Album Review – Overtures of Blasphemy by Deicide (Century Media)

American death metallers, Deicide, have released their latest album called Overtures of Blasphemy. Released via Century Media, Overtures of Blasphemy is the band’s first new album in 5 years, since 2015’s In the Minds of Evil.

I have always liked a bit of Deicide, since the early bangers like Serpent’s of the Light, but admit I got bored with them in the last decade or so. They have always produced good metal but are one of the least likely band’s I know to show any form of change or progression. Overtures of Blasphemy completed overturns that thought. Having listened to, and reviewed, two singles from the new album so far, I found them to be signs of a reinvigorated band. Check out our thoughts on Excommunicated and Defying the Sacred by following the links.

On those singles, at least, I found front man Glen Benton’s vocals to have a bit more depth and range than on many previous releases. The guitars have a bit more groove and there are some cracking solos. There is a much fuller mix too, giving the new songs a more modern death feel.

Alongside Benton who plays bass as well as being the vocalist, Deicide are Steve Ashelm on the drums, with Kevin Quirion and Mark English on guitars.

On to the whole album, and if the rest of this lives up to the two singles, this could be the best death metal release of the year. Overtures of Blasphemy has 12 tracks on it. Those tracks comes quick and hard at only 38 minutes long in total. We already know about the singles, Excommunicated and Defying the Sacred. Both banging tracks with some modern elements. They are not alone either, in fact the vast majority of this album is a furious and fiery romp packed full of mean riffs and blasting drums. The vocals are strong, angry and powerful and there are little rays of progression shining through the dark cloud of death.

Even with the more modern mix, there are plenty of straight up, no nonsense death metal tracks on here. Don’t think for a second Deicide have been tamed. Tracks like Anointed in Blood and All that is Evil offer their signature intense drumming and punching riffs. The drum blasts are mightily impressive and Benton’s vocals are strong and filled with fury. The album opener, One With Satan is plenty heavy too with a thick bass line and insane drum blasts but has a bit more groove to it. Something you also get on the impressive Seal the Tomb Below. A track that has a dirty groove nd little bursts of high pitched lead guitar. Something a little different.

A little more melody, but without sacrificing the heaviness, comes in the superb Crawled from the Shadows. It is a cleverly written song with excellent vocal delivery. Crucified Soul of Salvation has more impressive drum blasts and Benton sounds particularly dark and angry. Occasionally the track leans towards blackened death before returning to the death assault,. It is nice to see and fresh to hear. Album closer Destined to Blasphemy is a great song to close on too. One of the best on the album actually with a real visceral edge to the vocals and a furiously fast rhythm. The lyrics are full of vitriol and it harks back to the band’s glory days. Something many thought were behind them but it looks like we were wrong.

The only complaint I have with the whole album is there are a couple filler tracks at the back end. Good songs, yes, but less inspiring than the rest of the album. Consumed by Hatred and Flesh, Power, Dominion all have their merits but are surrounded by much better songs overall. Still, if the only complaint I can think of is that a couple songs are only good whereas the rest of the album is great, I imagine the Deicide will be pretty damn happy.

Overtures of Blasphemy is one of the best death metal releases in 2018 so far. It shows a band who many felt to be passed it, back with a new fire and vigour and some damn fine songs too. Welcome back Deicide.

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Overtures of Blasphemy is out now on all the usual streaming services, like Apple Music and Spotify. You can pick up a physical copy from Century Media here. Find out more on Deicide at their Facebook and Twitter pages by following the links and hitting that like/follow button. They aren’t very active on Twitter so your best bet is their Facebook page.