Saturday, June 9, 2007

Deicide – The Scars of the Crucifix

Sometimes, one can remember nightmares in painful clarity long after daybreak – the images just burn in your mind and nothing you do will drive the demons away.

The same is true of the ‘Scars of the Crucifix’.

Decide’s latest hell-child is a welcome addition to the family, a worthy successor to the likes of their monstrous ‘Deicide’ and ‘Legion’ albums. Yes, that’s right. This record is right up there both in terms of the speed, savagery and numbing heaviness. And to make matters better (or is it worse?), the ‘Scars of the Crucifix’ has the catchiness of the ‘Serpents of the Light’ too!

If you’re a true Decide fan, I suggest you skip the rest of the review and just buy the record – it’s that good.

The ‘Scars of the Crucifix’ starts off to the chainsaw riff of the title track, and as your neck starts it’s familiar ‘detach me’ dance, you instantly know that happy days are here again. Glen Benton brutalizes the listener with his dual vocal attack – a searing combination of high-pitched screams and low growls that slice through the eardrums like an autopsy knife through butter, and deliverance is instant. This song is my favourite, though the choir chants of ‘Fuck your God’ is a close second.
It would be a travesty to try and give away too much by doing a song-by-song dissection here, and I won’t attempt it. The best part of the 9-track ‘Scars of the Crucifix’ is the sheer variation throughout. The last number, ‘The Pentecostal’, in fact has a haunting, clean guitar/no drums ending that sounds like the band’s requiem to the Crucifixion! But don’t get misled – this is classic Deicide all the way. The solos are among the fastest that the Hoffman brothers have played – stuff Kerry King would have his hands full with, and Steve on the drums makes sure that the first thing your fingers do after pressing the ‘stop’ button is to give your neck a massage.

My pre-order came with a free 35 min. DVD that captures the other side of the band, from Glen Benton’s passion for the Harley Davidson to Brian’s body tattoos and Steve’s gun collection. Plus interviews, swigs of Jack Daniels and other bits of what’s truly DEICIDE.

As if one needed any persuasion to buy the record.

Peace, love, empathy
Ram cobain

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