Deicide are a band on Metalreviews whose bad albums are brutally eviscerated by the hordes of forumites who, if they had the option, would be significantly more stingy than I am on a lot of my positive reviews. Most of you respect albums like Deicide or The Stench of Redemption, but so many of you feel these quality releases are too far and few to call Deicide the classiest act in the modern Death Metal scene. Deicide are not without their excellence, including a Classic here on MR. And quite honestly, while many of you are tired of Glen Benton’s vocals, I find them to be a nice addition to the later Vital Remains albums. Yes, sometimes they do get stale, but here on Legion, they sound more akin to their title album, with the same haggard and frenetic atonality, complete with layering of a high track and a low track. Grading this album scares me half to death. I have no idea what the forumites will say, and judging how every reviewer here will be or has been ripped by them once, the voice of the people leaves me manic in trying to digest an album following a classic, which is similar in many respects. I saw Deicide live a couple years ago with Santolla and Owen, and you better believe they still played 3 tracks from this album. Despite current accomplishments in The Stench of Redemption and To Hell With God, these first two albums still maintain themselves as the definition to the muscle of Deicide’s sound.

While Deicide may be the better album, Legion represents an evolved sound. The year is 1992, my lovely sunshine state is about to evoke mountains of madness through countless classics from monumental acts. Why sunny beaches, bikinis, orange groves, and Mickey Mouse, attracted these long-haired fiends and brought the best out of them beats me, but no questions should be asked. Just enjoy the music. In just a few short years, some of the pillars of the Tampa scene dropped the Thrash elements to their sound for a more brutal, faster, and polished yet still drastically atonal sound. Think of the difference between Eaten Back To Life and Butchered At Birth. Or how far Schuldiner and co. came between 1988’s Leprosy and 1995’s Symbolic. This is not an argument slating that later in the 90s the Florida scene improved per say, but it is a testament to the evolution of Death Metal in such a short, tumultuous time in Heavy Metal.

Satan Spawn, the Caco-Demon opens things with the sounds of what seems to be goats or sheep, followed by a frantic riff and rapid lyrics by Benton. This is one of the well received songs in early Deicide’s works, but to be honest, I do not really favor this one. The rest of the album, is where the blood spills and the Bible’s burn. Dead But Dreaming briefly brings a thrashy style riff with additional double bass, distinguishing it as a Death Metal riff which maintains its Thrash roots. Shortly after emerges a punching riff from the Hoffman brothers and a fiery drum line from Steve Ashiem. Later blasts ascend forth from the fiery pits to make way for one of Glen’s most furious vocal portions of the album and the discography as a whole. Glen projects like Pavarotti on this album had he been possessed.

I have been listening to Deicide since the fifth grade. I reckon that was around 1999 or so. To this day, I argue with myself about which song is my favorite, and always seem to settle with Trifixion. Something about the shattering glass is so brutal. It leads the way for the horrors on the other side of the mirror to run free. Steve Asheim’s drums not only challenge anyone’s endurance, but if one listens closely, his double bass during the first verse is strikingly odd. The projection there must have been a serious challenge. It is hard to imagine just how little credit Steve gets as the drummer of Deicide, but deservedly so; his drums should be hailed as textbook. He gets it done, with not even a thought of mistakes. Following the chorus, Steve hits blast beats that increase in pace, blowing the listener away. The atonality seems to take a backseat to groove and vibe during Holy Deception. This is one of the finest tracks on the album and my personal rival to Trifixion.

The speed, intensity, hatred, and downright technical skill make Legion an evolved, yet akin version to their self-titled debut, and arguably a classic. This is Deicide after their full evolution to Death Metal, yet before their string of average to below average albums predating The Stench of Redemption. This is a fine piece of brutality, and a staple to any proud Floridian’s Death Metal collection.