Deicide (band)
Deicide (pronounced
day-e-side) is an
American death metal band. The word
deicide means "the killing of a
God".
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 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.
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 line up remained intact until
25 November, 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 unproffesional, 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 (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 (666) EP (2006)
*
Earache Records*
Deicide Page at Earache Records *
Earache.com's Discussion Forums*
Official site
