Artist: Deicide
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release Date: 9/25/01
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Title: In Torment in Hell Artist: Deicide Label: Roadrunner Records Release Date: 9/25/01 |
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Abyss's Review:
When I first heard Deicide, I remember hearing a rumor that Glen Benton vowed to kill himself once he outlived Christ by a year. I guess it now appears that that is not going to happen, which is too bad. It’s not that I hate Glen Benton all that much, but it would have been interesting to witness. Anyway, I have been under the mindset that Deicide took its vision about as far as it was going to go back when Once Upon the Cross was released, and their material since then has pretty much confirmed that in my eyes. Deicide are no longer much of a groundbreaking band as they are a benchmark, a good way to judge other bands. Right now I think they’re most known for their image… the creepy, scary satanic stuff.
"Deicide are no longer much of a groundbreaking band as they are a benchmark, a good way to judge other bands."
Unfortunately for them, Satanism isn’t very scary. In fact, most people think it’s pretty silly for theological reasons that I won’t get into here. Of course, what is scary about Mr. Benton and Deicide is that, by their existence, they confirm the fact that there are religions out there that are just as preachy as those annoying Christians I see every Sunday morning while flipping through cartoons (Alright you got me, I haven’t been up to watch Sunday cartoons in over ten years, but I’m assuming that they still play them then). Anyway, to make a short story long, I figured the new Deicide record would about the same as the last two.
" It’s nothing new, but it’s done well." And for the most part it is. But I am a little surprised at how good it is. It still goes by the standard formula, but the songs seem well crafted, incorporating cool riffs that get your head banging within minutes. I find this album better written than both Serpents of the Light and Insinerathymn while sharing the same production values. If you liked the last two albums, you’ll really dig this, sure it’s nothing new, but it’s done well.
Death's Review:
What the hell is Deicide still doing on Roadrunner Records? I admit, it's kinda cool, but in so many ways Deicide seems like the corporate equivalent of "yesterday's news" compared to what the label is up to currently, especially now that Roadrunner is aligned with Island/Def Jam. Something tells me the pairing is not long for this world. Hmmm. Still, as a fan of veteran ballplayers who stay with the same team for many years (example? Tim Brown, WR for my longtime favorite NFL team, the OAKLAND RAIDERS), I appreciate that Deicide and Roadrunner are still grinding it out together. I hope it lasts, but doubt it will.
"Deicide is the AC/DC of death: nothing changes here." I come to this conclusion mostly because of who Deicide are. They're fucking Deicide, for Satan's sake, and this surely means that the sound is not going to be "updated" for the times. It is death metal, and it is the kind of death metal you know you're going to get form Benton and co. In fact, if Slayer is the AC/DC of thrash, Deicide is the AC/DC of death: nothing changes here.
That said, I was all set to trash In Torment in Hell for a lack of originality. I figured this would be a further deterioration from Insineratehymn, and that the band would be on full-on autopilot by this point. I was more than prepared to take out my frustrations of the week on this release; in fact, I looked forward to it. Then reality hit me: I listened to the album. And, although it clearly does lack originality, and is in many ways a simply average release, it is also some fun to listen to. In fact, it is probably markedly better than some of the band's other recent efforts. I particularly enjoyed track 7, "Worry in the House of Thieves" which is probably the most evolved Deicide effort on this album and is--to me--clearly the standout track. Why? Because it is simply catchier than all the rest.
"Although it clearly does lack originality, it is also some fun to listen to." So the bottom line here is if you like Deicide, and enjoyed the last couple of releases, there is no reason to stop now. You might as well complete the collection and have some fun with In Torment in Hell. It is a fun, standard-issue American death metal release. Just don't expect too much in the way of surprises and you'll be fine.
Hel's Review:
Favorite tracks: "Worry In The Hose Of Thieves" and "Let It Be Done"Poor Deicide. They have consistently put out stellar death metal album after stellar death metal album for years on end, yet people bitch about their albums, year after year. I'm not sure how it happened, but they've definitely gotten a bum rap. The predominate complaint: lack of originality. This is a fine example of they're "damned if they do, and they're damned if they don't" if there ever was one.
I was recently conjecturing, in regard to another band, that people, in general, are never satisfied. If a band fundamentally changes their sound, they're automatically sell-outs. Yet, if they continue to put out music that is fundamentally the same, then they're boring and why-can't-they-ever-come-up-with-anything-new. So they're damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
Of course, Deicide would be damned no matter what, since that's sort of fundamental to the whole liking Satan thing, so there's that too. And that's another thing I've heard them criticized for. Some say they've turned their Satanism into a gimmick. Satanism used as a gimmick in metal? Well! Who ever heard of such a thing?! Madness. Pure madness…
To me, there's no good reason to belittle a band for having a track record like Deicide has had. Now, if they'd put out a simplified, stupid-fied version of their music, it would be a different story. But the songs on In Torment In Hell are at a complexity level on par with their previous efforts, and the technicality of their playing is equal as well.
"Strap yourself in for some blasphemous death metal and let the demonic screams accompany you on your bullet ride down to hell." The only bone that I have to pick with this record is in regard to its length. Thirty minutes? That still counts as a full album? I know that pretty much every album they have ever released has been around this length, but this is the one regard in which they need to get with the times. They've certainly adjusted to the one release a year schedule that nearly every other band also seems to have adopted. Why not also comply with the album length convention?
Of the 76 other albums I have converted into digital files on my hard drive, only 16 are under 40 minutes in length. Of those, only 7 are less than 35 minutes in length. So I'm not just making this up - the average metal album is substantially longer than the average Deicide album. I think this is one change that would be completely justifiable, and would draw little to no criticism, for a change.
This is a solid, enjoyable, entertaining release. No, it's not a groundbreaking work, but it is certainly something the band can be proud of and fans will enjoy. So strap yourself in for some blasphemous death metal and let the demonic screams accompany you on your bullet ride down to hell. Deicide will be there, with Satan, waiting to party with you - unless you disparage the new album, and then they'll be waiting to ensure you're In Torment In Hell.
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