Album Review: Deicide- To Hell With God

I know, two Deicide posts from me in a row. Sorry, ever since the show I seem to have Deicide on the brain, but this album does need to be reviewed, I've been putting it off long enough. Their new album To Hell With God actually came out exactly a week ago today, so this seems like a pretty appropriate time.

Let's get right into it. Curiously, this album is actually much less heavy than everything else the band has done, at least in my humble opinion. All the ingredients are still there: blast beats, tremolo picking, double bass and anti-religious lyrics, but somewhere along the line something got turned WAY the fuck down. I don't know if it was the gain on the guitar, the bass levels, or if Glenn Benton just isn't growling as low as he used to, but this album just doesn't have the beefiness of all their previous efforts. Not to say that the music is bad, it just doesn't feel like Deicide; more like a younger, more inexperienced band covering Deicide, maybe. I hate to sound like I'm bringing it down so much, but the fact is this just isn't what we were expecting. But don't worry, To Hell With God is far from a failure. The band is keeping pace fairly well with their younger, faster counterparts with plenty of fast tempos, syncopated beats and impressively intricate guitar solos. And all the blasphemous lyrics we've come to know and love are still aplenty, with songs like the title track, "Empowered By Blasphemy" and "Angels of Hell" among others.

Other than the aforementioned complaints, there's really nothing wrong with the rest of the album. The production is clean and everyone's playing well, it just doesn't stand out much. I hate to say it, but this is probably going to go down in that obscure "just another Deicide album" group, kinda like the Worm Infested EP from Cannibal Corpse. But hey, this is just my first impression, maybe time will go by and I'll realize an error in my judgment, and To Hell With God might even end up being a modern classic. Who the hell knows? It's definitely worth picking up, but don't be surprised if it isn't quite what you were making it out to be in your head.

7/10

Disagree/agree with me? Maybe there's something else you thought about the album that I didn't mention? Either way leave your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to Tweet this article or share it on your Facebook. Keep coming back folks, we still have a few tricks up our sleeves.

-BK

Show Review: Deicide, Blackguard and Neuraxis, February 18th in Philadelpha, PA

I know I probably should have put this up yesterday, but better late than never right? So anyway, last Friday I journeyed once again to good old Killadelphia (accompanied by the gentleman that runs this little blog thingy), this time to see the legendary Deicide. Despite some confusion on the way over we made it to the Trocadero in plenty of time, and we used that time to meet up with a couple other dudes and pick out a spot to wait for everything to get underway.

This tour was also supposed to include Pathology and Belphegor, and we knew right off the bat that Belphegor wouldn't be playing tonight, but as soon as the first band started playing we also found out to our dismay that Pathology wasn't able to make it either. I was extremely disappointed, because Pathology is one of my favorite slam bands, but that disappointment was short lived as Neuraxis took the stage and immediately began lighting the place up. Since it was the beginning of the show there was a surprisingly small amount of people for the majority of their set, but the band still played great, and a huge pit was immediately opened up by one particularly energetic individual (cryptic hint: you're probably going to be hearing from him sooner than you think). I'll confess I don't know too much of Neuraxis' material, but they played very well and had extremely energetic stage presence, so I can personally attest that they put on a great show. Well done boys, well done.

On the other side of the spectrum, none of us were particularly interested in seeing Blackguard. Maybe we were confused as to why a pirate metal band was on tour with a bunch of death metal and black metal bands, or maybe we just felt gypped because we missed two of the bands we wanted to see the most but they got to be the main support, or maybe it was a combination of the two, but either way we actually sat down in the back for Blackguard's set. Nothing against them, they're just not my particular cup of tea, and my friends obviously agreed with me. Although for what it's worth they were energetic, more people showed up and there was some moshing, so it's not like they played a bad set. I can think of worse.

After a while, Blackguard cleared off and made room for the band that everyone was there to see, and when Deicide finally took the stage the place was just as packed and loud as we've come to expect from the Troc; the all too common phrase "now that's more like it" is a pretty accurate summation. Without any hesitation whatsoever, they immediately opened with "Homage For Satan" (which coincidentally is my favorite Deicide song), and the pit positively exploded. The band played for a good hour and a half at least, most likely to make up for lost time what with two bands being MIA, playing songs from all throughout their discography. Whether it was an old classic or a track from their new album To Hell With God, the band sounded just as heavy and refined as they do on CD, and the crowd response was warm and energetic to say the least. The pits weren't always huge, but they were consistent, and even a few not-unattractive ladies took a stab at it. Although as always, everyone was too worried about hurting them to really get into it with them, so they were undoubtedly disappointed. Seriously guys, if the girls are getting in the pit they know the risk they're taking, let them have fun. Don't be a pussy. Anyways, after a nice long set filled with blast beats and Jesus-hating, Deicide said their goodbyes and called it a night. I would have loved to see Pathology and/or Belphegor, but it wasn't a bad show by any stretch of the imagination either.

Right, now that the review's done, I'd like to talk about one more thing before I call it a day. Remember how I said nobody wanted to mosh too hard with those girls? Well I noticed something else at the show that I think also needs to be mentioned, and it's pretty much the exact opposite. Here's the thing: if you're a loud, obnoxious, angry drunk, DON'T GO IN THE FUCKING PIT! It's one thing to mosh really energetically, but if you're running around tanking people and sending them flying just because you can, then you're just as much of an inconsiderate asshole as any dancer. Moshing is very physical, yes, but it's also supposed to be fun, and fun doesn't involve getting wasted and being a piece of shit to everyone around you. And another thing, giving someone a high five and a bro hug after you send them tumbling head over heels doesn't make everything alright either, you're still a douche. There's nothing wrong with having a few drinks and going nuts, all I'm saying is be considerate to everyone else when you do.

Well that's that folks, tune in tomorrow for more cool shit. Make sure you share this with your friends on Facebook or Twitter, and don't forget to make an account and follow us, remember that we have something special for you if we get that number up to fifty. See you tomorrow, and stay brutal.

-BK

I made a mistake. Whoopsies

Remember a long, long time ago in my article on Pathology when I said their next tour was in the summer with Enthroned? Well, turns out I was only partially correct; that tour's still happening, but I thought the whole debacle with replacing their guitarist and vocalist meant they weren't going to be able to tour with Deicide in February/March. As luck would have it, they're still on board, and I'm perfectly happy to stand corrected. And regardless of whether or not Pathology is playing, it's fucking DEICIDE, you should all go anyway. I know I'm excited as hell. The tour dates with them, Belphegor, Blackguard, Neuraxis and Pathology (durr) are as follows:

Feb. 15 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Feb. 16 – Charlotte, NC – Tremont Music Hall
Feb. 17 – Raleigh, NC – Volume 11
Feb. 18 – Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero
Feb. 19 – Rochester, NY – Montage Music Hall
Feb. 20 – Providence, RI – Club Hell
Feb. 21 – New York, NY – The Gramercy Theatre
Feb. 22 – Quebec City, QUE – Imperial de Quebec
Feb. 23 – Montreal, QUE – Cafe Campus
Feb. 24 – London, ONT – Music Hall
Feb. 25 – Toronto, ONT – Opera House
Feb. 26 – Chicago, IL – Reggie Rock Club
Feb. 27 – Detroit, MI – Blondie’s
Feb. 28 – Louisville, KY – Headliner’s Music Hall
Mar. 01 – Tulsa, OK – Marquee
Mar. 02 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Mar. 04 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
Mar. 05 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
Mar. 07 – Las Vegas, NV – Cheyenne Saloon
Mar. 08 – Los Angeles, CA – Key Club
Mar. 09 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
Mar. 10 – Tempe, AZ – Clubhouse

Get your tickets if this tour is coming anywhere near you, and expect a review from me shortly after the Philly date, because you better believe I'm gonna be there (unless someone else beats me to it, which is highly unlikely since both the NYC and Seattle dates are after me). Stay brutes.

-BK