This is the last Deicide album I am going to be reviewing, as after this one, I have reviewed their entire discography of studio albums. This album found the band stepping into Auidohammer Studios to have Mark Lewis produce the album. When this album came out in 2011, Lewis had already produced Death Angel, White Chapel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Trivium, and DevilDriver, so he has dialed in the sound of modern metal. Right from the first song, it is obvious how it improved the sound. By improved and polished. That could be a drawback if you want this to sound like their earlier work and less like the average death metal band in 2011.
Benton and his sonic sadists brough their a-game as they are ripping into these songs with no stopping their momentum. It's hyper-fast but still works. Not to say it might not get old midway through the album. Witness of Death"h makes you think it's going to side-step the god hate, but no, they dialed it up. It is almost too fast for their own good, but it stays together somehow. "Conviction' has the lead single from this album. Lewis nails Gelns bass tone, which stands out in the mix. This song is way more purposeful than the first three songs, so it's no mistake why this was the single. They keep the catchy riffs going with "Empowered By Blasphemy." The verses are hookier than what is supposed to be the chorus.
"Angels of Hell starts off in a manner that is more thrashy than what they have done up to this point on this album, but I like the slight gallop in the verse. It is now a trademark that you can bet they are going to speed up at some point. What they have to do is make sure they have bookended it with enough dynamics. 'Hang In Agony Until You're Dead' is more like what was typical of death metal at the time. They have a blast-fest on " Servant of the Enemy." The taunt machine like precison in the chug of "Into Darkness You Go" is more effective. The last song works for what they do, and sounds fine, so no real complaints, but not wowed either. Overall, this album feels like it anchors their relevancy, so I will give it a 9.5.
The first song blew me away as it's what I want from post-punk, taking inspiration from my favorite bands like Killing Joke and Fields of the Nephilim, but without sounding like a blatant tribute to any of them, as they have their own thing going on. From the darker rock vibe of the opener, they shift into a more hypnotic pulse for 'Dancing in the Fire,' although there is more of a dance beat to the song after that."Meet Me After Midnight,' which adopts a new wave touch.
Part of the magic at work here is thanks to the ever-prolific Jeff Wilson from Chrome Waves, who is no stranger to this sort of thing and keeps re-inventing this sound. 'Sky' displays this as it works off a more atmospheric sound, the synths have echoes of a Cure-like feel, and the song carries a similar melancholic feel, though you could also cite Clan of Xymox as a reference point. It builds over a more rock dynamic at the chorus. The guitar carries a similar sullen drone, and its metal roots haunt it.
Another thing I love about this album is how dark it is. A good example of this can be heard on "The Watchers". They go a more Killing Joke route here as it carries both brooding darkness and tension. The synths are really well used, and the dynamics kill it. They crafted this album with some really cool sound and are not just trying to capture the retro Bat Cave sound. Hooky vocals and anthemic chords wrap in a grim little package. There are some gothy sounds to the title track. The bass line is a big one.
One cool thing is they never really use the old Ian Curtis baritone or the Andrew Eldritch vampire voice; they convey the feeling in their own way. Goth is a genre with many vocal stylings, so it's a shame other bands just pick from those two choices. A synth ambiance opens the last song. The bass leads the way in a very Cure-tinged manner.The vocals are soft and reflective.It all comes together gracefully. I will give this album a 10 it's incredible.
No one could have predicted that slam bands would be playing arenas. Granted, it took some refinement. But it brings us to a place where the first new music from these guys in seven years is a big deal. The vocals and the underproduced snare sound are the consistent qualities that root them in what they do. Here is where saying genres don't matter, because with them come expectations. This band is sticking to the expectations almost to a fault, though you can hear how it's not too far of a stretch to take them to the more mainstream death metal of a Cannibal Corpse.
The title track that kicks off these three songs, with some horror movie sound bytes, gives the karate chopping kids what they want first, before you begin to hear how the riffing has matured. The drumming is impressive even if tinny in tone and more of a patter than the thunder of bands hitting bigger stages. There is a great deal of blasting, which is not my favorite part. It's the groove that resonates more and makes the song worth more than one listen to fully absorb. They are not changing the game here, just playing it well. The second song flies in under a flurry of hyper-fast drumming. None of the lyrics can be understood, leaving the vocals as a low-end frequency doubling up the bass.
The last song is "Advanced Stage Decomposition," which highlights another thing about a genre that just goes heavy. Which is the first song that will fly by as you are stunned by how dense it is? The second song had me asking, but can you write a song that they are at least willing to lean in that direction? Then, by the third song, it began to sound like them. So maybe that is where the band is concerning this sort of thing as well, any more than three songs would be redundant. One of my favorite death metal bands came out of this genre so it can be done. It is not happening here, but they are true to who they are.I will give this an 8.
This album finds the drummer's move into the producer chair for this albun, paying off. It sounds better than the bulk of their albums. It also opens into a darker, more melodic manner. They were taking notes on which direction Slayer headed. Weird for them to have an instrumental, but there it went. Glen's approach to the higher demons' voices is more tortured on the title track. "Hate of All Hatreds' is the blast fest you might expect from a song titled that. It feels much more like Cannibal Corpse than they did on the last album. It races by in the blur; they continue to chase on "In the Eyes of God," though the verse finds them digging in harder and more purposefully. That works better for me as it sounds less rushed.
"Worthless Misery" is a great description of the song, as it's the worst offender yet when it comes to rushing a song. To his credit as a drummer, Steve dialed in the guitar tones, as you are not going to find many meaner. There is a more predictable chug to 'Severed Ties," but it works better than many of the songs so far. The more thrashing "Not as Long as We Both Shall Live" is not as speed-infested as some songs, but maintains a tension aided by the flow of double bass.
They return to the more rapid-fire approach on "Angel of Agony"; it's largely forgettable. They start off doing ok on "Horror in the Halls of Stone" then get lost when things speed up. When it comes to stacking up against their other work, it's not the worst, but it's also not the best, though better than other bands who do this sort of thing. I will give it an 8.
This is not our first ride with this hard-hitting Lithuanian band. There is less of a sludge-ridden ugliness and more of a syncopated hardcore groove not unlike how Harms Way drops it when it's hot. The first track is as heavy as you could want it when it comes to this sort of thing. The second song offers more melody from the guitar, which is a smart move rather than jsut committing to beating you in the ears. What this band has going against it is not unlike a problem that a band like Meshuggah faces. Their vocalist barks the same in every song, so it places all the weight on the guitars.
To combat this, the guitar tries to employ different melodies to add an atmospheric texture to "Ydos" while not restraining their hardcore tendencies. There are some great guitar texture on this album that leads to ambient-minded riffs balancing out the weight of their attack, though the vocals keep the songs from being catchy. The electronic touches help, but they could stand to experiment even more. 'Svertas" also carries some extra depth in the ghostly echo it creates, but this gets plowed by the chug of the crunching wave of guitar.
The hypnotic ringing to "Raukles" is darker, but they fall in behind it turned up to 11, and it kills the moment. The last song does carry a more djent-like groove. It also has more space, rather than just crashing against you with its sheer density. This is heavy and has more depth than your average sludge album that sets out just to crush you, but the previous album caught me more, so I will give this one an 8.5, Out on Season of Mist
This is the Canadian band's first album in 27 years. While they identify as 'blackened Hardcore" I am hearing blackened death metal. The harder stomping riffs you might want to file as hardcore are done in a much more metallci way. When they lock in on hooky riffs, they are not unlike Entombed, you know, the Swedish DEATH METAL band. Self-awareness goes a long way., The vocals are a higher pitch rapsed out scream of sorts that is the only thing not placing them solidly in the middle of the death metal bed. For all the harsh chaos, they do have a sense of songwriting, and all of this works for me. When they drop into a lower growl at the end of the song, it seals their fate.
Lyrically, they might be screaming about politics rather than chainsaw murders, but I can not make out a word this guy is screaming. They flirt with grindcore a little, which is the closest to core I am hearing. Some tremolo-picked guitar lines trade off with a crunchier groove on the second song, which is cool but not as interesting as the opening song. There is a darker, almost doomier riff that opens 'Indoctrinated." It blasts off in a more violent death metal manner when things kick in. This guy is screaming his guts out, which I respect.
'Summer Wanes' finds them once again charging headfirst in a burly Entombed-like direction. I am not hearing any of the hardcore here, jsut a collision of death metal and black metal snapping at each other like rabid beasts. At times, this even results in a more sludge-ridden outburst. They are explosive, which is the only quality I can hear coming from a hardcore influence. In the middle of all this, they do come up with a melodic hooky riff, so props.
They bring a nastier attitude to "the Blight in Their Eyes," which borders on Converge's brand of metalcore in the foaming mouth approach they take, but that is as close as they get. The sound of this album is very blown out and dense. If you had to compare them to any hardcore band I would say Intergrity who was almost more of a metal band to begin with. There is an apocalyptic feel to where the song ends up. Brutal as fuck, but not just hammering you with chaos, I will give this a 9.
The Cannibal Corpse parallels are going to get more obvious as guitar Jack Owen joined the band. The guitars are maginally more technical here, and the vocals are thankfully more layered and demonic. I love Cannibal Corpse, I just never wanted Deicide to become them. Ralph Santolla from Iced Earth is also on board, so the solos are more majestic and there is less chaos barrelling at you. Perhaps this might sound like refinement. It's alright for what this song is, but I want to hear more Deicide-sounding stuff on this album.
The hyper blasting is at least their aggression, though the harmony solos counterbalance this in a way that does not sound like what this band was for the first seven albums. The lower main vocal feels more obligatory roaring than the higher demon voices. However, what the band is now capable of can be heard on "Desecration," which is more layered and melodic at first, but gives them room to kick into the angry grinding of the guitar. It's a great blend of savagery with musical smarts that works for them. This is what I expect going forward. Now, having said that, I am prepared for disappointment.
What they bring instead is rapid-fire blasting. In some ways, they were having to keep up with the Joneses as the definition of heavy began to shift. The elements that worked for the previous song are not in play in the same effective manner, so this one feels like hyper-fast filler. The thrashier riff that drives " Walk With the Devil In Dreams You Behold" works, then reversing the old formula of blasting til the vocals come in, then slowing down to create space for them. Instead, here they do the opposite. When I consider where music was at this time twenty years ago, it makes sense. It also feels like they are getting a little carried away with the solos.
"Homage For Satan' has more of a Slayer feel, until it blasts off. Rather than slow down, they go faster. If you want their fastest album, this might be it. The vocals are pretty sick-sounding on it, just rushed on the verses. "Not of this Earth" is like a more blast-beaten Slayer. The verse it pretty pummeling, which works for me. "Never to Be Seen Again" finds Steven saying that the previous song was not fast enough for him and burning the rose pipe. Glen is going for lower thraot scraping gutturals for sure. There is more of a Slayer feel to " The Lord's Sedition' which is the most melodic playing I have heard from the band ever, reminds me of the song "Seasons in the Abyss". It makes it ok for the onslaught that comes midway into the song. We have dynamic contrast blast away.
Oddly, the clsoe the album closes with a cover of Deep Purple's "Black Night" with Benton-approved lyrics. It is also blasted up to their standards. Unless you knew going into it you might not tell it's the same song. I will give this album a 9, as they redeem themselves musically, despite redemption being a concept that does not gel with what they are about or me either, but the word worked in that sentence, so there you go.
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