However, to simply leave this review at Dechristianizepart 2, though admittedly would either perturb or encourage readers to purchase this anticipated release, would be a great disservice. So here’s a little more detail;

How about Deicide’s more epic big brother?

Honestly-those two opinions are how I feel about Icons of Evil. Aside from the fact this simply a damn fine death metal record, arguably one of the tightest, brutal and epic you’ll hear all year, I can’t help shake the feeling of Déjà vu. The fact Benton sings in his trademark dual bellows and the fact Deicide now have Ralph Santolla plying similar solos and harmonies after Benton performed on Dechristianize, sort of makes the bands a little too similar in my opinions. However, with longer songs and a little even more use of Suzuki’s impressive licks (as well as drums on this recording), Icons of Evil remains a quality is slightly familiar album.

The tracks are basically the same formula; a vicious few minutes of blasphemy filled savagery than a lengthy melodic, occasionally flamenco inspired (“Reborn, the Upheaval of Nihility”) solo filled segue, then some more furious blasting and maybe a closing solo for good measure. Tracks like “Born to Rape the World”, “Hammer Down the Nails” and this album’s “Entwined by Vengeance”, the 10 minute “’Til Death” are sure to please fans of Dechristianize, and rightly so, as they basically cover identical ground. However, to their credit, the short (under 5-minutes) closer “Disciples of Hell” shows some restraint with a sturdy, blastless, mid paced tempo throughout, and production wise, the switch to Erik Rutan seems to have reduced some of the rigidity and clicky-ness of Dechristianze.

Ultimately, there’s no way around it, Icons of Evil is in fact, Dechristianize part 2 with a few minor tweaks. Take that as you will. If you loved Dechristianize, run out and get this now. If you were a little bored by Dechristianize, as I was, you might not be as enamored, however it’s again hard to ignore to frequent moment of brutal yet epic solo work that litter the album, making it a pretty solid must have for that alone

With the release of their Excruciating Pain demo, the group had gained a considerable following in the metal tape-trading underground for their extreme anti-Christianity stance and blackened sonic cataclysms. Although this demo was much less crude than their previous effort, Reduced To Ashes, the band was it’s formative stages. The ghoulish vocalizations summoned by Gruslin during “Resurrected” perfectly compliment the advanced, chaotic fretwork of guitarists Paul Flynn and Tony Lazaro and the embryonic influences of Floridian death metal. Slayer was also a very predominant influence upon the early sound of Vital Remains, as evidenced by the sonic chaos of “Fallen Angels,” a track bearing a distinguishing resemblance in terms of instrumentation to that of Metal Blade-era Slayer. Gruslin’s T.G. Warrior-inspired utterances further emphasize the dark nature of this cut, a definite highlight of the 1990 demo.

Unquestionably, the most important reason to own this collection is to experience the band’s 1989 debut, Reduced To Ashes. Although the sound quality is completely atrocious, even in light of remixing and remastering, the purely wicked personality of the group rises above the challenging mix, to form an all-out, unholy assault of intently adversarial death. Although this material is extremely rough, it’s executed with abundant venom and certainly as evil as most anything deemed to be its precursor. In addition, spin “More Brains” for an eye-opening look into the primal development of gore metal.

Century Media has wrapped this blissfully irreverent piece of history into one fantastic, limited-edition package with excellent artwork, lyrics and revealing liner notes by guitarist Lazaro, once again making these long sought after recordings which illustrate the formative years of American death metal available to the group’s now-considerable fanbase. It’s crucial to keep in mind that these recordings offer no engineering miracles, but once you’re past that point of order, this is an excellent insight into the history of one of death metal’s most influential and now, most popular acts.