The Deicide bio this time around flaunts a quote from Slipknot about how influential those death pioneers have been to the development of these masked neo-metallers. True rivetheads might interpret this ploy as sheer blasphemy, using sell-out rockers to market Deicide, of all bands! Truth is, Deicide doesn’t need anyone to tell fans how cool they are, for Insineratehymn speaks volumes.

This album is definitely their career best, adding much-needed melody and hooks to their densely packed brand of death. This stylistic development should come as no surprise, as the band has been moving away (albeit at an achingly slow pace) from death’s monotonous grind mentality since 1992’s Legion. A smattering of tracks from ’94’s Once Upon The Cross and ’96’s Serpents Of The Light showed promise but not enough to win over fans who demand more melody for their bucks. ’98’s live When Satan Lives is an incredible account of their onstage musicianship, which made the release of Insineratehymn all the more eagerly awaited. After the snarling opener “Bible Basher,” the throbbing “Forever Hate You” and “Standing In The Flames” sport Morbid Angel-ic guitar whines, bridges, and stellar solos. “Remnant Of A Hopeless Path” has a mid-paced double kickdrum beat, while the doomier “The Gift That Keeps On Giving” shows frontman Glen Benton’s cleaner, more intelligible vocals and Slayer-esque riffing.

The Hoffman brothers’ soloing in “Suffer Again” will prick up the ears of Monstrosity fans. True to Deicide form, the whole record clocks in at just over 31 minutesn – short, sweet, and to the point. The only drawback is the album’s outro after “Refusal Of Penance”: what’s supposed to be burning people comes off sounding like porcine squeals and potato-chip crunching. Musically, however, Deicide has finally reached their career apex, and as a famous metal critic once said, “Glen Benton wasn’t born with an inverted cross branded in his forehead – he earned it.

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