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Known the world over as one of the founding fathers of Death Metal, Deicide stand strong to this day as one of the most influential and controversial metal bands ever. With a relentlessly brutal sound and uncompromisingly blasphemous lyrics, Deicide helped set the standards for Death Metal well over a decade ago and have maintained those standards ever since.Emerging from the Tampa, Florida metal underground, Deicide began life in 1987 under the moniker, Amon. Consisting of frontman Glen Benton on bass and vocals, brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman on guitar, and Steve Asheim on drums, Amon commanded a local cult following with their extreme brand of Satanic metal. Amon's demos caught the attention of Roadrunner Records and Roadrunner signed the band, who renamed themselves Deicide.Roadrunner released Deicide's blistering self-titled debut in 1990. Recorded at Tampa's Morrisound Studio (the legendary studio where Deicide would go on to record all its albums), "Deicide" would one day be hailed as one of the "Top 100 Metal Albums of the 90's" by England's metal authority, Terrorizer Magazine. In 1992, Deicide followed up their debut with "Legion". "Legion" was an instant success, further establishing Deicide's furious musical instensity and vengeful anti-Christian stance, and securing Deicide's place at the forefront of the American Death Metal scene.Meanwhile, Deicide was rapidly earning a reputation for controversy. The band's appearance and live antics matched the extremity of its music and lyrics. With an inverted cross branded into his forehead, Benton cast himself as the incarnation of pure evil. At shows, he was known to pull such stunts as dousing the crowds with bags full of real animal organs. Deicide quickly found themselves banned from clubs, boycotted by magazines, and blacklisted by Christian groups and animal-rights activists. Anti-establishment to the core, Deicide embodied the worst fears of the conservative masses, and loved it. Rather than shy away from controversy, Deicide provoked it and willingly engaged in it.After the success of "Legion", Roadrunner Records re-issued the Amon demos in 1993 as ?Amon: Feasting The Beast', giving new fans a glimpse of the band's rawer roots. Deicide's next studio album came in 1995 in the form of "Once Upon The Cross". As if to prove they had no intention of settling down, the band proposed an image of a disemboweled Christ for the album cover. This cover was ultimately censored but not before garnering massive publicity.In 1997, Deicide released "Serpents of the Light", followed by a live album, "When Satan Lives", in 1998. Throughout the 90's, Deicide progressively honed their vicious musical attack, reaching new levels of brutality and precision. Despite becoming a father, Benton lead his band tirelessly around the world, playing countless shows to hordes of devout fans. In the face of censorship, bomb threats, and blacklistings, Deicide soldiered on, never once quitting or reforming, using adversity to fuel their misanthropic, creative fire. Deicide defined and redefined the rebellious spirit of Death Metal, and joined that very small and elite group of metal acts to sell over a million records in the process.2000 saw the release of a new studio album, "Insineratehymn", followed by "In Torment In Hell" in 2001. The latter album marked the end of Deicide's long contract with Roadrunner. In November 2002, the band signed a new worldwide deal with Earache Records.
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