It has become easier to assume that most classic death metal bands will produce duds rather than killers when it comes to new material, in some cases more fairly than others. Obituary and Morbid Angel, for instance, have had their ups and downs but generally are excellent, both Obituary and Kingdoms Disdained from last year being terrific albums. Deicide conversely tend to disappoint, their albums usually managing some highlights but being on the whole pale reflections of past glories. Yet I tend to enjoy each new album better than the critical response would suggest and Overtures of Blasphemy, the band's twelfth full-length, is no different. A lot will depend on your fondness for Deicide and their shtick which is much the same as ever, as a glance at that (fantastic) artwork and tracklist will confirm, and indeed although powerful and intense, first track One With Satan is very much the band on autoplay, some nice leadwork from Kevin Quirion and new guy Mark English (also of the eternally underrated Monstrosity) aside. Thanks in part to a muffled production (handled by Asheim and Benton) songs like Crawled From the Shadows have a slightly blackened feel to their coruscating battery, like a less clinical Vader.

Fortunately there are enough killer songs to elevate this into one of Deicide's better albums, starting with the surprisingly rip-snorting Seal the Tomb Below which kicks the tempo up a little and throws some more hooks into the mix, from the groovy chugging riff to Ol' Glen sounding more motivated in his growling, spitting out fast verses versus a slower chorus with plenty of widdly post-Slayer soloing inbetween. The band are usually better when at their bluntest and most brutal, so cuts like Compliments of Christ fit the mark perfectly at less than three minutes' length - indeed, this is the second Deicide album in a row with nothing even hitting the four minute mark. All That is Evil fits in plenty despite this, from catchy grooviness to some nicely atmospheric guitar leads, and there's a hint of thrashiness to Excommunicated (how hasn't that been used as a song title before?!) that I'd like to hear more of, yet generally songs take the same path and structure to the point where picking favourites could be random.

Anointed in Blood will be on most highlight lists though, having a bit more variety to the riffs and again, Glen a little more enthusiastic. It's perhaps unfair to suggest that he is unenthusiastic, but he definitely isn't the same multi-tracked screaming demon that he used to be, and no Deicide album has managed to recapture that early, chilling intensity that once was the hallmark of the band. Still, apart from the infamously half-assed Insineratehymn and In Torment In Hell Deicide have never been less than solid, and Overtures of Blasphemy is, yet again, another album that doesn't live up to their best modern work in The Stench of Redemption but does enough to ensure death metal fans keep on being mad at God.