Deicide (album)
| Deicide | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 25, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | March 1990 | |||
| Studio | Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida | |||
| Genre | Death metal | |||
| Length | 33:35 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer | Deicide, Scott Burns | |||
| Deicide chronology | ||||
| ||||
Deicide is the debut album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on June 25, 1990, by Roadrunner Records. The album contains all of their demo tracks, plus the songs "Deicide" and "Mephistopheles".
Background and recording
[edit]The album was recorded in the "B room" at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida, where Deicide would record most of their subsequent works. Frontman Glen Benton has expressed dissatisfaction with the album's production quality, which he attributed to budgetary restrictions at the time.[1]
Musical style
[edit]Music journalist T Coles said "Deicide sounds like a journey into hell, as demons claw at your feeble limbs on your descent."[2]
The tracks on Deicide have been referred to as "evil anthems" with lyrics described as "Satanic nonsense."[3] While containing mostly Satanism or blasphemous lyrical themes,[2] "Lunatic of God's Creation" and "Carnage in the Temple of the Damned" concern Charles Manson and Jim Jones respectively, and "Dead by Dawn" deals with the plot of the 1981 horror film, The Evil Dead.
Glen Benton's vocals on the album have been called "absolutely hideous and tortured" and "pure evil." He has stated that no effects were used on his vocals while recording the album, though several songs do contain a pitch-shifted vocal effect.[3][2]
The album's musicianship has been described as "shockingly tight." The album features blastbeat drums. Deicide drummer Steve Asheim's sense of timing on the album has been described as "uncanny."[3]
The album has been said to contain elements of grindcore. Coles noted that the album is "an example of how death metal refined the nasty edge of grindcore but retained a sinister sound."[3][4]
Reception and legacy
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Classic Rock | [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[7] |
| Kerrang! |  (1990)[8] (2011)[9] |
Deicide is considered a classic in the death metal genre, and is sometimes considered to be the bestselling death metal album of all time.[3][10] Nielsen SoundScan lists it second after Morbid Angel's Covenant up until 2003; however, Deicide was released before SoundScan went into effect, so the SoundScan figure lacks pre-Soundscan sales. The tracks "Dead by Dawn" and "Sacrificial Suicide" have been staples at every live performance.
Bradley Torreano from AllMusic praised Deicide's guitar riffs as "creative" and "memorable", saying the album "struck a chord that would, for good or bad, instantly inspire legions of like-minded groups."[5] Reviewing the album for Classic Rock in 2000, Darren Sadler said that the album "is still the quartet's finest hour".[6]
In 2024, readers of Metal Injection voted the album the fifth best debut album from a classic North American death metal act.[11]
Track listing
[edit]All songs written by Deicide (Glen Benton, Steve Asheim, Eric Hoffman & Brian Hoffman).
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lunatic of God's Creation" | 2:42 |
| 2. | "Sacrificial Suicide" | 2:51 |
| 3. | "Oblivious to Evil" | 2:41 |
| 4. | "Dead by Dawn" | 3:56 |
| 5. | "Blaspherereion" | 4:15 |
| 6. | "Deicide" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Carnage in the Temple of the Damned" | 3:33 |
| 8. | "Mephistopheles" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Day of Darkness" | 2:05 |
| 10. | "Crucifixation" | 3:55 |
| Total length: | 33:35 | |
Personnel
[edit]- Glen Benton – vocals, bass
- Eric Hoffman – guitars
- Brian Hoffman – guitars
- Steve Asheim – drums
- Deicide – production
- Scott Burns – production
References
[edit]- ^ https://www.markprindle.com/benton-i.htm
- ^ a b c Coles, T. Death Metal. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 54.
- ^ a b c d e Deicide - Deicide | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-12-30
- ^ Coles, T. Death Metal. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 56.
- ^ a b Torreano, Bradley. "Deicide - Deicide". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Sadler, Darren (July 2000). "Déjà Vu". Classic Rock. No. 16. Future plc. p. 79.
- ^ Sandow, Greg (July 6, 1990). "Music Capsules (Deicide, Deicide)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Kaye, Don (June 16, 1990). "Rekordz". Kerrang!. No. 294. Spotlight Publications. p. 24.
- ^ Travers, Paul (November 2011). "Deicide: Deicide". Kerrang!: 666 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die!. Bauer Media Group. p. 34.
- ^ Puzak, Chris. Blogcritics Music: Cannibal Corpse is top-selling death metal band Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kennelty, Greg (2024-05-20). "These Are The Best 10 Debut Albums From Classic North American Death Metal Bands, According To You". Metal Injection. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
