Deicide - Scars of the Crucifix (2004)

Loathe as I am to exploit the term "forgotten album", it would seem that Scars of the Crucifix is just that. I'm not sure why, either. I mean, I'm fairly certain that I remember this album getting a healthy amount of exposure (not to mention an ultra-corny video showcasing a big, fat Crowbar looking biker dude getting yelled at by Mr. Trifixion himself) at the time of its release so I'm at a loss as to why so many people seem to overlook this record. It would seem that while the world was tripping over itself at the supposed "return to form" showcased on Deicide's The Stench of Redemption, 'Scars...' incidentally got shuffled onto the back burner. I can assure you... as long as you're not expecting a full-fledged return to the super-tinny, thrash acrobatics of 1990's Deicide and '92's Legion LP's you should do just fine with 'Scars of the Crucifix as it perfectly revisits 'Once Upon the Cross' and 'Serpents of the Light' while actually throwing in some damn fine lead guitar-work to boot.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a "great" album but admittedly I've listened to it on more than one occasion and enjoyed it rather immensely. The band obviously had a newfound interest in creating interesting riffs and obviously someone in the Deicide camp was listening to more brutal stuff as that particular aesthetic was ramped up a notch. Vocally, Glen teeters the fence here. At times he sounds as good as he did in his earlier years, thanks to the over-dubbing of his highs and lows. At other times it's apparent that age is none too kind to aging death metal vocalists as you can clearly hear the wear and tear on his vocal chords. Unfortunately that little factoid has done naught to deter him and frankly he's sounded like a lampoon of himself for many years now. Nonetheless, I've always thought that this was a fairly accurate throwback to Deicide's early (ok, well not too early) years and was a rather high note for the Hoffman's to take their leave on.