In Torment, in Hell

Things get off to a pretty nice start as the title track to Deicide's seventh and final Roadrunner release, In Torment, in Hell, breaks out of its mid-tempo grind and into some traditional, inspired death metal double bass riffing. Bandleader Glen Benton (bass and vocals) certainly rates as high as usual on the cookie-monster vocal scale and guitarists Brian and Eric Hoffman are typically tight and large sounding. It all adds up to another winner for fans of Benton's unqualified musical service of Satan, but nothing new for listeners searching for the most daring musicians and lyricists that the metal genre has to offer. Artists who just do one thing but do it well deserve more than a little credit for understanding their talents and limitations, and Deicide seems more than content to bash out familiar but confident music on In Torment, in Hell, making the disc desirable for fans of the band and death metal; however, as is practically the case with every offering in the genre, few outside the small legion of committed fans will be able to appreciate the belched vocals and speed-for-its-own-sake musical excess.