Deicide – Overtures Of Blasphemy

Death metal veterans Deicide are back after a 5 years hiatus with a brand new album called “Overtures Of Blasphemy” released by Century Media. Satan still rules the world and blasphemies against god are on the menu for 30 years now. They don`t seem to stop and that`s probably a good thing. They still deliver powerful, catchy Death Metal, with Steve`s relentless drumming, Benton`s infernal vocals and maniacal bass playing  and the all shredding riffs from Quirion and English. Although I have to mention that his higher pitched demonic voice is something I wish to hear more on the next one, truly missing it on this album. A lot of Thrash metal induced riffing, which is always present in their sound,  and tempos which are perfectly made for a headbanging journey. The songs are straight but with a good dose of melody in it.

The album reminds me of a mixture between “Once upon the cross”, “The Stench of Redemption” and “In the Minds of Evil” in total but also throwing in everything from their discography here and there. Sure, they became better musicians and the todays standard make the production sound cleaner and tighter, losing a bit of the primal chaotic force which made “Deicide” or “Legion” classics. Less is more, in terms of song writing, and this is probably the key point here. The songs are mostly short in length, yet with the power of nuclear bombs and as mentioned previously, catchy parts…beware of the groove as some songs have potential to become live classics. “Overtures Of Blasphemy” is a killer return of one of the most important acts in the extreme metal genre and a testament in death metal. Let`s be one with Satan. (DPF)

—

Like most Death Metal fans my love of Deicide mainly sits with the first handful of albums. But unlike the vast majority that would say that the self-titled album or “Legion” are the bands best albums, I’m more inclined to say my favorites are “Once Upon the Cross” and “Serpents of the Light”. This is when the band really honed their craft and became a band that could write very powerful and above all catchy Death Metal songs.

To my ears “Overtures of Blasphemy” is a spiritual successor to these two albums. The band has really returned to that super catchy and straight ahead style of Death Metal and because of this the album really took me by surprise. The 1, 2, 3 punch of the opening songs shows that Deicide isn’t wasting any time getting the album up to speed. “One With Satan” has riffs that are unmistakingly Deicide riffs. Heavy and dark and above all ridiculously catchy. Glen Benton can write some amazing vocal patterns and sounds like an absolute giant on this album. The second track “Crawled from the Shadows” is my favorite of the album and features probably the catchiest chorus I have ever heard in a death metal song. It has found its what into my subconscious and I always end up coming back to this track. This sits right beside “Once Upon the Cross” and “Blame it on God” as far as how classic this track is destined to be. ‘Seal the Tomb Below” slows things down to a more groove oriented style but it still hits hard and heavy and really seals the deal with this album. I was sold by the end of the third some and the album just continues to strangle you with each passing song.

There are definitely a lot of surprises on the album as well. The guitar leads are all ridiculously melodic and far removed from the whammy bar excess the band has been known for in the past. It manages to take the songs to that next level. Deicide also manages to keep things moving very quickly and not of the songs even break the 4 minute mark. This is fast and succinct, keeping all of the best aspects of the Deicide sound and trimming the fat.

I’ll definitely say right now that this is going to be one of my favorite albums of the year. I didn’t expect much and I’m completely blown away. With all of the amazing albums coming from new bands this year it’s very cool to see a veteran band stepping up and releasing one of the best albums they have released in years. (MikeH)