The Sound On This Album Is Mind-Blowing! - I thought deicide had peaked with once upon... but this album blew me away, what a return to form!
Forget expectations, this is an incredible album!! - All reviews here tells a lot about the album. I just wanna say: forget Deicide and be open minded. This is fast, precise and melodic brutal death metal. The only new part: melodic... and pretty damn good melodies. Five stars, this album deserves it!
A great, GREAT surprise - Deicide passed through a severe decline since they secreted Once Upon The Cross. Their coming albums were kind of mediocre, I ve lost interest since Serpents of the Light, which is not bad at all, but nothing remarkable. And I rarely believe in come-backs. Well, this must be the exception to the rule. A few days ago, I saw the video of Homage For Satan, and I got really impressed by the guitar work and the solos on the song, very, very high quality, melodic but relentlessly brutal. So, I decided to hear the album, and I got frozen since the first one.I ve noticed that Steve Asheim is now the mind that makes the music now... and with this one, he proved himself to be worth for the job!!!! The Hoffman brothers really are not missed. The work made by the new guitarrsist is really amazing. This album is at least as good as Legion, their second (and for me their best) work. The lyrics is as always, a litle boring (Satan, blah blah blah), but the music really pays for that. You may consider this one if you like good death metal, old style. And pay attention to the solos, its really great stuff.Nice, nice surprise from Mr. Benton. Against all odds.
Deicide s Masterwork and a whole new pinnacle for Death Metal - When the Hoffman Brothers left Deicide, I was perplexed. How could two founding members (both of them being guitar players at that) leave a band and have them continue? Then came another announcement that Steve Asheim was the principal songwriter all those years, and I didn t believe it until I did research with old interviews and Usenet postings from years ago while the Hoffmans were still in and so on. Then came the announcement of Deicide s return and the hype began to build for their new album. I liked Scars of the Crucifix but felt it was still missing something that their first 3 or 4 albums had. However, upon picking up The Stench of Redemption, I was equally surprised, shocked, and stunned in hearing what not only may be Deicide s best, but the best non-Gothenburg sounding melodic death metal album since Carcass s Heartwork. This album has many evil riffs and blastbeats galore, but there is this element among the chaos that makes it rise above most of the ilk that plagues brutal death metal. If you guessed melody, I would say you re wrong, because Deicide have been spicing things up a bit with melody since Serpents of the Light (probably their best up until this other than the debut). If you guessed, catchy songwriting, then you guessed right. The riffs, drum patterns, and even growls get stuck in your head for days on end. The melody prevalent on the album doesn t lighten the album one bit, and unlike similar bands, the brutality factor NEVER forsakes the songwriting. Glenn Benton even seems invigorated this time, he sounded pretty good on the Vital Remains albums but sounds completely unhinged here. I still prefer his early vocal style (more comprehensible) but really enjoyed this performance as well.The guitars? Well let s just say the technicality, melody, and just pure tone went up one thousand notches. Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla play like they ve been playing together for years, I could almost say its a case of something like a Murray/Smith, Denner/Sherman, Amott/Steer, or Tipton/Downing type pairing (unfortunately Santolla has recently left). The tone of the guitars is better than anything the previous guitar players had, in fact, the guitar tone is some of the best I ve heard in years period. Overall, this is one of the best death metal albums, so far in the twenty first century. Even if you re not a fan of Deicide, this recording may surprise you. Oh did I mention, alot of the songs are about Satan? haha.
Beautiful - What a record ! I haven t listened to them for a long time, but now this has become one of my favourite. Awesome production, brilliant throughout the way. Some majestic, satanic greatness is revealed by adding two top musicians who shred just awesome heart-ripping solos. Listen to Homage For Satan, you ll understand ! What beautiful melodies. This record stands out breaking the cliches and the monotony of other bands. This one mixes the specific Deicide sound with new, incredible creative guitars and wonderful melodic solos. Get it !