Deicide - To Hell with God

With all his much-publicised personal problems behind him now, Glen Benton seems determined to give Deicide a new lease of life following the mild disappointment that was “Till Death Do Us Part”.

To put it simply, “To Hell with God” proves that Deicide are a still a force to be reckoned within the death-metal scene. It’s infinitely more satisfying than its predecessor, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I got into Deicide in my teens, not because of all the controversy surrounding the band and specially its frontman, but mostly due to the evil and brutal power emanating from such classic albums like “Deicide” and “Legion”. I mean, Obituary had that memorable and crawling stomp, Morbid Angel was like a journey back to the savage and cruel times of ancient civilizations and Death were pure song craft geniuses, but Deicide was a frightening and malevolent force rising from the depths of hell to rule our God-fearing world.

“To Hell with God” shows a moderately reinvigorated band riding that patented and malevolent style that got them their current status in the first place. It’s not Deicide at their peak, but it’s a solid work with some crushing tunes nonetheless.

Right from the start, the title track gives indication that Deicide has no plans of throwing the towel to floor, a full-frontal assault bursting with classic death-metal fury and offering some piercing solos courtesy of Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla. Fortunately, the axe work of Santolla sounds more restrained here than in Obituary, where the guitarist shows a terrible tendency to fill in the songs with as much classical soloing as possible. Melody is used wisely and sporadically, giving the songs a more memorable feel without ever hindering the brutal impact of their death-metal style. Some songs like for instance “Save Your….” and “Hang in Agony Until You're Dead” could be considered extremely catchy, exhibiting a strong and infectious groove, I’ll swear you’ll singing the chorus of the later along with Benton, “…it doesn’t mean shit to me watching your Jesus bleed…”

Ultimately, although “To Hell with God” is not their greatest achievement, it definitely shows that Deicide still got something going on. (7.4/10)

Luca Niero

Band info: www.deicide.com

Label info: www.centurymedia.com

For fans of: Satanic Death-Metal