A new album by Deicide represents an authentic event for the entire metallic universe. For better or for worse. Yes, because like all bands that have marked an era, that have written important pages in the history of hard music, each of their new albums divides fans between admirers and serial haters. In short, work of this kind becomes a centralizer of attention. And the new “Banished by Sin” behaves exactly this way, without ifs or buts.
“Banished by Sin” arrives six years after the previous “Overtures of Blasphemy”, a fluctuating work, which had seen Benton and companions focus on a more melodic approach – although the term melodic should be taken with a pinch of salt when talking about Deicide – in particular in the search for anthemic refrains. The new “Banished by Sin“will he continue in that direction or will the Tampa band surprise us with a new stylistic twist?
It must immediately be said that i Deicide of 2024 are different from those of 2018. In the lineup, in fact, Mark English has given way to Taylor Nordberghighlighting once again how after the exit of Jack Owen it is really complex for the Deicide find stable training. However, the change on guitar and the two singles released so far give us a signal of a sort of discontinuity compared to “Overture of Blasphemy”. AND “Banished by Sin” confirms what has just been stated. Yes, because the new album presents a more thrashing, more old school style, in some respects. Let’s be clear: the guitar virtuosity introduced with “Stench of Redemption” are now the trademark of the band and are also well present in “Banished by Sin”. The new album, however, is a frontal assault, an extract of pure violence, in which the guitars play a fundamental role, unleashing driving and bone-breaking riffs. The rest is taken care of by a pounding bass, the usual loud voice of Benton – which year after year does not lose a cent of its power – and a devil Asheimwho manages to give his best in the studio.
The beginning of “Banished by Sin” is similar to a razor blade: about five pieces that to define as sharp is an understatement. They particularly stand outDoomed to Die‘, in which echoes from the distant past of the Deicide‘Faithless‘, a shocking blow, perhaps the closest to the course taken by the Florida team from 2006 onwards, and the fascinating ‘Bury the Cross… with Your Christ’. A start that leaves you breathless, dictated by a brutal, martial recording in some situations, in which it is impossible not to shake your head and, for the older ones, to be sixteen again, paying homage to Benton, the lord of blasphemy in music. Unfortunately, as often happens to… Deicide of recent years, the desire to make a full length close to forty minutes brings Benton and associates to insert a couple of pieces that taste like filler. Songs that fail to have the same impact, the same quality as the rest of the album. This is the case of ‘Woke from God‘ And ‘Ritual Defied‘, interesting compositions if taken individually but listening to “Banished by Sin” from start to finish it is clear how these two tracks act as a burden to a record projected onto very different levels. The album returns to beat convincingly from ‘Failures of Your Dying Lord‘, one of the absolute highlights of “Banished by Sin”. From this moment we find ourselves experiencing another five intense pieces in your facein full school Deicide. A crescendo ending, for a record that will give more than a little joy to fans of Benton and companions, and death metal in general.
“Banished by Sin”, in short, it is a convincing album, which gives us back the Deicide in a more abrasive format than the previous “Overture of Blasphemy”. “Banished by Sin”, moreover, it presents more compact and refined sounds. A work where voice and drums stand out from the other instruments but in which the guitars are absolutely not forgotten, on the contrary, they manage to clearly highlight their work. So what? Where to insert “Banished by Sin” inside the dimension Deicide? Not among the most inspired works of Florida’s lineup, but certainly among the most compact and in your face. An album in which some songs, such as the final ‘The Light Defeated‘, they can easily compete with any era of American education. Let’s say that if there had been a couple of pieces less i Deicide they could have made a more incisive album. Let’s be clear, though: if you play death metal, “Banished by Sin” is a record you have to deal with, even risking paying the price.
Marco Donè
