Despite a few small bumps in the road along their very long career, Deicide are certainly one of the biggest and first names to be mentioned along with the tag of death metal. Some of their earliest albums are all but legendary, and they’ve built an impressive discography ever since. The band’s last album, Overtures of Blasphemy, was released six years ago at this point, and Banished by Sin sees The Absence guitarist Taylor Nordberg join the group. The result is a high quality and consistent album that isn’t going to change anyone’s opinion about the act, but never fails to satisfy fans either.
Like much of the veteran death metal acts still running around at this point, there’s not going to be drastic changes with a new Deicide album. So what does the Deicide connoisseur need to know about Banished by Sin? Well, for starters it was certainly worth the wait! There’s a lot of classic Deicide vibes that emanate from the album, starting with the lead-off track “From Unknown Heights You Shall Fall,” which kicks things up immediately with buzzing, thrash-led guitar riffing and Glenn Benton’s iconic sounding barks. The intensity is that of the band’s self-titled debut, and that’s meant in the best way possible. Urgent riffing and solos, menacing barks, and blasting drums swirl around with just the right amount of aggression mixed in with memorable, punchy moments. It’s a great start. “Doomed to Die” continues this same sentiment with a fiery solo to start, and then more of that classic, mid-tempo ‘evil’ feeling that the band has always excelled at. The songs sit conveniently around the 3-min mark, never overstaying their welcome and delivering just the right amount of collateral damage as they move forward. If there’s any slight drawback, its that some of the traditional, ‘samey sounding’ flaw of death metal starts to creep in by the album’s latter half, though it never really makes a huge impact to the overall proceedings. But you may notice that it starts to slow a little – but those seeking a pure adrenaline rush, one of the band’s strongest features, aren’t going to be too bothered by this.
With well over 30 years under their belts, nothing’s stopping Deicide yet. Those who have favored the band’s classic intensity and power are going to find much to enjoy with Banished by Sin. While it doesn’t break the mold, it delivers a visceral listen that unloads furious soloing, frantic drum beats, dizzying riffs, and Benton’s evil-sounding vocals with the same level of polish and devastation that the band built itself upon. This far in, that’s more than enough reason to give them a few listens.