Decide really exploded onto the local and international scenes with this their Debut album Deicide Deicide from 1990. Singer, Glen Benton had always been a “Walking Question mark” gaining attention for his outspoken beliefs on Satanism and their over the top stage shows, but now with a record deal from Roadrunner records it was time to let the music do the talking. The previously released demo’s and of course Benton’s antics would have gained the band a good level of local notoriety, but now it was time for the band to stand up based on their music to reach a wider audience rather than just offending the good folk of Florida.
Deicide musically were quite good. There were many more technically proficient bands even at that time like Death, Morbid Angel, Sadus, Malevolent Creation and Nocturnus doing the rounds in Florida, but I have to say Deicide did write some very catchy songs. For my money I detect some influences from Venom and Slayer here. Some very evil and blasphemous songs. Songs that would appeal to the rebel in any teenage boy that was disillusioned with Christianity or just wanted to piss his parents off.
Besides the image and controversy behind the band, one thing they did really well on this was to write songs that the average punter could digest. Truth be known it’s why I got into the band. I’d heard of the band when this one came out, but not been able to get anything until their next one Legion was released. Then I was able to go back and get this bad boy. Compared with Legion, This one had catchy choruses, simpler song structures than the other bands. From my recollection at the time, it was just musicians and a handful of underground thrashers that were listening to death metal at the time, but I felt with the first Deicide record you didn’t have to be a musician to be able to get into it.
Every song on this album is instantly likeable. “Dead By Dawn” was a tribute to the movie, the Evil Dead. The oh so catchy chorus to “Sacrificial Suicide” was another fist banger that you couldn’t help mosh around the bedroom and sing alog to. Every song on here was catchy and immensely listenable. The classics just kept coming on this one. Deicide really hit it out of the park with this one writing some all time classics that would form a huge chunk of their live set for decades to come.
This is one of the “Must Own” death metal albums for anyone interested in the genre. Deicide for the most part have been pretty consistently good over the course of their career, but this is where it really clicked for them. To this day the album is still regarded as a classic by pretty much every major metal mag or critic. Defs go out and get yourself a copy of this one!
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