"The first Deicide record and the Once Upon the Cross, those two are just fucking awesome!" - Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison (a.k.a #1)
It's almost ten years to the day that Deicide released their still devastating debut, a record Terrorizer magazine (the final authority on extreme music) honored as one of the 100 most important albums of the 1990's. Indeed, aftershocks of Deicide can still be felt, from the sounds of hardcore heavyweights Hatebreed, to metal phonemes Slipknot not to mention countless death metal plagiarists in between. Deicide remains a true benchmark for brutality, a fact that was never lost on the band's outspoken vocalist/bassist Glen Benton.
"When it came down to recording this new record, I wanted to go back to what we did in the beginning, which was to keep it raw," the imposing frontman explains. "So we recorded this album in the smallest studio in Morrisound Studios, which is where we recorded the first record. But the emphasis with this new record was to keep it brutal and to keep it straightforward. We just wanted to make it sound like a fucking garage CD."
One listen to Insineratehymn, his latest barrage of blasphemy, will assure you that Benton has accomplished just that. The creative fire that forged such classic albums as Legion, Once Upon the Cross and Serpents of the Light, burns justly as wickedly on Insineratehymn. From the opening onslaught of "Bible Basher" straight through the closing cacophony of "Refusal of Penance" Insineratehymn is an unrelenting ride of Deicide's animalistic beauty. "I think it's a real fucking brutal record, myself," Benton proudly proclaims.
Though it hearkens back to those early days of bare-fisted bludgeoning Insineratehymn is also the most diverse recording of the Tampa Florida outfit's thirteen-year existence. In particular, the scathing swamp stomp of tracks like "The Gift that Keeps on Giving" and "Forever Hate You," courtesy of percussive punisher Steve Asheim and the Hoffman guitar towers of terror, brothers Brian and Eric, present the record's most challenging moments. "Man, we=ve never been able to get away with stuff like that before," Benton spits. But we=re like everybody, we like to keep a variety for us so still it=s fun, so it can be a release."
Insineratehymn serves as a lyrical catharsis for Benton as well. While his trademark anti-Christian assertions remain prevalent throughout, Insineratehymn's ten tracks also reflect the personal turmoil he's endured in the past few years. "I wrote all those lyrics in three months," Benton says. "I just had a lot to get out of me. There's a lot of messages there for people I dislike. I didn't write this record emphasizing on trying to be Satanic, it's more about me. Lyrically, I'm just at one with myself and that=s been a long time since the first album, really. Now I'm back to my old self again, it feels really good."
A rejuvenated Benton and the rest of his musical assassins will unleash their extreme metal maelstrom to their ravenous fans this summer. With the sheer brutality of Insineratehymn and their first world tour in over two years looming on the horizon, the Deicide killing machine shows no signs of slowing down. "The reason why we've existed so long is because we=re an extreme band that's original," Benton concludes. "I like that fact that after all these years we=re still underground. We don't give a fuck about selling a million records."
All that aside, Deicide's place in extreme music history forever remains secure. Insineratehymn can only add fuel to the hell's fire.
Source: http://www.deicide.com/
