Deicide (band)

Deicide
File:Blacklogo.jpg
Background information
Years active	1987 – Present
Members	Glen Benton, Ralph Santolla, Jack Owen, Steve Asheim

Deicide (pronounced dee-a-side) is an American death metal band. The word deicide means "the killing of God".

History

The band was formed in Florida in 1987, first playing under the name Carnage. After Glen Benton joined the name was changed to Amon. During this time they released two demos: Feasting the Beast (1987) and Sacrificial (1989). In 1989 the band's name was changed to Deicide by force of Roadrunner records, as Amon was the name of the house in the King Diamond album "Them". Deicide then released their self-titled debut album in 1990.

The band's original line up consisted of Glen Benton on bass and vocals, brothers Eric Hoffman and Brian Hoffman on guitars, and Steve Asheim on drums. Both Eric and Brian tended to play complex solos at fast speeds and overlapping riffs, which give Deicide the definitive heavy sound and complex song structures which are ultimately recognized as theirs. This lineup remained intact until November 25th, 2004 when Glen Benton announced that the Hoffman brothers had been ejected from the band for repeatedly cancelling shows and walking out on tours. For the remainder of that tour, the guitar roles were filled by ex-Cannibal Corpse guitarist Jack Owen, and Vital Remains guitarist Dave Suzuki. Following the tour, Suzuki was replaced by Ralph Santolla, formerly of Death, Iced Earth and Sebastian Bach. Santolla once stated he is a Catholic and this has received a small amount of shock and ridicule from some metal fans. Eric Hoffman replied to Benton's claim of them being kicked out of the band and stated that they actually left on their own. He also claimed Benton was unprofessional, could barely play bass guitar, and was not a true Satanist. This can be read here: [1] Benton later replied to his claims but interestingly stated that the Hoffman brothers were never kicked out. Rather, they quit on their own, just like Eric said: [2]

Recently at a gig in Laredo, Texas, Deicide were forced to stop playing by the police and guitarist Ralph Santolla was arrested for allegedly throwing a Red Bull can at an officer. [3]

Deicide almost exclusively perform songs with anti-Christian themes, and are banned from various places like other bands of their kind.

Deicide released their latest album, entitled, "The Stench of Redemption," on August 22, 2006. Despite the drastic new lineup change, the new album has been hailed as a striking return to form by many critics; some are even calling it their best since "Deicide," and "Legion."

Controversy

As might be expected for such a blatantly Satanic band Deicide has been plagued (or perhaps blessed) by controversy relating to their heavily anti-Christian lyrics. This was only reinforced by such "stunts" as frontman Glen Benton branding an inverted cross into his forehead.

Deicide have been banned from playing in many venues (such as Valparaiso,Chile over a promotional poster featuring Jesus with a bullethole in his forehead [4]) and with various festivals such as the ironically named Hellfest, after several graves had been spray-painted with "When Satan Rules His World", which is a song from Deicide's 1995 album, "Once Upon the Cross". Most recently, their music video for Homage to Satan, which features blood-splattered zombies on a rampaging mission to capture a priest, was banned from U.K. music TV channel Scuzz TV [5].

Discography

• Deicide (1990)
• Legion (1992)
• Amon: Feasting the Beast (1993)
• Once Upon The Cross (1995)
• Serpents Of The Light (1997)
• Deicide: Remastered (1998)
• When Satan Lives (1998, live album recorded at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois)
• Insineratehymn (2000)
• In Torment In Hell (2001)
• The Best of Deicide (2003)
• Scars of the Crucifix (2004)
• The Stench of Redemption (2006)

References and further reading

• Earache Records
• Deicide Page at Earache Records
• Earache.com's Discussion Forums
• Official site
• Homage for Satan Video Clip