Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE have announced a special summer 2022 North American tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their second album, "Legion". The Glen Benton-fronted outfit will perform the LP in its entirety, along with other tracks from the band's vast catalog. Support on the trek will come from KATAKLYSM, which will perform its classic 2004 album "Serenity In Fire" in its entirety, along with INHUMAN CONDITION.
The 29-date trek will kick off on August 11 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and conclude on September 10 in Tampa, Florida.
All the details can be found on the poster below.
According to Wikipedia, "Legion" "is one of DEICIDE's most musically ambitious releases, incorporating more technical riffing and song structures. The band considers this album to be its most difficult, and claims it is too chaotic. When the Hoffman brothers" — guitarists Eric and Brian — "quit the band, Eric stated that one of the main reasons was Benton refusing to play longer sets and being unable to perform the technical bass guitar riffing required for 'Legion''s material."
In a 2004 interview, Benton stated about the LP: "I think 'Legion' was ahead of its time. It was just too fast for everybody at the time. I think it just caught everybody off guard. They thought we were gonna put out a la-di-da album, and here comes this fuckin piece of music, fuckin style of music that's fuckin' over the top. Everybody fuckin hated it, all the magazines hated it; now it's years later and everybody loves it."
Back in 1995, Benton shot down the perception that he was totally unhappy with "Legion".
"I made a comment saying that 'Legion' sucked," Glen said in another interview. "Now everybody thinks I hated it. That's not true. I didn't hate the record. I just said that to the band, because that's how I wanted to get my point across at the time. As far as that record goes, the only things I did not like was that we were being rushed by the record company, and the production was not totally satisfying. Because we were being rushed, we weren't able to be selective with amplifiers and instruments, so when you compare 'Once Upon The Cross' to 'Legion', there is an obvious difference.
"The problem with 'Legion' was that we just went into the studio and played, then tried to fix things," he said. "Of course, the more you do that, the more it takes away from the sound."
Two months ago, DEICIDE announced the addition of guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) to the group's ranks. Taylor joined the band as the replacement for Chris Cannella who amicably left the outfit after a three-year run.
Benton said in a statement: "We are pleased to announce and welcome Taylor Nordberg to the DEICIDE family! An amazing and accomplished guitarist who takes our sound to the next level and brings a profound level of professionalism that completes and compliments the DEICIDE machine!"
Cannella said in a separate statement: "Yes, it is true. I am no longer in DEICIDE. There is no drama and we all kept it quiet as to not lead into drama or speculation.
"I have all the love and respect for Glen, Steve and Kevin. I had so many great times over the last three years I cherish for a lifetime, especially the friendship.
"Cheers to all and thanks for all the love and support. I'm excited for what's to come."
Cannella joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.
English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.
DEICIDE's latest album, "Overtures Of Blasphemy", was released in September 2018 via Century Media.
