Deicide – The Stench of Redemption / 2006 Earache / 9 Tracks / http://www.deicide.com / http://www.earache.com / Reviewed 28 September 2006

I still remember, one of the first CDs I ever bought was a Deicide CD. It was “Once Upon The Cross”, and I picked it up for the sheer reason that the cover rocked. Needless to say, I listened to the disc and was changed (and I still sing “Kill The Christians” to this very day). To say that I was excited when I had this album come to my door is an understatement. I was stoked. The sheer speed of the metal that Deicide creates on “The Stench of Redemption” parallels that unleashed by Municipal Waste earlier this year. The instrumental side of things is pandered to heavily during the opening (title) track, which allows the guitars to go off the handle and blow everybody away with raw fury. Where individuals might decry the paucity of vocals during this track, what “The Stench of Redemption” has in regards to guitars is something that tells a story with every riff that is committed to disc.

The band is able to sneak a little progressive metal into their sound during tracks like “Death To Jesus”, while still producing some of the quickest and most brutal arrangements that metal has to offer. The increased amount of instrumental material that is present at the start of a number of tacks on “The Stench of Redemption” allows the screamed-out vocals to be highlighted that much more. “Desecration” slows down the disc slightly, but don’t think for a second that this track is Deicide’s one ballad for this disc. Rather, the band is able to continually buffet listeners with a more cohesive and strong approach than has been the case during other tracks on “The Stench of Redemption”. “Crucified For The Innocence” is another interesting track for Deicide because the vocals occupy the focal point of the track, but the guitars can be heard to try (and only partially succeed) in creating in-roads for themselves.

This interplay between the various parts of the band on this track is a maturation of the Deicide sound, and provides yet another reason why individuals should pick up “The Stench of Redemption”. The band has not lost any of their intensity or fury over the lineup changes and the ravages of time; they provide on “The Stench of Redemption” an alum that is brutal but one that includes other styles of metal in its overall outlook on things.

Top Tracks: Crucified For The Innocence, Homage For Satan

Rating: 7.1/10

[JMcQ]