Deicide

Serpents Of The Light

(c)(p)1997 Roadrunner Records

Review by Richard Stuart

Deicide are definitely one of my all-time favourite Death Metal bands, and it's a great relief to report that they haven't wimped out, sold out, or forsaken their winning formula. "Serpents Of The Light" has 10 tracks, and like all Deicide albums, is only around half an hour or so long.

Some people have complained that the production here isn't as strong as the previous album, "Once Upon The Cross", and that the guitars don't have enough 'bite.' I agree only up to a point -- perhaps the production isn't as meaty as it could've been, but it's still more than adequate, and the songs still sound very brutal. The vocals come through louder and clearer than usual, and Glen Benton's distinctive bellowing is as strong as ever. Deicide always like to give their songs a very catchy edge alongside the brutality, (except perhaps on their second album, the more technical "Legion") and this quality is more evident here than ever. Benton's vocals contribute to this, being delivered in a very rhythmic fashion. He hasn't mellowed with the years, and his lyrics are still vehemently anti-Christian.

Musically there's an almost black metallish feel to a couple of the riffs, especially in "The Truth Above", and some bits seem like a continuation from ideas from the previous album. Rarely things get a little 'samey' (there's a riff in the title track which is almost identical to a riff in "This Is Hell We're In") but the reasonable briefness of the songs and the album as a whole ensures that it's almost impossible to get bored. You get the best of both worlds, in that the band are still able to make music which sounds fresh and exciting, yet without compromising the Deicide trademarks or twatting about with unnecessary complete changes in direction for the sake of 'experimentation'. It's unlikely that they will ever better their first two classic albums, but this is as good (possibly even better) than "Once Upon The Cross", and it's a very worthy purchase for all admirers of Deicide's previous material.

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