Deicide - To Hell With God

Till Death Do Us Part wasn’t up to par.  It followed one of Deicide’s strongest albums.  Glen Benton’s vocals were guttural garbage and the murky production and disorganized brutality really weighed heavily upon the band’s attempt to recapture the chaos of Legion and meld it with the refined aspects of The Stench of Redemption. Things have drastically changed for the better on To Hell With God.

No, your ears do not deceive you. That is Glen Benton. Not since Serpents of the Light has Benton sounded this viciously crisp.  His performance on Death was so gurgled, hearing him on the title track is quite striking. In fact, hearing the guitars and bass separate from each other and a blistering drum attack will have everyone double checking the disc’s art.  “To Hell With God” rips the album open and instantly makes up for all of the missteps of the previous disc. Finally Deicide properly fused Legion with Stench and even tossed in some classic Serpents-styled grooves for extra measure.

“Save Your” continues the frenetic whirlwind attack but still allows for the song to also lay down some great grooves in between chaotic blasting. “Witness of Death” unleashes grinding groove after grinding groove with a salvo of riveting riffs and blasts.  Benton’s vocals seesaw from snarled to guttural to sandpapered screams. “Conviction” slows things down into a rumbling chunky groove that is in the vein of the approach on Insineratehymn, but vastly superior to anything on that album.  “Empowered by Blasphemy” returns the swarming riff assault. Again Benton will turn heads with his vocal performance while the buzzing riffs, hints of melodies and shredding solos are nothing short of jaw-dropping. “Angels of Hell” starts off slow before leaping into bellicose blitz of obscenely slick riffing and hurried pace. “Hang in Agony Until You’re Dead” gets back to the Stench approach with meaty riffs and hints of melody.  But the drastic tempo shifts and rapid fire riffs find Deicide at their most complex, dizzying and impressive. The energy continues of the sinister and absolutely slaying “Servant of the Enemy.” The jack-hammering riffs and grooves combined with some fine shredding make “Into the Darkness You Go” one of the album’s finest moments. And the bliss doesn’t stop there as “How Can You Call Yourself a God” just owns.  Benton spits acid at God while the riffs, grooves, solos, melodies and tempo-shifts put Deicide into almost uncharted yet wholly awesome territory. To Hell With God ends on perhaps Deicide’s highest note.

To Hell With God is lethally spectacular.  Great production, great performances, great songs make for a great Death Metal album and another unexpected grand slam for Deicide. To Hell With God has all of the stuff that made albums like their debut, Legion, Serpents and Stench so highly regarded. The production really helps distinguish the sizzling riffs and it’s great to actually hear Benton’s bass rumble along.  Steve Asheim sounds rejuvenated with all of the tempo changes and straying from the endless blasts that got quickly boring on Death. Thankfully backing the blasting back down from maximum strength allows for a lot more breathing room on the album. Benton also completely redeems himself from the previous subpar vocal performances (including Vital Remain’s Icons of Evil).  His masterful roar on To Hell With God sounds refreshed and almost ageless as he is strikingly audible. Something he hasn’t been in quite a few years, if not the past decade.

To Hell With God harkens back to the bands glory days from the 90s, back when Deicide commanded the throne of barbaric, blasphemy-drenched Death Metal.  The disc also continues the refreshing complexities and slightly melodic adjustments on Stench and even harnesses the unbridled chaos of Legion.  To Hell With God proves Deicide are seasoned trailblazers that still have a few aces up their sleeves. Combined with Legion and Stench, this disc makes for the band’s trifecta. Deicide fan’s rejoice, To Hell With God is an absolutely essential album.

Release Date: February 15, 2011
Label: Century Media

TRACK LISTING

1.  To Hell With God
2.  Save Your
3.  Witness of Death
4.  Conviction
5.  Empowered by Blasphemy
6.  Angels in Hell
7.  Hang in Agony Until You’re Dead
8.  Servant of the Enemy
9.  Into the Darkness You Go
10.  How Can You Call
       Yourself a God

Total playing time:  35:44

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Reviewer: Rottenbucher

January 28, 2011