metal

Deicide

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Florida death metal institution built on Glen Benton's blasphemy and relentless blast beats — founding members of the genre, unrepentant since 1987.

Deicide's roots go back to a band called Carnage, formed by guitarist brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman with drummer Steve Asheim, all of whom met in high school and drilled through Slayer, Sodom and Destruction covers. In 1987 they recruited bassist and vocalist Glen Benton, renaming the group Amon before settling on Deicide in 1989 at the request of Roadrunner Records.

The band signed to Roadrunner and released its self-titled debut in 1990, followed by Legion in 1992, the album that pushed them into wider recognition. Deicide is now counted as the second-best-selling death metal act of the SoundScan era, behind only Cannibal Corpse, across a catalogue that has grown to thirteen studio albums plus live and compilation releases.

Musically the band works in blunt, fast death metal: blast beats, tremolo riffing and tightly compressed songs. The first three albums, Deicide, Legion and Once Upon the Cross, are widely treated as genre classics and remain the foundation of the band's reputation.

Glen Benton's anti-Christian lyrics and public statements have brought the band bans, lawsuits and arrests over the years, on top of the more theatrical stage antics of its early gigs. Steve Asheim has remained behind the drums throughout, the band continuing to record and tour across repeated lineup changes.

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