Tuesday, May 17, 2011

My 100 Favorite Metal Bands Pt. 33: Deicide

Yes, the lyrics can be a bit on the cheesy side. Yes, Glen Benton's antics can be a tad on the ridiculous side of things. Yes, they have put out some bad albums on occasion. All of these things are true of Deicide, but so is this: their first two albums are absolute death metal classics. They have put out a number of excellent albums on top of that. And Deicide has tons of copycats out there. A truly influential band. You just have to take the absurdly anti-Christian lyrics and Satanic imagery with a grain of salt. You just have to grit your death and bear the radio show call-in feuds and skunk ape sightings. You just have to ignore certain aspects and realize that without Deicide, much of what we know as death metal would have never come to be.

FAVORITE ALBUM: LEGION

4 comments:

  1. I was never sure what to think of this band. I think their name is pretty clever. If they were tongue-in-cheek, I would probably have given them a chance. But then I read some recent interviews with Glen Benton and realized he's serious about it, and cannot himself be taken seriously. That's a pretty bad combination. For that reason I've decided to skip their discography entirely.

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  2. I've never cared for Deicide. Like Kelly said, they're just a bit much for me considering how seriously they seem to take themselves. That said, I still respect the impact they've had from a musical perspective.

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  3. Honestly, I think the whole thing is pretty much an act. I think Benton is really, really good at staying in character. I think he is a real-life troll.

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  4. And he burned an upside-down cross into his head? That's commitment. On the other hand, you could be right. I don't like trolls, though, unless they're Finnish.

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