Deicide is an American death metal band formed in 1987. Their first two albums, Deicide and Legion, are ranked second and third place in best-selling death metal albums of the SoundScan era.[1]

Deicide was formed in Tampa, Florida on July 21, 1987, after guitarist Brian Hoffmancalled Glen Benton, replying to an advertisement the latter had placed in a local music magazine. Hoffman and his brother, along with drummer Steve Asheim, had previously played together as the band "Carnage", which was in need of a bassist and vocalist.[2]They are influenced by bands such as Destruction, Sodom, Venom, Bathory, Mayhem,Possessed, Death, Autopsy, and Slayer.The band consisted of Benton (bass/vocals), Hoffman, Hoffman's brother Eric (guitars) and Steve Asheim (drums).[3] Within a month, they had recorded crude Feasting the Beast 8-track demo in Benton's garage and had started playing the occasional gig in the Tampa area.[4] In 1989, Amon recorded their second demo, Sacrificial, at Morrisound with producer Scott Burns.

Malevolent Creation guitarist Phil Fasciana recalls an early Carnage show: "It was like Slayer intensified a thousand times." "I guess Carnage had hollowed out a mannequin and filled it with fuckin' blood and guts from a butcher shop... and then they threw the fuckin' thing on the floor. Morbid Angel had these pit bulls with them back then and they were just tearing the meat up. It was a really weird scene, man. There was blood and meat everywhere."[5]

Benton reportedly stormed into Roadrunner Records' A&R man Monte Connors' office and presented him with the demo, saying, "Sign us, you fucking asshole!" The next day contracts were issued to the band.[6] In 1989 the band's name was changed to Deicide at the request of Roadrunner Records.[citation needed]

Deicide then released their self-titled debut album, also produced by Scott Burns at Morrisound, in 1990. Their debut featured re-recorded versions of all six of the Sacrificial tunes that had secured them their record deal.

Both Eric and Brian tended to play technical solos at fast speeds and with overlapping riffs, which gave Deicide the definitive heavy sound and complex song structures. This lineup remained intact until November 25, 2004 in the wake of increasing animosity between Glen Benton and the Hoffman brothers allegedly in regards to royalties and publishing.

Shortly after, the guitar roles were then filled by ex-Cannibal Corpse guitarist Jack Owen, andVital Remains guitarist Dave Suzuki. Following the tour, Suzuki was replaced by Ralph Santolla, formerly of Death, Iced Earth andSebastian Bach. Santolla stated he is a Catholic and this has received a small amount of shock and ridicule from some metal fans. In spite of this, Deicide's eighth studio album The Stench of Redemption album received rave reviews.[7][8][9][10]

On May 24, 2007, it was announced Ralph Santolla had left Deicide.[11] Subsequently, he joined Florida's Obituary and appears on their album Xecutioner's Return as well as the tour. Then on July 20, 2007 guitarist Jack Owen (ex-Cannibal Corpse) announced that Deicide is "on hiatus" and he has joined Ohio based death/thrash combo Estuary for touring purposes.[12] The band did a Balkan tour, dubbed "Balkans AssassiNation Tour", in October 2007 alongside Krisiun, Incantation and Inactive Messiah.

By November 2007 Deicide began work on its ninth studio album at Florida's Morrisound Studios. Entitled Till Death Do Us Part, the follow-up to 2006's The Stench of Redemption promised to be Deicide's "most savage and aggressive [offering] to date," according to a press release. Drummer Steve Asheim recorded drum tracks and Benton started recording vocals in December.[13] By April 2008 two songs off this album were posted online.[14] It was finally released on April 28, 2008. As the record was coming out, Benton considered retiring from music, in the midst of personal matters including a custody battle.[15]

On January 6, 2009, Deicide posted a blog on their official Myspace page saying they had signed a worldwide record deal with Century Media, with Ralph Santolla returning to the band for a European tour. They were said to be working on material for a summer 2010 release.

Guitarist Kevin Quirion of Order of Ennead joined the band in the summer of 2009.

In early 2009 they toured with Vital Remains and Order of Ennead.

In June 2010, Glen Benton revealed that the next Deicide album was to be titled To Hell with God.[16] It was produced by Mark Lewis at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida and was finally released on February 15, 2011.

The band plan on releasing a new album sometime in 2013.[17]