The Stench of Redemption | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 22, 2006 | |||
Recorded | March–June 2006 | |||
Studio | Morrisound Recording (Tampa) | |||
Genre | Death metal, blackened death metal [1] | |||
Length | 41:12 | |||
Label | Earache | |||
Producer | Steve Asheim | |||
Deicide chronology | ||||
|
The Stench of Redemption is the eighth studio album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It is the first album by the band to feature Jack Owen (formerly of Cannibal Corpse) and Ralph Santolla (formerly of Iced Earth) on guitars. Some editions of the album include a cover of "Black Night" by Deep Purple, with rewritten lyrics by Glen Benton.
The Stench of Redemption was Deicide's most successful release to date, peaking at No. 11 on the Top Heatseekers chart. Many critics praised The Stench of Redemption as a return to form for Deicide, despite the band losing both Eric and Brian Hoffman.
Lyrically, the album explores themes of destruction and anti-Christianity. The Stench of Redemption is the first Deicide album to have writing credits attributed to individual band members. While the album's riff-writing stays true to the Deicide's traditional sound, Ralph Santolla and Jack Owen utilize a neo-classical style of lead guitar playing, which is a drastic departure from the atonal shred style employed by the Hoffman Brothers.
Drummer Steve Asheim said of the album, "I'd have to say 'Stench' is definitely my favorite and the one I'm most proud of, Benton too I think. It really all came together on this one, the material, the players, the sound, the vibe... It was a real pleasure doing this record with this line-up, almost effortless." [2]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
About.com | [3] |
AllMusic | [4] |
Alternative Press | 5/5 [5] |
Blabbermouth.net | 8/10 [6] |
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles | 9.5/10 [7] |
Chronicles of Chaos | 9/10 [8] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10 [9] |
Metal Storm | 9.6/10 [10] |
Rock Hard | 8.5/10 [11] |
Stylus | B+ [12] |
The Stench of Redemption met with positive reviews, with most reviewers praising the added melodic dimension, which they attribute to the new guitarists. Chad Bowar, writing for About.com, praised the guitar team for "breath[ing] new life into Deicide's approach. You might not even notice because of all the blast beats and breakneck riffing, but there are some actual melodies here. They have added a subtle layer of complexity to the band's brutal arsenal, which makes the songs that much more powerful". [3] Similarly, Scott Alisoglu wrote for Blabbermouth that the new guitarists "add to Deicide's legendary death metal sound by upping the six-string dynamics and giving these compositions a much-needed injection of compositional depth. That does not mean that you won't recognize The Stench of Redemption as anything but a Hell-fried Deicide album, only that the added ingredients push the album to heights previously unattained". [6] Jackie Smit, writing for Chronicles of Chaos, claimed that the addition of Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla not only "lit under the remaining original members' collective behinds", but also added a melodic dimension "unlike anything the Hoffman brothers were ever able to muster". [8] Referring to the album as "unapologetically melodic", Cosmo Lee wrote in Stylus Magazine that The Stench of Redemption is "no less brutal" as a result of the melodic inclinations, and praised Steve Asheim's "massive, memorable" riffs and Benton's "diabolical" vocals. [12]
All lyrics are written by Glen Benton; all music is composed by Steve Asheim
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Stench of Redemption" | 4:09 |
2. | "Death to Jesus" | 3:53 |
3. | "Desecration" | 4:31 |
4. | "Crucified for the Innocence" | 4:35 |
5. | "Walk with the Devil in Dreams You Behold" | 4:58 |
6. | "Homage for Satan" | 3:59 |
7. | "Not of This Earth" | 3:19 |
8. | "Never to Be Seen Again" | 3:24 |
9. | "The Lord's Sedition" | 5:41 |
10. | "Black Night (Deep Purple cover)" | 2:43 |
Total length: | 41:12 |
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
---|---|
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [13] | 84 |
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [14] | 14 |
US Top Heatseekers Albums ( Billboard ) [15] | 11 |
US Top Independent Albums ( Billboard ) [16] | 21 |
Deicide is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida.
Jack Owen is an American guitarist and a member of the death metal band Six Feet Under. He was one of the founding members of Cannibal Corpse. He also had a stint with Deicide—another influential and long-running Florida death metal band—with whom he recorded four albums.. In 2007, Owen played shows with Adrift before joining Order of Ennead at times when their guitarist, John Li, was unavailable.
Scars of the Crucifix is the seventh studio album by Florida death metal band Deicide, released on February 23, 2004, as the band's first album on Earache Records.
Glen Michael Benton is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, lyricist and bassist for the Florida death metal band Deicide.
Deicide is the debut album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on June 25, 1990, by Roadrunner Records. The album contains all of their demo tracks, plus the songs "Deicide" and "Mephistopheles".
Legion is the second album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released by Roadrunner Records on June 9, 1992.
Once upon the Cross is the third studio album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on April 17, 1995, by Roadrunner Records.
Serpents of the Light is the fourth full-length album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on October 21, 1997, by Roadrunner Records.
The Best of Deicide is a compilation album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It is a collection of 20 songs from Deicide's catalogue with Roadrunner Records, the label with whom the band had recently ended its career-long record deal. However, no songs from In Torment in Hell are included on this compilation.
Amon: Feasting the Beast is a compilation album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released in 1993 by Roadrunner Records. It is a compilation of the two demos the band released when they were called Amon.
Insineratehymn is the fifth studio album by Florida death metal band Deicide, released on June 27, 2000 through Roadrunner Records.
In Torment in Hell is the sixth studio album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on September 25, 2001, on Roadrunner Records.
Steven Kenneth Asheim is an American drummer and primary songwriter for the Florida death metal band Deicide. Asheim endorses Pearl, Paiste, Vater, Axis and is known to collect guns, which can be seen in Deicide's DVD When London Burns. Asheim also plays guitar on the album Till Death Do Us Part. On November 20, 2007, Asheim joined the St. Petersburg, Florida-based death/black metal band Council of the Fallen as their drummer.
Ralph Santolla was an Italian-American heavy metal guitarist. He played in many bands, most recently Deicide, but also including Eyewitness, Death, Millenium, Iced Earth, and the Sebastian Bach band. In 2007, he replaced Allen West in Obituary for their album Xecutioner's Return. Santolla was very proud of his Italian heritage and he played guitars by Jackson and Ibanez with the Italian flag painted on them. He most recently played Jackson Guitars, though he had also been associated with ESP Guitars, Dean Guitars and many others. He also used Randall Amplifiers. He was well known for his shred guitar playing style.
Till Death Do Us Part is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Deicide, released on April 28, 2008. This is the band's longest album, being 42 minutes long and presenting some doom metal influences. Initial copies of the album included a sew-on patch with an image of vocalist Glen Benton and the phrase "Glen Benton for President". The album was also released on several colours of vinyl in limited numbers. The artwork of the album cover is a segment of the painting Woman and Death (1518-1520) by Hans Baldung.
When London Burns is the first DVD released by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on March 7, 2006, by Earache Records. The extra features include a documentary entitled Behind the Scars, which discusses the production of the album Scars of the Crucifix. The Hoffman brothers left Deicide five days before the concert was recorded.
Doomsday L.A. is the second live DVD released by Deicide. It was released shortly after the Doomsday L.A. live EP was released on iTunes. The bonus material on the DVD includes interviews with the band members and the videos for "Homage For Satan" and "Desecration".
Order of Ennead is an American extreme metal band formed in Tampa, Florida. It includes two members of the death metal band Deicide, and the student of a former guitarist of the band. Order of Ennead have released two albums to date.
To Hell with God is the tenth studio album by American death metal band Deicide. The follow-up to Till Death Do Us Part (2008), it was originally intended to be released in 2009 before being pushed back to a 2010 release, and was finally released on February 21, 2011, through Century Media Records. It is the last Deicide album to feature guitarist Ralph Santolla, and the first not to be produced by drummer Steve Asheim since Scars of the Crucifix (2004); instead To Hell with God was produced by Mark Lewis. A claymation video for "Conviction" was released through Century Media's YouTube channel on February 27, 2012.
In the Minds of Evil is the eleventh studio album by American death metal band Deicide. It was released on November 25, 2013, by Century Media Records. It was the first album to feature guitarist Kevin Quirion and the last to feature guitarist Jack Owen. The album has been described as moving away from the melodic inclinations of the previous few albums and towards an "old school" death metal sound reminiscent of Legion.