Deicide – Till Death to us part (2008)

A warning to all the mothers and grandmas: lock your children in their rooms, Glen Benton is back. This time with his main-band Deicide, which has released their last record in 2006. For all those who have been slept or were kidnapped that year, here’s a little retrospective: Eric and Brian Hoffman, former members since 1987, had left the band to be replaced by Jack Owen (Ex- Cannibal Corpse) and Ralph Santolla (Iced Earth).
Than they released “The Stench of Redemption” , which was surprisingly melodic and complex. Now back in 2008, the four Americans have released “Till Death Do us Part” which is once again different from previous Deicide records.

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Like the devil, Deicide has changed his form again: “Till Death Do us Part” is more about old-school death metal, the guitars are toned down and the songwriting is a little bit more monotone/repetitive in comparison with “The Stench of Redemption”. This creates some room for the blast and double base attacks by Steve Asheim and the unique and distinctive singing of Glen Benton.
O.k. there aren’t as many complex melodic guitar riffs then on “TSoR”, but the guitars stay inevitable: the way they play and the way they sound is just great. Like a huge wall of brutal guitar notes which dashes your ear-drums to pieces. Just like Cannibal Corpse. Furthermore, the two guitar players stand out for their endurance and precision. The same goes for the drums: Steve Asheim seriously knows how to swing his drum-sticks. Technical on a very high level, he reaches a speed which is just admirable. It’s not that difficult to be a fast drummer, but Steve is definitely more than just a fast drummer. By the way, he was also responsible for the second guitar which explains why the drums fit that well to the guitars.
Glen Benton, on his part, proves again that he’s one of the best death metal singers at the moment. Yes he has sometimes an insupportable behavior/character (on live tours or interviews) but hey, a CD is about music. If you only don’t listen to a band because his singer is an asshole, go watch “Sex and the City” or “Desperate Housewives” and afterwards, tell your diary that you really don’t like the ugly and frightening Mr. Benton.

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“Till Death do us part” is a mixture of older Deicide records and “The Stench of Redemption”, with a lot of good songs for your head-banging-playlist, and one or two mediocre songs which fell victim to the more monotone concept of the record.

8/10

SvArt

~ by SvArt on May 9, 2008.