In Torment in Hell
| In Torment in Hell | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | April 9–13, 2001 | |||
| Studio | Morrisound Recording (Tampa) | |||
| Genre | Death metal | |||
| Length | 30:59 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer | Deicide | |||
| Deicide chronology | ||||
| ||||
In Torment in Hell is the sixth studio album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on September 25, 2001, on Roadrunner Records.
Background and recording
[edit]Deicide wrote and recorded the album primarily to fulfill contractual obligations with their record label, Roadrunner Records, whom the band despised. Benton recalled the circumstances surrounding the album's writing and recording process: "They were shelving all the records. What’s the point of fucking putting all this effort and all this hard work into something that’s gonna get thrown in the fucking garbage can? We had reached our point with Roadrunner where we just stopped cooperating. Our last two records with them were just obligations, just throw ‘em the fuck out. And to me, those records are repetitious and redundant and I just, you know – to me, it was either that or give them a country record or a fucking Gospel album."[1] Steve Asheim recalled in 2024: "We were looking for greener pastures. Roadrunner, for whatever reason, had us under this long contract, but didn't want to invest in us anymore. It's like, 'well, why not just drop us?' But they were hanging onto us on this leash, and like I said, nu metal was in. Slipknot was their big new band. They didn't give a shit about us for many years. [...] So yes, we were forced to work our way out of this thing."[2]
The album was recorded on a $5,000 budget.[3]
Style
[edit]The album's style is characterized by "belched vocals and speed-for-its-own-sake musical excess."[4] Steve Asheim's drums have been described as having "tinny" sound, drawing comparisons to the drum sound of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich on the album St. Anger. Decibel likened Glen Benton's vocals to Tom Warrior on the track “Vengeance Will Be Mine," going as far to suspect him of trolling.[1]
Artwork
[edit]The band's interior artwork contains no band photos. According to Steve Asheim, tensions were so high within the band at this point that frontman Glen Benton was not able to be in the same room with Eric and Brian Hoffman. He stated that tensions only eased due to newfound excitement regarding the band's subsequent signing to Earache Records after the album, before the Hoffmans ultimately left the band in 2004.[5]
Reception and legacy
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [6] |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 6/10[7] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 0/10[8] |
| Kerrang! | [9] |
| NME | 2/10[10] |
| Rolling Stone | unfavorable[11] |
The album received strong criticism from the underground metal community and from critics for what was perceived as rushed production and lackluster songwriting. Decibel stated that the album is widely considered to be "the biggest turd in Deicide’s career."[1] The label pressured the band for a quick follow-up to Insineratehymn, but Deicide failed to meet the deadline of its original release date of July 31. The band rarely plays any songs from this album live.
Reflecting on the album in 2006, drummer Steve Asheim conceded that the album's weaknesses were not solely attributable to record label difficulties:
I think that whole period was brought on by being burnt out, but not on music or the business, just burnt out on each other. I kind of always thought we were being kept down by our record company and stuff like that, but after we did In Torment [in Hell] and were finished with our deal and moved on to a great deal with Earache, we were still not up to 100%. By then, it was obvious to me that it wasn't the record company's fault, it was us, we were sick of each other. Well, basically, the Hoffmans and Glen were totally sick of and hated each other, and the quality of the band's work and the fans suffered for it.[12]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Glen Benton and Deicide (Steve Asheim)..
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In Torment in Hell" | 4:02 |
| 2. | "Christ Don't Care" | 2:51 |
| 3. | "Vengeance Will Be Mine" | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Imminent Doom" | 3:41 |
| 5. | "Child of God" | 3:35 |
| 6. | "Let It Be Done" | 3:34 |
| 7. | "Worry in the House of Thieves" | 4:16 |
| 8. | "Lurking Among Us" | 4:36 |
| Total length: | 30:59 | |
Personnel
[edit]- Glen Benton – bass, vocals
- Eric Hoffman – guitars
- Brian Hoffman – guitars
- Steve Asheim – drums
- Deicide – production, mixing
Charts
[edit]Monthly
[edit]| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Poland (ZPAV Top 100) | 27[13] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Norton, Justin (2015-06-12). "Justify Your Shitty Taste: Deicide's "In Torment In Hell"". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
- ^ DEAD BY DAWG (2024-09-17). Steve Asheim "I was not butt fukked on the Deicide bus and you better have squeaky clean johns". Retrieved 2025-04-26 – via YouTube.
- ^ DEAD BY DAWG (2024-09-17). Steve Asheim "I was not butt fukked on the Deicide bus and you better have squeaky clean johns". Retrieved 2025-04-26 – via YouTube.
- ^ In Torment, in Hell - Deicide | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-04-22
- ^ DEAD BY DAWG (2024-09-17). Steve Asheim "I was not butt fukked on the Deicide bus and you better have squeaky clean johns". Retrieved 2025-04-26 – via YouTube.
- ^ Anderson, Jason. "In Torment, in Hell - Deicide". Allmusic. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ Noll, Matthias (April 12, 2002). "Deicide - In Torment, in Hell". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.
- ^ Lawson, Dom (July 21, 2001). "Albums". Kerrang!. No. 862. UK: EMAP. p. 45.
- ^ Johns, Darren (July 26, 2001). "Album Reviews - Deicide : In Torment In Hell". NME. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Semel, Paul (July 30, 2001). "Deicide: In Torment In Hell : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Norton, Justin (Jun 12, 2015). "Justify Your Shitty Taste: Deicide's "In Torment In Hell"". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved Apr 22, 2025.
- ^ "TOP100". www.zpav.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 26 August 2001.
