Once upon the Cross is the third studio album by Florida death metal band Deicide. It was released on April 17, 1995, by Roadrunner Records.
| Once upon the Cross | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 17, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Death metal | |||
| Length | 28:10 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer | Deicide, Scott Burns | |||
| Deicide chronology | ||||
| ||||
The samples at the beginning of the opening track "Once upon the Cross" and "Trick or Betrayed" are taken from the film The Last Temptation of Christ.
Musical style
editSteve Asheim said of Once upon the Cross, "Listening back, '...Cross' seems very slow. Live we play those songs much faster. Actually we've always played them faster than they are on the record. When we went in the studio in '94 and I recorded the drum tracks at the speed I had been playing them at practice, we only had 22 minutes with the same amount of songs, they were just faster. 22 minutes does not make an album so I re-recorded the songs at a more controlled pace and still only ended up with 30 minutes. So there it was."[1]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Classic Rock | [3] |
| Kerrang! | [4] |
| NME | 3/10[5] |
David Jehnzen of Allmusic said, "A typically brutal set from Deicide that is particularly notable for the guitar pyrotechnics of Eric and Brian Hoffman." He also noted, "the band continues to grow."[2]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Glen Benton; all music is composed by Deicide (Steve Asheim)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Once upon the Cross" | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Christ Denied" | 3:38 |
| 3. | "When Satan Rules His World" | 2:53 |
| 4. | "Kill the Christian" | 2:57 |
| 5. | "Trick or Betrayed" | 2:25 |
| 6. | "They Are the Children of the Underworld" | 3:09 |
| 7. | "Behind the Light Thou Shall Rise" | 2:59 |
| 8. | "To Be Dead" | 2:39 |
| 9. | "Confessional Rape" | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 28:10 | |
Personnel
edit- Glen Benton – bass, vocals
- Eric Hoffman – guitars
- Brian Hoffman – guitars
- Steve Asheim – drums
- Deicide – production
- Scott Burns – production
References
edit- ^ Deicide interview (06/2006) - Metal Storm
- ^ a b Jehnzen, David. "Once Upon the Cross - Deicide". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
- ^ Sadler, Darren (July 2000). "Déjà Vu". Classic Rock. No. 16. Future plc. p. 79.
- ^ Dome, Malcolm (May 6, 1995). "Albumz". Kerrang!. No. 544. EMAP. p. 43.
- ^ Lewis, Angela. "Review: Deicide - Once Upon The Cross (Roadrunner/All formats)". NME (May 20, 1995). IPC Media: 45.
- ^ Arnopp, Jason (July 15, 2000). "Reissues". Kerrang! (810). EMAP: 45.