Customer Reviews

Till Death Do Us Part

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'll keep it brief. If you are a really big fan of the direction that Deicide took with Stench of Redemption, then i'm sure you will be extremely pleased with what this new album has to offer. The production is great, the rythym section is top notch. The riffs and solos hearken back to the classic period of metal. This is truly a "return to form" if you will. The lyrics are typical Deicide, but for those who cannot handle all of the blasphemy, then don't expect to like this album. It's Deicide for God's sake! (no pun intended, not in the slightest, ok, maybe just a little bit). Oh, and one more thing, the vocals are brutal enough to make Cookie Monster proud. Seriously, death metal folks, why is that a cut down? I think that Cookie monster should be the role model for any aspiring death metal vocalist. His vocals are so brootal! Anyways, I love this album, and if you like Deicide, then I think you will too.

Death Metal bands, especially the "original Floridian ones" usually aren't Lord Byron when it comes to lyrical content (with the exception of course of Death, Cynic, etc). This idea in mind is what I usually have when it comes to picking up new albums by bands such as Deicide, however much of a favorite they are. However, there is something deceptively genius about an album of theirs this time around. I don't know if its been done before, but underneath the pretentious and demonic lyrical imagery is a concept album based upon Glenn Benton's recent divorce and/or custody battle. I know that everyone from Phil Collins to Trent Reznor and beyond have done whole sides of albums, etc, about the subject of relationships deteoriating, but this is the first time I have ever heard of this subject being explored in "Flordian Satanic Death Metal". So I have to give at least one star for such a brave subject to tackle. Not all the songs are tackling this subject, but the album's underlying theme is definitely this.

Now as far as the music goes: Not as good as Stench of Redemption, blah blah blah, but at the same time, I feel that this one is a grower as far as getting in your head compared to Stench. It actually recalls Legion alot more than Stench, but just imagine a slightly stripped down legion (complete with dissonant and tasty riffage) with some of the soloing ideas off of Stench and you get the basic idea.
There is a slight drop off in quality as to be expected compared to Stench, but also there is a more progressive and inaccessible discordant element that makes this basically more brutal than their recent two as well.

In essence, the new Deicide is another essential offering from one of the kings of death metal.

What can I say? This band is at the top of it's category. The only catch is that you have to appreciate this kind of music. Most people can't. I hate to sound like a Richard but to me this stuff all sounds the same. I do admire the complete and utter disrespect of everything wholesome in their subject matter. They encapsulate the ultimate heresy. The evil of Deicide is unmatched. Plus this CD came with an awesome patch that says "Glen Benton for President". I prominently display this trophy at work.

I love it how before every new Deicide album is put out anticipation,hype, and mockery fill the air. I mean how many times can you make fun of Glen before you realize he is a very talented musician. I reviewed their debut self titled stuff earlier and basically said it was Deicide's best material. I can honsetly retract that and say 'Till Death Do Us Part' is one of the bands best efforts. Asheim's drumming is barreling in your ear drums the whole listen, Glen's barraging vocals are relentless as ever, and the two mad guitarists Jack and Ralph still hold out as they replace the legacy the Hoffman's left behind. You can read posts hear and there claiming this is a "divorce" album..that makes no sense being that Glen seldom allows for his personal life to leak into his lyrics. This album focuses less on the satanic side of their content and more on darker issues of seperation and isolation. This album is a must own for ANY Deicide fan. Solos abound and grindingly ghoulish riffs follow. My favoirte tracks are 'Severed Ties, Worthless Misery, and Horror in the halls of stone'.

If you enjoyed the direction that Deicide had taken with their 2006 effort "The Stench of Redemption", then you'll definately like the band's latest masterpiece that is "Till Death Do Us Part". This album is simply one of the best death metal albums of 2008 as well as the fastest, and most savage and brutal album that Deicide have ever released by far. From beginning to end, this album is an absolute, savage, blistering, ripping, brutal, epic death metal tour de force that will litterly take your breath away and leave you wanting for more in an instant because it's that good. This album according to vocalist/bassist Glen Benton is actually a concept album that deals with the dark horrors of marriage and relationships. The musicianship of Deicide is just dare I say ferociously mindblowing in all aspects. Glen Benton's vocals are definately top notch on here, and brutal is truly the one word to describe his vocals, I mean they're just incredible, and he sure sounds like he's possessed or something. Ralph Santolla and Jack Owen prove once again why they're a fantastic guitar duo. Their riffs are ferociously pummeling and bone crushing and the solos are just blistering and ear bleeding. I must say ever since Ralph and Jack both joined Deicide, the band have gotten more heavier and faster, and much better than they've have been in years. Steve Asheim's drumming is absolutely lightning fast and perfectly timed and definately at it's sickest as well. The blast beats are just savagly fierce and precise, they will just pummel your senses like crazy, and the double bass is fantastic as well. The opening instrumental "The Beginning of the End" kicks off the album, and it's a slow, yet great bulid up instrumental track that features slow, evil, lurching guitars including a great solo section, as well as some solid double bass kicking, which all build and lead up to the title cut "Till Death Do Us Part" which features evil, commanding growls from Glen, churning, shredding, dominating riffs, monstrous wailing solo breaks, and I like when Steve switches the tempos from pounding, stomping, marching double bass beats to savage, violent hammering blast beats. The third track "Hate of All Hatreds" is another favorite on here that is highlighted by more brain splattering blast beats, demonic, hateful growling, and a wicked, fiery solo. My personal favorite track on here, track four "In the Eyes of God" is an epic, heavy, blistering speedfest that includes vicious, wild, sickening, speeding blast beats, dominating double bass assaults, wild, crushing, headbanging induced riffing, and an excellent epic, melodic solo as well. "Worthless Misery" continues the unrelenting assault with faster barking growls from Glen as well as more wicked, slamming drum blasts, and more crazy, frantic soloing. Track seven "Not as Long as We Both Shall Live" is another one of my favorites that features great tempo changes switching from crushingly slow to punishingly violent and fast, and I like when Glen's vocals get faster during the fast tempos, and there's also some more fantastic solos as well, while the eigth track "Angel of Agony" is another all out maniacal speedfest that includes rapid fire drum blasting, rabid, demonic growling vocals, and faster than thou riffs and leads throughout. "Horror in the Halls of Stone" starts off with slower, hypnotic, muscular riffs and steady yet menacing growls, and then a bit later on picks up with faster growls, speeding, shredding riffs, and vile, slamming drums along with more excellent fiery, ear bleeding lead breaks before shifting back to the slow tempo around 4:20 which includes another great wailing melodic solo. Please read on for the song ratings.
Jeremy's song ratings:
1. The Beginning of the End (3:40) - 5/5
2. Till Death Do Us Part (4:14) - 5/5
3. Hate of All Hatreds (3:53) - 5/5
4. In the Eyes of God (4:43) - 5/5
5. Worthless Misery (4:59) - 5/5
6. Severed Ties (4:01) - 5/5
7. Not as Long as We Both Shall Live (5:05) - 5/5
8. Angel of Agony (3:29) - 5/5
9. Horror in the Halls of Stone (6:23) - 5/5
10. The End of the Beginning (1:40) - 5/5

Like I said before, if you like the direction that Deicide have taken since "The Stench of Redemption", then by all means, you'll definately enjoy "Till Death Do Us Part". Overall, if you're a fan of Deicide and death metal, buy this album now!! I also recommend Hate Eternal's "Fury and Flames" and Origin's "The Aftermath" as well.

New Deicide is extreme and brutal slab of death metal with blending speed, creative solos and non stop growling by Benton which while sounds great, is not what I was hoping for. THe songs are very similar to each other which I always dislike. Former cannibal corpse guitarist does an excellent job but he doesn't fit in deicide. The evil and dark atmosphere which prevailed on older albums like Legion, Once upon the cross is nonexistent. It's always good when a band progresses and even explores new territory but unfortunately not so when you sound like hundred of other bands. I hope the next album will be return to roots but I doubt.

Alot of people are whining about this album but it sounds pretty brutal to me, so Im not really sure what the fuss is about. The drums are just top notch on this album with good production all throughout. It's Deicide not Oasis man.....enjoy the music.

I agree with Donald Roberts on a lot of his points. Stench was pretty cool and I expected this to be similar. The drums are the best thing about the cd. Honestly, the guitars sound awesome, and if this was a band with a different name, it would easily been a 5+ star review. What gives it that three stars is this is not a "Deicide" cd. Its a different band. It only has 35% of the original members. Steve 25% and Glenn Benton 10%. He really has turned into a clown. (He sounded awesome on Scars and Once Upon...)What the fvck was he thinking to name the cd with the same title as a Cypress Hill cd? and what happened
The true Deicide was the cd's all the way to Scars. I'm sure few would dispute that "Legion" is a Death Metal masterpiece. It's kind of a letdown. Yeah, Jack and Ralph are better technical players, but the Hoffman's had that chaotic negative aggressive vibe that made Deicide great. The Hoffman's had their moments and right when they would tackle a technical solo and really got going, it was like they panicked and threw out the old screaming dive bomb. Of course it's just my opinion, but I would love and see the Hoffman's get back into the game. True, they were probably hell to work with and miserable people, but they could fvcking shred in the most off-color riffs and insane possessed solo's.
Deicide is giving itself a bad name by not delivering the negative, harsh, unruly, hateful metal like they used too.
I'd bet if they could reconcile and reunite, they could make the best Deicide cd yet. Even if the Hoffmans haven't been playing these last few years look at John Frusciante. (I know, bad example of type of player, but the message is the same) He had re-teach himself guitar after not playing while in his drug induced downward spiral. I know the Hoffman's could easily pull one of the biggest comeback's in Death Metal. Deicide Rules!

Without the Hoffmans it is not the same band.I met Glen Benton and he's full of himself. I dont blame the brothers for leaving. Dont waste your $$

Ah, Deicide. What can be said about them -- or, rather, what can be left to say about them? Well, for those not in the know, they have been tearing through music speakers everywhere for more than 18 years now with nothing but their own brand of unique, controversial, and earth-scorching extreme metal mayhem. Most would agree that the now very famous Floridian death metal scene (which has spawned the likes of Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity, and Hate Eternal) owes a great deal of debt to the success Deicide has had. Plus, many music aficionados (including this reviewer) consider them to be the best death metal band of all-time. And if nothing else, then it at least goes without saying that they are iconic, and have nothing at all left to prove. But to their credit, they keep pressing on -- pushing themselves to be even better and more extreme. 2008's "Till Death Do Us Part" has been dubbed as the group's heaviest and most brutal offering to date. And when considering the competition (the rest of their discography), that might seem like unrealistic label hype. But it's true -- frontman Glen Benton & Co. have somehow, yet again, managed to push the sonic envelope that one iota even further!

This is Deicide's second recording with newcomer guitarists Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla (their first was on the excellent "The Stench of Redemption"); and it also happens to continue in a manner similar to what was heard on that 2006 release. Thus, "Till Death..." is substantially more epic, brutal, technical, well-structured, and riff-oriented than any of Deicide's first seven efforts. In addition, the album's speed blurs the line between death metal and grindcore territory. And one final thing remains which makes record different from anything heard from the band prior to two years ago, and a standout in their discography: Infectiously melodic solos. See, unlike former axemen Brian and Eric Hoffman (whose solos would be just a bunch of random notes played as fast as possible), Owen and Santolla take a much more musical approach to soloing, thus helping them to be very intricate and memorable.

Other than that, though, things are pretty much par for the course from what one has come to expect from these four blasphemers. These ten songs explode with ferocious, bludgeoning guitar leads and amazing, Slayer-inspired riffage which somehow always manage to be simultaneously scorching and guaranteed to send a shiver down your spine. And Owen and Santolla play with such ease, precision, and skill that anybody who claims they are any less than true virtuosos of their instrument would be a darn fool! Elsewhere, the bass is almost never heard, but it doesn't need to be because skinsman Steve Asheim does a more-than-sufficient job at providing all the bottom-end you could ever need. He swings below and drives the rhythms forward with impeccable, jackhammer-fast drumming. And last but not least, Glen is (like always) in full-effect, here, as well. He may not exactly be breaking any new ground, but his venomous, double-tracked vocals and evil lyrics still sound as great and inspired as ever.

"TDDUP" begins in a relatively unexpected fashion with "The Beginning of the End", a terrifically ominous cut of almost pure doom metal where the guitars are weaving cool spiderwebs of melody, and the ensuing titular track is also fairly slow-burning. But right after that, things become a whole lot nastier, and it is clear that the remaining songs rank right among the top of the "heavy and brutal" arsenal. Track two leads smoothly into "Hate Of All Hatreds", which plays like a white-hot ball of rage and is filled with breakneck drumming, nerve-fraying, buzzsaw picking, and a glass-shattering solo section. "In The Eyes Of God" is a ripper, too, and it keeps the momentum up at the same heart-stopping pace with more insanely fast guitar work and Terrorizer-worthy blasting. You'll fine some well-placed, skin-crawling vocal shrieks, and excellent, epic, Necrophagist-inspired soloing here, as well. And if those two tracks tore your friggin' head off (and they did), then the next one, "Worthless Misery" shoves it up your other end and spits down your neck. Hence, the name of its game is rip-roaring, barn-burning riffage anchored by Asheim's pummeling, and truly mind-blowing, hyper-speed blast mania.

Moving along, a little variety comes into play with "Severed Dies." Yes, it is definitely one nasty and abrasive bugger. But by comparison to what was heard before, "Severed Dies" is a hair bit more mid-tempo. It locks into a tasty, grinding borderline-groove, and as a result is very headbangable and mosh-pit ready. Another classy and progressive-tinged solo is also tucked in near the end. Song number seven, "Not As Long As We Both Shall Live" is another major standout on account of its blazing speed, "math-y", Meshuggah-esque time signatures, several perfectly-placed tempo changes, and nonstop, propulsive riffery. Next comes "Angel Of Agony", which manages to be positively catchy while simultaneously being skull-crushingly b-roo-tal. Its highlights include blistering drums and memorable vocal patterns (including some especially vicious bellows). "Horror In The Halls Of Stone," offers a slight breather from the otherwise totally blown-out, lightning fast chaos, with its creeping, doomy tempo and infectious soloing only occasionally being offset by speed demon blasts (thus creating great tension in the musical arrangements). "HITHOS" also features a surprising line-up shift because Steve Asheim was invited to strap on an axe (making Deicide have a guitar trio); and by laying down ample commanding and tight guitar leads, he does not disappoint. Finally, set closer "The End Of The Beginning" is simply the icing on this already decadent cake. It is an instrumental, and is a deluge of guttural guitar rumbles and grinding, "rat-tat-tat" machine gun blast beats.

Naturally, it is safe to assume that this album will probably not change the minds of many non-Deicide-fans. Furthermore, it almost certainly won't recruit anybody who didn't love the above-mentioned "Stench of Redemption". However, the already initiated are almost certain to find it to be one of the group's best and most consistent works of the last decade, and the most satisfying slab of heavy music released in all of 2008.