DEICIDE Drummer Talks New Album With HAILS & HORNS

Kelley Simms of Hails & Horns recently conducted an interview with drummer Steve Asheim of Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Hails & Horns: A new DEICIDE album will be released soon. Are you done recording and mixing already, and how did the whole process go?

Steve: Yeah, It's coming out February 15. It's called "To Hell With God". 10 songs. It was quite a time getting this one done. Then again, better to take your time than rush it and not be happy with it. But we got to a point with it where everyone seems happy with the results, so it must be done. And yeah, it'll be crazy! Lots of crazy drums and guitars. And vocals. Should be a good one. We're actually finalizing the mixes now and it should be off to master soon.

Hails & Horns: What was your mindset while writing it, and what direction musically did it head in?

Steve: My mindest for writing varies from song to song depending on what we need for the record, texture-wise. There is one constant mindset of overall creation, you know, that drive to come up with material. Then just honing in on specific elements and refining them, it's a process of elimination, really. The direction of the record is kind of a culmination of recent stuff while trying to recapture some old school vibe as well. It's tough to go back to where you've been before when you naturally progress over time but it's all about mindset.

Hails & Horns: Guitarists have come and gone in deicide over the years, but yourself and Glen [Benton, bass/vocals] are the remaining original members. Do you guys still share a connection with the direction and integrity of DEICIDE?

Steve: Yes, of course we do. As we say, we're the last of the Mohicans. If it weren't for us, the shop would have closed up a long time ago. It would have been easy to change direction and fade away, but it is indeed our shared objective to keep creating the sickest metal we can make. It's our job, our livelihoods and our passion. I still can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing. So, I intend to keep making records as long as I keep getting offers from labels to do so, and to keep doing gigs as long as we keep getting offers from agents.

Hails & Horns: It seems like you guys have been kind of waiting around for Glen to sort out a few problems. Is that why you created ORDER OF ENNEAD in your down time?

Steve: Yeah, well we're not 20-year-old kids who can just up a run off around the world without a care anymore. We've got families and sometimes being home is more important than being on the road. That being said, I still very much enjoy heading out and gigging, making albums and such. And the older I get, the busier I like to keep. So the ORDER OF ENNEAD project is a great thing to keep me active and practiced at what I do while DEICIDE takes some down time, which everyone has a right to, of course.

Hails & Horns: What's next for DEICIDE?

Steve: Well, we're gonna get this new record mastered and out on the market. Century Media wants a video shoot for a song from the record, so be on the lookout for that. We plan some tours for '11, U.S. and Europe, maybe some Japan and stuff out east. There's some talk but we'll see. Obviously, I'd like to get out there as much and as often as possible, so hopefully that all happens.

Read the entire interview from Hails & Horns.