Deicide have a history of announcing shows that don’t happen and for the most part, that’s not their fault but it does make the audience sceptical when they announce dates and this show was no exception. When they actually got to Manchester for this sold-out show, it felt like divine intervention or perhaps demonic intervention…
Foetal Juice was the only support for the night and it’s always fantastic to see a band from Manchester succeed on their own turf. They opened with the erotically charged ‘Take You Face for a Sh*t,’ a gloriously grim bit of sludgy death metal full of massive riffing and vocals that could intimidate a bear.
The real highlight of their set was the back-and-forth banter between frontman Derek Carley; it was a nonstop stream of loving abuse and colourful language that you’d only expect to hear in Manchester. The songs all had colourful backstories and intros. My favourite intro being “this song’s about knocking fu*k out of a chav in Co-op” and upon hearing tracks like ‘Septic Mollusc’ and ‘Manifestation of Falisty,’ I was ready to go to Co-op and throw down. The pit was wild throughout their set and it got people riled up and ready to run around in a circle while talking smack about God.
A few moments before the show, several people realised that Deicide’s set would include their landmark 1992 album, Legion, and that added to the already palpable excitement and once they hit the stage, the show reached a boiling point. Opening with Legion’s opening track ‘Satan Spawn The Caco Daemon,’ a demonic steamroller of a track filled with monstrous drum fills, double bass work, frenetic guitar work and all that is before Glen Benton even starts his evil roar.
Next up was a setlist staple, ‘Dead but Dreaming’ which is about as close to writing choruses that Death Metal in the 90s had gotten which is actually a hidden talent of Deicide’s. Even if their songs only have a few words, they still have an emphasis on choruses and hooks which is something death metal neglects sometimes.
A sound of glass shattering indicated ‘Trifxion’ was next, which is probably my favourite song on the album with its twisted guitar riffs and wild flailing guitar solos which were difficult to imitate but Kevin Quirion and newcomer Taylor Nordberg. The opening riff of ‘Behead the Prophet (No Lord Shall Live)’ is another track that features insane guitar work but it’s Steve Asheim’s rhythmic complexity and precision that make it stand out among the rest of an incredible set.
‘In Hell I Burn’ and ‘Revocate the Agitator’ ended the Legion set and the infernal tone these songs give off has been imitated by death metal bands for decades and for good reason. Glen sounds like some kind of demonic entity you’d likely find deep in the bowels of Hell and the music behind him is a sonic invocation of evil that few have been able to capture as well as Deicide.
For those who have any knowledge of Deicide it should come as no surprise that this whole show was really edgy. There was blasphemy all over the place with several people shouting “f*ck Jesus” and similar instances but the real winner was a guy who tried to crowd surf in the crucifixion pose and landed on me. This was a tough show to navigate and it only got crazier as it went on.
Once the Legion set was over, Deicide played a few classics from their back catalogue. While there were a few massive tracks that weren’t present like ‘Lunatic of God’s Creation’ and ‘Oblivious to Evil,’ it was still full of all-time death metal classics. It’s hard to complain when you just heard Legion in its entirety even if it’s not your go-to Deicide album.
“Lord, why have you forsaken me?” is played over the speaker, a herald of the Apocalypse that would soon take over the centre of Rebellion. With another legendary hook, the entire room roared “Once Upon a Cross” and a psychotic flurry of violence took over as the band ripped through three tracks from ‘Once Upon a Cross’. The grinding riffs from ‘When Satan Rules His World’ and ‘They are the Children of the Underworld’ both require a massive amount of stamina to play so it’s only fair that the crowd matched that energy.
‘Scars of the Crucifix’ is a personal favourite with its devastating simplicity opting for a straight-up punch in the face as opposed to the winding insanity on Legion. ‘Scars of the Crucifix’ is a record that fell into obscurity among Deicide’s back catalogue but it still holds a special place in my heart.
The hammering chugs that came next belonged to arguably the best “chorus” in death metal; ‘Dead by Dawn’. The strange rhythm changes in this song never detract from the groove of the song which is another aspect Deicide excels at and the demonic backing vocals add to Evil Dead aesthetic. The hundreds of people screaming “Dead by Dawn”, admittedly at different timings, felt just like a genuine house of horrors in the best way possible.
There were signs around the venue including the ticket booth saying “at request of the band, please do not vape” and naturally someone was vaping. I was at the back of the room so I invited people to correct me but I saw a drink get spilt and heard Glen say “Outta here with your nasty habit. Just for that, you get one more song” and then they ended with ‘Homage for Satan’.
It’s the audience member’s duty to not mess with the band and follow very minor requests and this one guy helped ruin it for everyone else and for everyone saying “but Glen was unreasonable and should have handled it a different way”, they asked you not to do something several times and you ignored it until you were checked. Outside of this minor event, the whole show was a success and worth the long wait and worry of cancellations that everyone had.
There’s a special place in hell for people who vape at shows and for people who buy hotdogs and it’s not the cool place where amazing Demons play Deicide by a lake of fire.
