In Torment In Hell

2001’s In Torment in Hell was the final recording Deicide made for Roadrunner, the label that had helped cement their reputation as antiheroes of American death metal. The title turned out to be accurate, as the making of the album was rife with conflict. Disputes between singer Glen Benton and guitarists Eric and Brian Hoffman left the group in disarray, and some songs reflect a frantic, rushed approach, as if they were written and recorded spontaneously, without prior planning. The sense of internal frustration becomes part of the album’s tone, especially in the toxic guitar effects of “In Torment in Hell” and “Child of God,” which emerge and expand over the riffs like some kind of poisonous gas. Despite the band’s turmoil, the entire album has an impressively engrossing sound. A song like “Vengeance Will Be Mine” could have easily become one of the band’s signature anthems. As it stands, the album left Deicide with a pair of immortal classics in the title track and “Lurking Among Us,” two displays of exhilarating cruelty.