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Deicide > Serpents of the Light > Reviews
Deicide - Serpents of the Light

Serpents of the Shite - 20%

The Bard with Bright Eyes, August 3rd, 2022

It's no secret that Deicide went down the 2000's Slayer route of horrible, HC punk-tier bitching, it's just that I think that they went down this route much sooner that it's often believed. The generally accepted opinion is that the first two albums are legendary, Once Upon the Cross is bland and underwhelming, Serpents of the Light is the last gasp of the Hoffman era with every other album of that era being complete shit, Stench of Redemption is a breath of fresh air, and the rest is forgettable at best. My take is that everything from Serpents of the Light onwards is shit, with each album suffering from the exact same problem that plagues Serpents of the Light.

Anti-christianity is a common lyrical topic in metal, and understandably so, but even in 1997, it was done to death and pretty stale. The way Deicide pulled it off is in no way refreshing, creative, or good, for that matter. Lyrics about all sorts of obscene satanic rituals, serial killers, horror movies and demons surging from the depths of the earth are nowhere to be found here. It's all replaced by cringeworthy, bitchy lyrics that read like an attempt of a 15-year-old Redditor who became an atheist one week ago at being edgy (with the music being no different), and are delivered in a manner that makes Slipknot sound profound. This bullshit is so juvenile that it doesn't even work as shock value or anything even temporarily entertaining, let alone anything thought-provoking. Just take a look at one example of what Glen managed to write with his single-digit IQ:

"He fucked himself to save you - put to death, masochist
For this his word berate truth - agonised, prophecised
Revive the book of fiction - blasphemy, gluttony, to deceive you and me
In battled disposition - hang the bitch on the cross
Entitle his convictions - blasphemous, lunatic, your heart is full of hatred -
BASTARDS DIE, FUCK YOUR CHRIST, WILL SURVIVE,KILL YOURSELF... DIE!!!!!!!!!!"

It's not like me to criticize the lyrics primarily and before anything else, but the music on this album is so generic and derivative that I simply had no choice. Occasional exception aside (and these exceptions are either recycled from the previous three albums and dumbed down, or riffs that merely reach the mark of 'okay' and firmly stay there), the riffs are just a bunch of "rrrr I'm so angryyyyy" tremolos and generic palm-muting that could've easily been written by a computer program (even back in 1997) and are played on exactly three tempos for roughly 98% of the album (fast, slight midpace and 6/8 midpace). There are also completely nonsensical stop-go moments on Blame it on God and Believe the Lie, which most certainly don't make this album any more interesting. If Trey Azagthoth ever wanted to make a half-assed parody of Covenant, he wouldn't use a single riff from this album; that's how dull, mediocre and unimaginative they are. Every song hangs around the three minute mark, has the exact same structure (a song will play two or three riffs in a sequence, repeat them in the same sequence and abruptly end) and the album as a whole is very repetitive (the title track and This is Hell We Live In have the exact same verses while Blame it on God and Slave to the Cross have the exact same chorus, among many other examples of recycling). None of the songs go anywhere; they just exist as fodder for Glen's whining. All of that goes to show just how little effort was put into composing them.

Speaking of Trey, it would be wise to look at what he was doing and thinking at the time. In an interview given at the time of the release of Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, Trey spoke that he was angry at christianity for being forced unto him and limiting his views, and so was attracted to satanism, which he sees as means of destroying christianity's limiting beliefs. So far, we are at Glen's level, and all is okay. But later in the interview, Trey speaks of christianity no longer having hold over him and moving on to doing greater things, which includes contemplating greater ideas, building greater things, and yes, writing greater music. Glen didn't move on (not even after 30 years, which is just sad), and it shows in both the music and the lyrics of this album. It's like a guy who did not get over his ex cheating on him even after several years, and so uses every opportunity to badmouth her to his friends and family; something which they are sorely tired of.

Back to the album. I've already mentioned how the lyrics and their delivery are bad, but I forgot to mention one thing: the vocals. On the first two albums, Glen's unique layering of low gutturals and high snarls evoked the voice of Satan himself. Here, his gutturals sound like a waterfall of diarrhea coming out of the mouth of a homo erectus, while his snarls sound like a parody of Donald Duck. He's not AS awful as on later albums, but he's still pretty damn bad. And these vocals are so in-your-face that it is impossible to ignore them. Same deal with the lyrics which are very clear and discernible, in spite of Glen's excrementitious vocal performance. I hate the "The lyrics and message are more important than the music" idea that some "musicians" have. If you really think so, make a fucking podcast or something and don't pollute the world of music with your worthless trash.

The production is decent, the Hoffman brothers can throw a wicked solo here and there, Asheim is a beast behind the drumkit as usual, the cover is nice (did they predict the "Blue the jew" meme?), but that's about all the praise this piece of shit deserves. At this point in their career, Deicide became a talent vacuum that gave even Iced Earth a run for its money. Not even Ralph Santola's brilliant Olbrich-styled shredding could save The Stench of Redemption (the best post-OUtC Deicide album) since almost every part of that album that isn't a solo is the same generic lowest-common-denominator death metal that Glen has been shitting out since 1997 (the more overt thrash influence does help the matters significantly, but the misplaced melodicism and the general vapidity ultimately ruin the album). Serpents of the Light may technically be one of the better Deicide albums considering how awful their output after it was, but it definitely isn't good on its own, let alone great. Maybe you'll like it if you're immature, angsty and have no standards for death metal (or music in general). I'm way past that phase in my life and I'd rather not revisit it.

Deicide of the Light, but still heavy - 78%

Annable Courts, August 29th, 2020

The first two albums in their discography were blatantly raw and an onslaught on a malleable and impressionable death metal scene, at this point in its infancy. It was a savage introduction to the world of early Deicide and it did not go unnoticed. Then 'Once Upon...' showed the band with less of that nomadic momentum, and saw the band at a more settled pace, and revealing their now more sedentary form of death metal. 'Serpents' here is the continuation of Deicide fine tuning its song-writing, in fact to the point of song structure approaching that of conventional music. The good thing is they merely tightened up and simplified the song structures, while keeping and channeled that energy that was perhaps overflowing early in their discography. The songs are arguably as intense, they're just not as wild and youthfully adventurous. To each their own, but the first two records and the next two do have that pivotal difference between them.

The riffs went from being seminal, raw and savage death metal on the early material, to more standard, technically plain riffs here on 'Serpents'. The thing though about those more simple/plain riffs, is they are also very catchy, and allow the band to make memorable tracks out of them as the successive parts together neatly form a more intelligible piece of music, and some parts that could appear to be innocuous in themselves in fact work as a perfect complement to another part. That way, Deicide leaves their manic ruthlessness of old where the charm was all in the chaos and coarse nature of the music, and make 'songs' in the more traditional sense of the term here where all components work together seamlessly, as a deliberate plan. Lyrics and voice with instrumental on an equal footing, with the vocals not relegated to a background rhythmic item.

'Blame it on God' might be the song that fits that explanation best. We've got some super ordinary riffs, some flat out generic in fact: the diminished arpeggio tremolo picked riff right before Benton's voice enters, is literally just a linear 3-semitone buildup the scale, and it leads into the verse, which is the sort of riff you would teach your student as an introduction to death metal. No joke. Then the typical up-a-tone variation of the riff, then back to the main riff, this time used for the chorus. And lo and behold, it's arguably the most catchy song on the record, and I guarantee lots of even the extreme metal fans out there would admit they like listening to it, because it's just very efficient song-writing, whether simple or complex regardless.

Another such track would be the lesser known, but thought-provokingly named: 'I am no one'. And whatever leaning one has vis a vis religion or spirituality, the lyrics are very well written and work so well with the instrumental. The main riff carries all the dark energy and robustness of death metal while being at its core super melodic, but strongly sorrowful at that. Like a mixture of epic and sorrowful together. Which brings us more broadly to the actual song-writing and riff content on this record. Lots of it is status quo palm muted underground heaviness, evil sounding tremolo picking, aggressive power chords, but as mentioned just now, there is also a sizeable share of the album that's made up of melodic riffs. Those riffs aren't melodic in a Scandinavian metal sort of way, as they carry a darkness and dramatic weight to them , especially because of the blasphemous/epic context they're in, but technically it's a fact they're minor scale, therefor more solemn and dark in tone by definition. Just give the verse riff to 'The Truth Above' an ear. The solos also help give the album that dark melodic edge.

Production wise: the guitars come out as very dynamic, and were obviously given a nice boost around the mid-highs and they're very present in the mix. The bass is also audible, despite being fairly low in decibels, and sticks its head out every once in a while. Despite this being 1997, i.e. a year when death metal had been around some time, the drums sound basically like they would in any old school death metal, with a tad more definition. One would sense this is obviously the work of a band that know what they're about and are not looking for experimentation. Glen Benton is the focal point of the album sound-engineering wise. The riffs and instrumental were made simple enough (very few harmonies musically, or drum heavy parts...) for the voice to come out as clear as possible, and it's given a lot of attention in the mixing as it moves from its standard center position to the sides with stereo width every once in a while for more emphasis, and even more processing on the choruses. The vocals play a much bigger role here than on typical death metal records.

All in all, the formula of this album is simplicity to better appreciate the songs as songs rather than collections of riffs. It isn't necessarily better or worse than old untamed Deicide, but it certainly works.

Their Best Release - 95%

Petrus_Steele, June 28th, 2019
Written based on this version: 1997, CD, Roadrunner Records

Perhaps their very best or their last best, Serpents of the Light has great raw production, it's damn catchy in a good way, and I almost feel like it's underrated compared to other records. It's the most standout record out of the entire discography, and in comparison to most other records on the catalog, it didn't manage to suck or fail; like its disappointing predecessor, Once Upon the Cross. The album cover is their best - when I thought Legion's was, and overall a great fucking record for once (if not the last great record)!

Starting with the title track, it's got sweet and crispy guitar tone, the bass is evenly mixed, and the drums are fantastic! Glen sounds great and the chorus are literally the fucking shit. Every little thing is excellent. Probably the best song and my favorite, Bastard of Christ is perfect in any sense of the word. Brutal, fun, energetic, crazy, and enjoyable from start to finish. The blast beats and the drums stole the track. I Am No One sounds pretty standard, but the verses and chorus are great and the guitar solo was sweet. Slave to the Cross is ANOTHER catchy track. I love the insane death growls, the guitar solo, the verses and chorus, and how evil the entire track sounds. Believe the Lie is heavily riff-orientated. It greatly varies to stay unique, so as the drums. The Truth Above is another track to consider it as something that's fun playing. Catchy as hell, great guitar solo and main riff.

I love the raw sound in the guitar solo of Blame It on God. The riffage is amazing, but the song feels much shorter than advertised and pretty repetitive. This Is Hell We're In quite sounded like the title track. Not necessarily a bad track, but more of a downgrade. Creatures of Habit is also repetitive to say the least. And Father's Baker is also a decent track, but not as powerful as others.

Serpents of the Light is the best Deicide release you could ask for, tied with Legion. Quite frankly, it's got everything: heaviness, brutality, energy, delivery, quality, and awesomeness. Everything beyond this album is going to be a huge letdown, especially the next two records, and if only they had released something that is equivalent to this masterpiece, I would've liked the band a little bit more. Even for the songs I didn't like they have huge potential and are actually better in comparison to other records and their respective offering. I wouldn't of thought I'd give a Deicide album 95%, but this record deserves it. Best tracks are the title track, Bastard of Christ, Slave to the Cross, and Believe the Lie.

The Floating Hands and the Book of Thorns - 91%

Mailman__, August 2nd, 2018

It's strange, this album.  You always hear people say that Deicide's first four albums are absolute classics, yet you only ever specifically hear about their first three: Deicide, Legion, and Once Upon the Cross.  It wasn't until I one day decided to look further into Deicide's discography when I learned what their praised, yet mysteriously unmentioned fourth album was even called.  Hell, I didn't even recognize the album artwork.  Whatever you hear about this album - whether it be nothing or something - it really is a classic.  Released in 1997, this was truly something death metal fans needed.  Obituary was going downhill with Back from the Dead, Massacre just released Promise a year before, and we all know how that went down, and Autopsy went grindcore (something that isn't terrible, but another doom/death metal release would have been nice).  Okay, maybe it wasn't all that bad.  Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse were still around to keep things sane (what we think of as sane, that is), and so was Deicide.

With that in mind, let's get on with the review.  Deicide's fourth studio album wasn't as good as their first three, but it was still heavy and sinister as ever.  Still sticking to the anti-Christianity theme, Deicide blew their way through another half an hour of intense riffage, catchy grooves, and thrashing rhythms.  There are a few minor flaws throughout the release, and I will touch base with those later, but for now, let's focus on everything about this album that is great.

The production!  Yes, that's a good place to start.  Deicide has always had this sort of production that is raw enough to give their music more of an edge, but crisp enough to make everything stand out.  This album is no exception, and, as far as I'm concerned, there aren't any flaws with the production.  Good production helps to highlight everything and round it all out.  This is nice, especially when you have sweeping leads liked the ones in "Slave to the Cross" and "I Am No One."  It also helps highlight the riffs.  On songs like "Blame it on God," there are very jumpy riffs that are all brought out by the production.

Speaking of leads and great riffs, this album is full of them.  Tracks like "Slave to the Cross" are littered with leads while songs like "Blame it on God," "Father Baker's," and the title track are full of intense riffing.  While not being up to par with their previous works, these songs will not fail to deliver what every death metal fan wants from Deicide: a brutal and blasphemous riff.  Each song is crafted with good direction and fierce passion, something that is seen in both the riffs and lyrics.

Now that I've gotten the good stuff out of the way, there is one thing that I do not like about this album.  One of the first things I noticed about this release was the similarity between "Blame it on God" and "Slave to the Cross."  Notice how both song titles have the same amount of syllables.  Now notice how they used the same exact rhythm for each song's chorus.  "Blame it on God" is my favorite song on the album, but having a song so similar gives it less of an identity.  This isn't a huge problem, but it does become irritating the more and more you notice it.  This album may have a few extremely minor songwriting issues, but that, of course, does not deter it from being called a classic.

Overall Rating: 91%

Originally written for themetalvoid.wordpress.com

The Cyst on Your God's Holy Lamb - 79%

CannibalCorpse, January 20th, 2018

While revisiting the more extreme roots of my own personal history within the realms of heavy metal, I’ve come to the realization that I've never quite understood the hype towering all over DEICIDE’s earliest output. I honestly never gave a fuck about "Deicide" or "Legion” – so maybe they ARE influential and important to the evolution of the sub-genre, that’s fine, but apart from having a few interesting segments here and there – ultimately - they’ve left me unimpressed, even after subsequent revisits.

I cannot quite say the same thing about this very album here, as “Serpents of the Light” is a rather different offering. Some do call it “watered down” and okay, these people are probably RIGHT about that accusation, but I personally prefer this record over their predecessors any time, any day.

It’s a little tough to describe though, since this album has a lot of things going AGAINST it, at least from an objective point of view:

- Simplified songwriting & average musicianship
- Mr. Benton’s lyrical wizardry ranging from comical to fucking stupid
- Considering the time of release, this album was not terribly original
- The album starts recycling its own previously used riffs after a while

Not exactly a cocktail for a fan-favorite, right?

But then why the hell does my bloody car-media-assistant insist on blasting it? Seriously, more often than not, when I’m telling "her” to play a specific sort of album, all I hear is a robotic voice asking me:

“Did you say Serpents of the Light?”

No ma’am, I DID NOT but HELL, PLAY IT ANYWAY!

So obviously, “Serpents of the Light” was MADE for driving. It doesn’t require much thinking, deciphering (“FUCK YOUR CHRIST” seems pretty clear in its message) or even focused attention, it just pummels you with blunt, unpretentious riffcraft, sturdy doublebass-drumming and loud, obnoxious Christ-hating vocals by the one and only Glen Benton, who delivers his ultimate career performance on this record. Back in 1997, only he could make lines such as “He fucked himself to save you” and “I’m the cyst on your lord’s holy lamb” sound like satanic poetry, like the unquestionable truth. Benton radiates confidence in his delivery, he's spiteful and commanding – no matter how dumb some of his words actually are.

OK, truth be told – not every release needs to be highly original. There are no experiments here, no 3/9 or 12/18/whatever-offbeats, no syncopated start/stop-riffage and no highly technical soloing is to be found. No keyboards, no wanking. Just death metal. I don’t hear much black metal influence here, just a few higher-register tremolo-picked riffs, but if those qualify as BM, then “toque/flamenco” is BM-influenced too. Do Spanish guitars with lots of distortion warrant a black metal influence label? But I digress…and leave that issue for others to decide.

In the end, the only thing that truly hurts “Serpents of the Light” is that the riff-pool is very…limited, to say the least. The Hoffmann brothers aren't exactly my favourite guitarists in the world and while they add some nice flavor to this record with their quasi-melodic lead fretwork (especially shining bright on the album's title track), the guitar riffs themselves “feel” immersed in their repetition. Surely, they do offer headbanging opportunities in abundance but there's not much of a unique, lasting appeal to them, no little flourishes to be explored further and no risks are being taken. Like a caveman repeatedly beating his woman's skull with the very same club, the listener's brain activity is forcefully reduced to a bare existential minimum. By the time you've started laughing about the well-known fact that “Slave to the Cross” is basically “Blame it on God” part II, you’re one step away from realizing that the album starts devouring itself after about two-thirds of its run time. Certainly by now you'll see that the joke is actually ON YOU, because even though “Serpents of the Light” is only about 30 minutes long, its blatant self-plagiarism forces me to skip the last three tracks at almost every single listen. It's a shame that “Father Baker’s” is actually the best track out of the closing trio, because it really falls prey to the redundancy of its two immediate predecessors.

However, despite this number of flaws previously mentioned, the first 20 minutes of this disc offer highly entertaining, brutish and raunchy death metal of the highest caliber. Back in 1997, nobody could know that DEICIDE were in imminent danger of totally losing it over the next few years and that it would take them another decade and a fresh pair of guitar virtuosos to finally realize their full potential with the fantastic “Stench of Redemption”, after recovering from a string of dreadfully inferior and insipid releases.

Mandatory tracks: “Serpents of the Light”, “Bastard of Christ” and “Blame it on God”

originally written for http://antichristmagazine.com

Improving an Inferior Formula - 78%

StainedClass95, July 20th, 2014

Serpents of the Light functions as a good album, Deicide's third best. This is certainly a step up from Once Upon the Cross. The improved quality is mostly due to the aspects of black metal added. This doesn't stack up to the first two, mainly because the quality thins towards the end and the songwriting is mediocre, but it is still amongst the better death metal albums.

The production here is somewhat rawer than the previous album, and it works better for them. Cross' production was way too dry, and it helped bring down some of the songs. This album doesn't suffer from that problem, and the songs are allowed more breathing room. To be fair, I don't think this album has much of an atmosphere. After the earliest Deicide's releases, what atmosphere they did have left. This isn't something that bothers me though. As a catchy stomp-fest, this album works fine.

Glen's vocals are a little more intelligible here. He still leans heavily on his deeper vocals, but it's not as bad. I can't tell if it's the production or if he's just not as guttural, but this is probably their second easiest album to follow. As a previous reviewer noted, it's not difficult to sing-along to most of this album. It's heard to hear this and not get Blame It On God or Bastard of Christ stuck in your head. This is probably one of Deicide's strongest traits, is that this stays with you far longer than most extreme metal. I'm not saying catchy equals better, but it certainly helps if you can remember much of the album later.

The guitars are another area where the black metal impact is positive. The problem from Once Upon the Cross remains with the riffs. They are definitely weaker and less varied than on the first two albums. The black metal melodies give them a way out. They can vary the music by alternating between an average death metal riff to an average black melody. This additive gives at least a semblance of variety, and it is enough to bring the guitar work to nearly the debut, once you include the improved soloing. The music as a whole is also rather monotonous, but that's buoyed by the brevity of the tracks, and the fact that the vocals are catchy and somewhat the focus.

The drumming is good, but similar to Once Upon the Cross. He seems to have taken a couple of albums off, when him being on his game would have been great. The bass by Benton is fairly nondescript. Judging from his strong performance on Legion, and his lack thereof on any other album, I can tell that he focuses on his vocals. Again, he could have helped this album out with some interesting basswork. I don't even see why he needs to focus. He did a fantastic job on Legion doing both.

The songs here are generally pretty good. Tracks 2,3, and 6 are classics, and frequent their live performances. The end is pretty weak though. Believe the Lie is ok, but Truth Above and Father Baker are rather lousy. Mentioning their live songs, this album wasn't bettered by the live album. These songs are done well, but they aren't as strikingly improved as When Satan Rules His World was on the previous. Another thing is the length. I don't mind short albums, if they're pretty consistent. This only really has six songs worth hearing, which totals about 17 and a half minutes. That's an EP.

As I touched upon with Once Upon the Cross, they entered their period of pure anti-religion. I can't stress enough this change. Part of this drop in quality, to me, is their centering on being anti-religious. Satanism was an aspect of the S/T and Legion, but they turned towards self-parody afterwards. On the first two, the satanism expressed felt more like a statement of nihilism against the religion that they thought was oppressing them.There's an anger and passion on those two that is as plain as the nose on our faces. By this time, it just reads like a mock, and simply doesn't do as much for the music as it could have. On the S/T, the ease of understanding crafted tales that stayed with you as an unpleasant thought in the back of your mind, whereas these are simply choruses you can't excise. Creatures of Habit is the only song on here that isn't really obsessed with the topic, and it still has a few elements of it. In fairness, this is still lyrically superior and catchier to the vast majority of what they did afterwards. Lastly, after Legion it appears Deicide altered their song structures. While slower as a whole, these songs average a shorter amount. That was another shift that brings this a little below the first two, the songwriting itself is dumbed-down, even before you get to the lyrics.

At the end of the day, this is one of Deicide's best releases. The problem is, that there is a pretty good distance between this and either of the first two. This is a trait I've noticed amongst many death metal bands. Most of them seem to have trouble putting out a remotely consistent catalog, and their best work is always towards the beginning. I'm not really complaining, as I enjoy many of these early albums, but it is an odd trend that Deicide falls neatly into. I would recommend a death metal fan to rip the best songs, which are very good.

Reptilian redux - 68%

autothrall, May 5th, 2011

I held out a lot of hope that Serpents of the Light would be the first Deicide album to truly knock me over, the first to reflect the band's considerable cushion of hype. In reality, it's just more of what the band were peddling on the previous album, Once Upon the Cross. A fraction more melodic and accessible, perhaps even a bit faster, but nothing new under the sun. This was also about the time that I grew tired of the band's ceaseless Christian rending quips. Its not because I oppose the message. It's not that I have ever felt offended, or that I subscribe to any religious group think whatsoever, but how many times can you just say the same shit over and over again before it becomes tired and dull, nothing more than petulant paraphrasing? There must have been a more curious and compelling way of stating it all, without abandoning the position. Yeah, God is such a grand deception, his believers all fools, but hey, he keeps us our merch table busy!

The cover might be abstract and interesting, but Serpents of the Light continues the band's long streak as the most 'evil' band alive in name, but not in actual musical content. Stock, brutal death metal with a competent level of dynamic variation, but nothing evocative or morbid, no parasitic patterns of notation that squeeze into your ears and lay their clutches of brain and soul sucking spawn. These guys are no slouches, they can compose and adhere manageable riffs to Steve Asheim's storming fury and footwork, but so few of them have the hooks to warrant repeated exposure. The most diabolic moment of the album comes in the intro to "Serpents of the Light" itself, in which Benton growls off against himself with some resonant, but after this it all becomes so...plain. Tracks like "Bastard of Christ" and "This is Hell We're In" are seasoned with explosive velocity, yet beyond the percussive dynamic of the vocals and the old school purity, there's never anything waiting in the depths. No grinning Leviathan to grasp and drown you in damnation.

They do a decent enough job in alternating speed with their monstrous chugging breakdowns, but there's nothing here to challenge or rival the clinical sadism of Deicide or Legion. Nothing ever evolves beyond that point, not that it's some mandate, but it might increase the album's staying power. Perhaps its most potent and entertaining vector are the Hoffman leads, which slice through the battering undercurrent like hot sharp knives through clerical vestments. They have a similar ability to bands like early Slayer and Pestilence to tear off into a disharmonious dive bombing wail that truly corners and bewilders the ear. I also liked that Benton continued to favor his death grunts over the malicious, Salacious Crumb scratching that he usually layers in. Not that the latter is absent here, but the bludgeoning deeper end is surely prevalent. The mix of the record is average Morrisound: crushing and clear enough, but flat and devoid of real depth. At the end of the day, it's neither a Deicide standout or a sucker. The Bible Belters must have been shaking in their boots when they heard this one! But really, no.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Once Upon The Cross II: Serpents of The Light - 90%

Necroticism89, March 10th, 2009

Most people believe that Deicide ended with Legion, or that this album was the last, dying gasp from Deicide before fucking it all right up royally. I am not a person who subscribes to this philosophy, I firmly believe that they peaked on this album and Once Upon The Cross, and that they are 2 of the greatest albums I have ever lay ears on.

The key to this album (And Once Upon The Cross, for that matter) being one of the greatest Death Metal albums of all time is individuality. Each song has a hook, something I can hum walking down the street. Be it a solo, riff or even a vocal pattern. Each song is familiar yet each has it's own trademark, it's own calling card. I could sing along to every one of these songs at a Deicide gig, and be able to know the lyrics, and instantly know after 3 seconds what each song is, and it's not because I'm some estranged Deicide obssessive. The fact is, Deicide have something that most other bands don't have, memorability. They might not be the fastest band in the world, or the band with the most technical guitar solos, but I believe Deicide cracked it on this album, and the previous one. Would you be able to name every Kataklysm or Necrophagist song off by heart, straight from the intro? Doubt it.

I think the reason why I rate this higher than Legion or Deicide is simply the production. Legion and Deicide both had good productions, but you could tell they were first efforts. This production, however, is absolutely perfect. It has the CRUNCH that all Death Metal albums, the riffs chug with immense power. The drums have the perfect sound, with the bass drum clicking the way I like the bass drums to click. Along with Carcass' Necroticism, this is how I feel Death Metal albums should sound. This has a warmth you just don't get with most albums.

Overall, this album is amazingly well done. The guitars play some absoultely amazing solos and veritably EVIL riffs, while the drums blast along at the perfect speed. The main theme here seems to be the fact that, if they wanted to, they COULD go mental and play ultra-lightspeed blastbeats and 9999999bpm solos, but they don't. And I like that. The vocals are, well, your average Deicide vocals. They're a step up from Deicide/Legion, and also anything from Insineratehymn onwards, but you'd strain to find anything out of this world for Deicide with these vocals, they're just better executed.

Highlights on this album? Well, the instant one-two of Serpents of The Light, and Bastard of Christ are certainly highlights. Bastard of Christ was one of the first Deicide songs I ever heard, and I loved it. These two are absolute classics, and should be in every single Deicide setlist (Assuming that Glen Benton ever bloody turns up). Other highlights include Slave To The Cross, and Father Baker's with it's immense solos. But, to be honest, every song is a classic. There is no bad songs, just less good ones. I believe you could pick any one song off of this album, and show it to someone who was into say, Slayer, and hadn't heard Deicide, and they would like it.

Any bad things about this album? Well... This Is Hell We're In stops a bit too sudden for my liking. Creatures of Habit seems to have a different production from the rest of the album and is a bit muddy. The only other thing I can think of is that this is almost identical to OUTC, and you'd maybe get tired of hearing the same "dunduuuundaaaaanduuuuun" riff which is the main riff in probably every song, but I don't care, I love it. I've really stretched my resources on bad things here if I'm honest.

In conclusion, this album is a near carbon copy of Once Upon The Cross. And Once Upon The Cross is one of my favourite Death Metal albums of all time. Bonus. It has the same production, same album length (roughly), same lyric topics, same riffs, everything is the same. Is it better than OUTC? No, simply because that was first, and I bought it first. Honestly, if you liked OUTC, buy this, you will love it. Nothing has changed at all. If you hated OUTC, you are actually mentally ill and deserve to be sectioned under the 1983 Mental Health Act.

Basically, this album is packed full of memorable songs that are simplistic and to the point. It may not be the most technical, brutal or slamming death metal ever, but it's certainly the best. Deicide have the ability to limit themselves and only play what is necessary, and the production is fantastic. This is a great achievement, in that it's my first ever album reviewed in the 90s, and it wholly deserves it.

Buy. Now.

Deicide/Serpents Of The Light - 85%

MethylinInfo, November 12th, 2008

I'd have to conclude that this is Deicide's last good album because not only does it carry with it the similar characteristics of their previous releases but it still contains the originality in the guitar riffs definitely. Of course lyrically Glen Benton writes his usual hatred towards the higher power or God if you will plus the album cover depicts Jesus Christ simply looking like a demonic figure as Glen utters that we be "free of Jesus Christ". Honestly, I have never really been into the satanic lyrics just the music is what got me hooked to Deicide. Now that the Hoffman brothers are not longer in the band Glen says in a Terrorizer magazine that they are the "ding-dong brothers". Not much respect for the amazing riffs and solos they've been able to display their talent but we won't touch on that further in this review.

There is less high-pitched vocals here though there are still backup screams though not as demonic as their earlier releases like 'Legion' (1992) or their ultra demonic debut 'Deicide' (1990). In terms of the music it's still brutal and catchy as hell. The solos are also amazing especially the numerous and flawless ones throughout the entire release check out especially the intro to 'Slave to the Cross'. The guitar riffs aren't as technical as their older material but still very noteworthy and heavy as all hell.

I'd have to say that they were NOT as a whole lazy on this release it seems to still portray their talent in songwriting. Though they exhibited less blast beating drums by Steve Asheim he still does a great job staying in sync with the guitars. There isn't a track on here that I dislike at all because they still proved to the metal community that after the years of being one of the leading Floridian death metal acts showing us they can still kick major ass!

If you are eager to know which tracks to try first I would suggest 'Believe The Lie', 'I Am No One', 'Bastards of Christ' and 'Serpents of the Light'. This will give you an idea of what the album has to offer some great tracks and I would consider them to be the best ones on the album.

The production is by Deicide and Scott Burns - Scott now retired still does a great job production wise. The album is loud and evenly mixed to near perfection. All of the tracks in great synchrony, heavy and hate filled Deicide is notorious for. The artwork by Nizen R. Lopez quite sick and portraying the son of God as demonic as possible.

Glen's vocals are deep and anything but boring because of the backup voice to go with the insane music. The Hoffman brothers still amaze me with their talent in riffing and soloing. It's too bad they are no longer a part of the band because they seemed to me to captivate the listener in every release up until this album. I wouldn't really recommend purchasing 'Insineratehymn' (2000), 'Scars of the Crucifix' (2004) or 'In Torment in Hell' (2001) because these releases are way way below their talent. They seemed on these releases to just put in half assed work that's why I consider 'Serpents..' to be their last good album.

Even though 'The Stench of Redemption' (2006) is their effort to redeem themselves I still think it's lacking because the Hoffman brothers to me were the core of the band. 'Serpents..' is an album that depicts Deicide's true talent in songwriting plus its originality in every respect even though the lyrics are anti-Christian the music draws the listener in to every single song. Anyone who thinks that 'Serpents...' was half-assed well they don't truly admire the amazing songwriting Deicide was notorious for from their self-titled release to 'Legion' to 'Once upon the Cross' (1995) to 'Serpents of the Light'.

If you are a true death metal fan then you need 'Serpents of the Light' to add to your collection because it is truly remarkable in pretty much every single respect!

Before the Fall - 77%

BurntOffering, June 2nd, 2007

After the decent, but slightly underwhelming "Once Upon the Cross" Deicide somes back with this. Stylistically it's the same as the previous album, but the songs are just better when it boils down to it. The guitar tone is a bit different than the last album, maybe a little better, and Glen's bass is a bit more prominent. The production is quite good, none of the crap that's to be found on the next two albums here. Everyone puts forth a pretty good performance.

The actual songs are much more catchy than the previous album, so they are quite a bit more memorable. Such as "Bastard of Christ" with it's long brutal intro, and surprisingly "Slave to the Cross" with it's above average lead guitar work. The Hoffman brothers are still no Jack Owen or Ralph Santolla though. This is pretty much your typical Deicide, a bit catchier and with a bit more groove felt in the riff construction. Examples of this would be in "I Am No One". A very underrated song. Also the extended thrashy sections of "Creature of Habit". A previous reviewer said something about being able to sing along to this album, and it's really true. Glen's vocal lines are catchy enough, and his vocal delivery allows the listener to understand the lyrics. "Prepare to die when you're least expected to go!". Yeah, he may not be the best lyricist, but it works for him, but I must say the lyrics are a bit more intelligent than "Fuck Your God" or "Bible Basher". Great drum work in "Truth From Above" as well.


Highlights are definitely "Bastard of Christ", "Truth From Above" and "I Am No One", but there really isn't a bad one in the bunch.

This album is not the self titled, and it's certainly nowhere near Legion, but after the boring previous album this nice to hear. Sadly, they'd just fundamentally suck ass for the next 9 years after this, and it would take two new guitarists to put some life back into them. Recommended.

One of Deicide's best - 95%

Noktorn, March 20th, 2007

Coming off the heels of 1995's underwhelming 'Once Upon The Cross', Deicide decided to enact (or more coincidentally arrive at) a change of pace. Much has been said about 'Serpents Of The Light''s sonic properties being reflective of the popularization of black metal at the time, and considering Deicide's undeniably commercial appeal, there's a good chance such an influence was a conscious decision based on the trends of the time. Luckily, despite the sellout implications of such a move, 'Serpents Of The Light' functions as what might be the pinnacle of Deicide's career in extreme metal.

What sets this so dramatically apart from 'Once Upon The Cross'? Let's take one of the most obvious issues of that release: the production. Slightly rawer and seemingly intentionally degraded (while still retaining enough fidelity to grasp the subtleties of each instrument), the sound here is anything but flat. The sound here is colorful and intensely hot and aggressive, unlike 'Once Upon The Cross' which was crippled by its lack of intensity. In the same regard, the performance on this album seems a great deal more passionate than that on the previous album, making the lyrics and instrumentation seem convincing instead of trite and silly. In one fell swoop, Deicide improved upon all the elements that made the previous LP so uneventful.

Songwriting, though in no way poor on the last LP, is greatly improved here. Despite the natural recycling of themes that Deicide does on every album, here it seems more tolerable because the themes they're reusing are genuinely good instead of filler. Vocal rhythms in particular guilty of this: see the chorus patterns for 'Slave To The Cross' and 'Blame It On God' for reference, being essentially identicle in pace and candor. However, such things are rendered unimportant by the pure fervor of the music here. The opening title track in particular is an example of everything going right for Deicide: Driving, tremolo picked riffs with a vibrant sense of melody, powerful, lung-searing vocals emitting clever, catchy lyrics, and Steve Asheim's brutal, speedy drumming holding it all tenuously together.

There's a reason that songs off 'Serpents Of The Light' make up such a large part of a Deicide live set; these are some of the best songs that the band has ever composed. At best classics ('Blame It On God', 'Serpents Of The Light', 'Slave to The Cross', 'Father Baker's') and at worst very good ('This Hell We're In', 'Creatures Of Habit'), there are no flaw-ridden tracks on this CD. It stands as being possibly the most consistently solid of any Deicide album that has ever been released, as it remains catchy and intelligent as well as brutal throughout. Of all the post-'Legion' Deicide albums, this is easily the one that you should pick up first.

'Serpents Of The Light' is easily one of the best the band has ever released. After one has acquired their 'essential' albums, this should be the next to snap up, as a pinnacle of metal, death metal, and engaging songwriting in extreme music.

Worthy - 85%

noinnocentvictim, September 30th, 2005

Dust off a few dust-covered CDs, and hunt through the back of a mainstream store, and you just might find that there was, indeed, a time when Deicide didn't suck. In fact, on "Serpents of the Light" they are exceptionally great. The influence of black metal is very prominent here, not only in the ever-so-corny lyrical content.

The opening melody is memorable and, quite simply, fast. This is what you listen to if you want to do faster-than-usual interval runs. The entire song--no, scratch that--the entire ALBUM is unbelievably fast, yet never runs into the category of "Now that we're fast, where is everything else?" as bands such as The Berzerker tend to do. The album thrashes about in a sense above the genre thrash. It seems rather to be a hybrid of black and death metal without making mistakes of most black/death bands, and choosing one genre to attempt to focus on.

Yes, it certainly is death metal, and the drumming shows that. However, some of the main melodies clearly belong under the black metal genre.

This entire album is hard to describe, since it's magnificent, and each song is very different from the last. However, within the sense throughout the album that the musicians knew exactly what they were doing and how to do it, some songs seem indistinguishable from the last few songs.

Yes, the CD is worthy of praise. However, it is not something to be worshipped, and for me acts primarily as a running album if I'm working on speed or as an anger outlet. Definitely worth buying if you can find it for under $15.

Not the best, but definetely one of them. - 96%

ad, February 26th, 2005

This is a classic, but also a spectacular masterpiece of an album. It contains a lot of Deicides well known, fabolous songs. The sound quality is pretty good and reminds me of their last work "Once upon the cross" (which also is a damn good record). The guitar riffs are as always catchy and groovy, but the technique is missing. The Hoffman brothers are known for their co-operation and on Serpents of the light they are not dissapointing at all.

There is nothing else to say about the drums than: Fantastic! The double bass drums which are played through almost all the songs, really give the songs the little, terrific touch to complete the songs. Steve Asheim also fills in a little more blastbeats than the former albums, and in my opinion that is a positive monument.

Then, finally over to the last member, but also the frontfigure in Deicide, bass-player, lyrical writer and vocalist, Glen Benton. As usual he does a wonderful job. Despite of the fact that he is kind of lazy when it comes to learn the songs, he is a really good bass-player and treats the pick like nobody else. What surprises me once again, is the fabolous vocals on this album! The growling (perhaps the best in the death metal scene) continues over and over again and his screams are better than ever. The vocals are not unexepected, directed against God, Jesus and the christians which in Deicides opinion all are scumbags. The lyrical theme is maybe not changed, but if there is someone who rules the anti-christian lyric empire, it is Glen Benton. The blasphemous words perfectly fit to the music and titles like Bastards of christ, This is hell we`re in and Believe the lie shows Glens hatred against christiannity. (he has maybe been married in a church, but the rumours about him being a christian are only lies).

The final conclusion of this album is that every real death metal fan should have the possibility to hear and enjoy this well made anti-christian phenomenon. My personal favourites are: Serpents of the light (the ultimate intro-track), Bastards of christ(die!), Blame it on God and Slave to the cross.