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DEICIDE
Banished By Sin

Reigning Phoenix Music (2024)
Rating: 7/10

Florida-based death metallers Deicide unleashes its latest heap of satanic cheese and boy, is it fun! Sure, after their first two trailblazing albums – Deicide (1990) and Legion (1992) – the novelty of Deicide quickly wore off for me, but I’ve always jumped into subsequent releases and I’ve done the same here.

Admittedly, I couldn’t hide a chuckle when I saw the music video for ‘From Unknown Heights You Shall Fall’; Glen Benton once again trying his hardest to look evil and failing miserable. But hey, it’s still Deicide although strangely with one of their most harmless albums and worst cover art (AI shock horror!) to date.

While Deicide sounds solid, even with new guitarist Taylor Nordberg on board, Banished By Sin is a rather unremarkable and concise offering. Sure, the leads are sophisticated and Benton’s barks are still worse than his bite, but with all the songs clocking in at under three and a half minutes nothing here really sticks. As usual, Benton continues his tiring war with God, venting his anger and hellish fury like a leathery old dragon burping up sheep wool, but for a band which has been blurting this stuff since the late 80s, Banished By Sin blasts by like a case of bad wind.

The title track is a bit of a bone rattler, and there’s a fizzing lead within its ferocious, bass heavy contours. Further unholy goodness follows with ‘Bury Your Cross… With Your Christ’, which is again accompanied by a hilarious music video. The song is typically hostile, clanking with the dominant bass and the pummeling drums. Meanwhile, ‘Sever The Tongue’ showcases the quality of the production as the combo steamrolls with an energy and passion, and that’s why I’m at odds with this album.

It’s clear that Deicide are frothing and foaming at the mouth, but this is a standard death metal record that in today’s climate is comparatively tepid in spite of its aggression. Deliciously wild leads drive us headlong into ‘Doomed To Die’, which is melodic and pulverising at the same time and yet somehow bland in its precision. ‘Woke From God’ stands out though, where again those leads fizz with melodious madness to the bulldozing drums, although Benton just spews out the same blasphemous blurbs; ravenous yet generic blabbering of no effect outside of a Dennis Wheatley novel.

Elsewhere, ‘Faithless’ and ‘Failures Of Your Dying Lord’ blaze by but the impact doesn’t last as Deicide make a quick exit, realising that such formulaic ranting is all but a brief novelty of limited shelf life. Even so, it’s not a bad album and those leads really do invigorate it. However, Banished By Sin is way down the pecking order when it comes to the discography of the band, and so is that dreadful cover art.

Neil Arnold

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