal, DEICIDE are about to show the metal world just how brutal and unholy they can be. Are you ready?

The Band :

Glen Benton | Vocals/bass

Kevin Quirion | Guitar

Jack Owen | Guitar

Steve Asheim | Drums

Review :

Deicide, in my view, are death metal royalty- albeit with some rather controversial aspects. Without going into the more colourful/ridiculous features of front man Glen Benton's professional and personal life, suffice it to say that Benton is needed in the metal world as he provides outlandish statements both in songs and in interviews and thus stands out as a character that you love or love to hate- not too many bands can boast that these days.

 It would not be a huge stretch to suggest that most peoples' favourite Deicide album would be one of the first three releases. The debut was an out and out classic- a DM tour de force with a feral production. Things got slicker for “Legion” and “Once Upon The Cross” (my personal favourite) as very brutal and very blasphemous metal was delivered without mercy by four men who looked like they were straight out of the pages of a satanic redneck comic book.

Things took a turn in the late 90's with some average records until the storming comeback of “Scars of The Crucifix.” Sadly, soon after its release the hugely muscled Hoffman brothers were gone. Fans were concerned, the stories of threats/recriminations/steroid abuse/weapons arrests etc. did not exactly ease anyone's fears but the subsequent tour with Jack Owen (formerly of Cannibal Corpse) and Dave Suzuki (of Vital Remains) was a success and the band pressed on. “The Stench of Redemption” was a superb record and proved that it was drummer Steve Asheim, not Benton or the Hoffmans, who was the driving creative force of the band.

Since then, guitar maestro Ralph Santolla has been and gone, but Owen remains along with Asheim and Benton. Kevin Quirion rounds out the lineup. The band have kept the strong albums coming with “Til Death Do Us Part” and “To Hell With God.”

In The Minds of Evil thus opens with the title track and gives us exactly what we hope for; Asheim's fast but very steady drumming (excellent china usage!), fast riffing and surprisingly memorable hooks.

Thou Begone features the kind of crushing groove that Deicide excel at- they are a very rhythmical band-; could it be Asheim's influence again? Hyper fast sections follow as Benton truly excels himself. Indeed, his vocals over the whole album are excellent. Melodic leads abound while the main refrain marks itself out as being very strong indeed.

Godkill features excellent riffing and highlights the crystal clear production- everything can actually be heard very well and the vocals have excellent placing in the mix. The song titles and subject matter should surprise no one; Benton continues ploughing a very singular furrow. Clearly, the bible belt is still tight down in the less cosmopolitan areas of Florida- what is it about the southern-most state and death metal?!

Beyond Salvation features interesting pacing and guitar work while Misery Of One hurtles along with neck snapping intensity and features a VERY Deicide bridge section. Between The Flesh and The Void utilises harmony guitars and tuneful leads in the opening before picking up the pace...and then picking up again! The track fades out (you don't hear that too often these days) and is replaced by Even the Gods Can Bleed which stamps out a lasting impression.

Trample The Cross juxtaposes blast beats with slower and almost melodic riffs and leads to good effect (you may hear its title elsewhere on the album too- Glen is nothing if not consistent).

 Fallen To Silence ushers in the home stretch of the album with a marching sound and even more blasphemy. Superb lead breaks lift the track as the band shift through the gears.

Kill The Light of Christ again uses higher-on-the-neck riffing to open and grab the listener's attention before going for surprisingly catchy verse and chorus sections- one of Deicide's strengths has always been distinctive musical and lyrical motifs. This has always elevated them above their more humdrum DM competition- once again proving that you have to have the songs, not just the sound (incredibly, I have managed to avoid using the phrase “the devil has all the best tunes”... until now!)

End The Wrath Of God also ends the album and brings pummelling verse sections to bear alongside quicker bridge sections all utilising variations on the same refrain- again song-writing- before a middle section of hyper fast leads and tumbling riffs mesh with some nifty production tricks.

Overall, this is a very strong effort from a band that many would have predicted to no longer be around in 2013 (or even 2003, for that matter, considering Benton's “dead by 33” claims). Deicide are, in many ways, the AC/DC of death metal- they do what they do, they write about what they write about and they do not compromise. Deicide still have an impressive work rate when it comes to writing and releasing albums, though, and the energy levels and quality have not dipped. If you lost track of the band in the 90's or never bothered listening to anything after Eric and Brian Hoffman left or have never even checked the band out (is that possible?) then starting with “In The Minds of Evil” would be a fine remedy for your ills- it has the songs, the sounds and the flare to convert the non-believers into believers... or should that be the other way around? Quite simply, this is a great album from the satanic royalty of Florida death metal.

Words by : Richard Maw

You can buy it in Europe here  and the rest of the world here

 

For more information :

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDeicide

http://www.last.fm/music/Deicide