Nuclear Blast -2018 – USA
I’d like to choose to start this review with a confession. The last album that made me totally crazy
was Serpents of The Light which was announced to release by Deicide. This situation may not have
been a case like me about Deicide for a lot of death metal freaks who were matured in the 90s. The
confusion about In Torment in Hell, then the relatively successful Scars of The Crucifix album and
after the departure of Hoffmans and money disputes in a band and a lot of other drama evolved me a
fan who is always about to wait and see for Deicide.
This album was composed and recorded with a refreshed Glen Benton, who had totally moved away
from alcohol and drug-related problems, and also did not create a huge excitement when it was first
announced just after 5 years, but honestly, I was a little curious about it. After the release of the first single
and a few listening session, I could not get a full idea, it seemed that sounds like a song from To Hell
With God at first but things started to change after I listened to the full record. The sound and composition
of Deicide belonged to the credits of post -2005 but authentic differences and developments are on
the table. Benton and Asheim continue to be the marker members of Deicide. If you are still
interested in Deicide, Overtures of Blasphemy is an album that you can easily find all staff and
trademarks of the band through the years. The chord progression and riffs were written under the influence of
dark and demonic spirit and Asheim’s classic double-bass flares with high-speed drumming, and
Benton’s spellings of blasphemic uncanny with growling are presented in a great harmony. Benton
and Asheim are pretty lucky and also successful to find the correct person to employ and this time is
Mark English from Monstrosity, he takes the leads for this album. I do not know the extent of his
participation in compositions, but you can hear some of his own specific lead and rhythms and solos
in some compositions. Maybe the things are not like fresh in 90’s but Deicide still continues and
writes death metal at all. Benton’s Deicide has been evolved and kept business going on with classy
guitarists and songwriters such as Jack Owen, Dave Suzuki, Ralph Santolla after Hoffmans left. After
all, I think the best guitarist and composer who Benton and Asheim employed was Kevin Quirion for
Deicide in the 2000s, he’s very successful at imitating and recreating the guitar notations of the 90s
Deicide. You can also see him as a guitarist is in the Order of Ennead with Steve Asheim.
If we focus on the changes in the album, I can say that sound is flat in some points but more mature
and strong than the last two albums. Jason Suecof is in charge of Overtures’ record and
sound. Although he is known for his works with more modern metal bands, I can say that he has been
serving Florida death metal this year after Monstrosity’s release. One of the changes I noticed in the
compositions was to feed guitars with self-repeating second master riffs on the first ones, it gives
feedbacks and depth to the song. Some of the songs like One with Satan and Crawled of Shadows
are not accustomed to in the Deicide compositions, they have a vibe of European sound and melodic
flat riffs. I can tell that some grooves and dynamics in the album Benton’s and Asheim’s influences of
crossover from the 80s.Lyrics?Should I mention? The album’s name is just self-explanatory, all lyrics
are blasphemic overtures written by Benton. Who knows if these overtures are perhaps a
preparation for the Florida death metal of the 2020s? Anyway, A 5-year absence was enough for
Deicide. Just listen, you won’t regret this album.
8/10
