“Deicide” is the debut album by Florida-based death metal band Deicide and drummer Steve Asheim. It was released on June 25, 1990 by Roadrunner Records. The album contains all of their demo tracks, plus the songs “Deicide” and “Mephistopheles.”
This is not the actual board sound from the 1989-90 tracking sessions. Steve Asheim was very interested in being part of our new Isolating The Throne series, so he tracked this for all of you last week in his living room. There may be some slight differences from the original recording, but we are very appreciative and honored Steve would take the time to do this for us, and for all of you. Enjoy…
“Dead by Dawn” was featured in the 2009 video game ‘Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned‘ on the radio station Liberty City Hardcore.
Deicide is sometimes considered to be the best selling death metal album of all time. Nielsen SoundScan lists it second after Morbid Angel‘s Covenant up until 2003; however, Deicide was released before SoundScan went into effect, so the SoundScan figure lacks pre-Soundscan sales.
Vocalist Glen Benton has stated that no effects were used on his vocals while recording the album, though several songs do contain a pitch-shifted vocal effect.
The album was recorded at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida, where Deicide would record most of their subsequent works.
Track Listing:
1. Lunatic of God’s Creation
2. Sacrificial Suicide
3. Oblivious to Evil
4. Dead by Dawn
5. Blaspherereion
6. Deicide
7. Carnage in the Temple of the Damned
8. Mephistopheles
9. Day of Darkness
10. Crucifixation
Some Questions For Steve:
SDM: Thanks for tracking this just for our readers last wee! What gear were you using?
Steve: You got it guys! I’ve got an old Ddrum kit I use just for practice, so I used that. Pretty much the same specs as my live gig set up. Some old dirty Paistes, too dirty for live were used as well.
SDM: How long did tracking take and how was it tracked? mics, triggers, both, to tape or all digital?
Steve: I tracked this in one take, took about 5 minutes. I figured, man if I can’t get this after playing it 10,000 times over the years then something’s wrong. But I nailed it the first time, so it went smooth. I mic’d all drums plus 2 overheads for cymbals but laid down live kik triggers as I played thru my Alesis DM5. And I recorded it on my Boss BR1600, no pro tools or laptops or sound replacing, strictly captured tones and playing in real time.
SDM: Have you made any recent changes to your setup?
Steve: Nothing has changed in my setup since this tracking or in a number of years actually.
SDM: Your thoughts on sound replacement software? wish it never existed?
Steve: You know, sound replacement software, studio trickery and manipulation are parts of recording I don’t really concern myself with. If that’s the new technology of the day and that’s what producers and engineers do, then so be it. But it’s a little too much work for me personally to do for demoing, so I just run it old school. But from talking to producers, sound replacing has been going on for decades. Pro tools software and computers just shorten and make easier the process. Take ‘Hotel California’ by the Eagles for example. From what I understand, all drums and cymbals were totally sound replaced on that song, long before computers were in the studio. The producer just had to do it all manually.
SDM: What’s your favorite old-school raw drum sound? Which band and album or albums?
Steve: I like Vinnie Appice’s sound. He’s a big guy, a hard hitter, and I can hear that in his sound and playing – especially on his Black Sabbath albums and the Holy Diver album. I also dig Dan Beehler’s sound from the Violence And Force album. Just a nice fat, meaty sound.
SDM: One piece of advice to younger kids about to record an album?
Steve: Make sure all your parts are rehearsed but don’t be afraid to improv on the fly too. You’re in the studio so go for it, push yourself and you may capture something you never did before but is badass. Those are cool moments you can listen back to knowing it was totally spontaneous, and that makes it cooler somehow, for me anyway.
Check out the other tracks already published in our Isolating The Throne section and bookmark it, as there will be new tracks added often!
Steve Asheim of Deicide – Kansas ‘Dust In The Wind’ Cover.
Steve was also gracious enough to send us his own personal rendition of “Dust In The Wind“, a song written by the rock group “Kansas” and released in January 1978 on Kirshner Records. This is Steve performing all music and adding his own brutal black metal vocals to this most evil rendition of the song. Please enjoy and share… Thanks Steve!
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