Florida Death Metal legends Deicide released their thirteenth studio album entitled Banished By Sin on April 13th. The band’s drummer Steven Ashiem took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about their latest album, their controversial music video for “From Unknown Heights You Shall Fall”, the history of Death Metal in Florida, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Your band, Deicide, just released their thirteenth studio album entitled Banished By Sin on April 26th, what can you tell fans about your latest release?
Asheim: It’s super heavy, and sounds pretty punch and pounding, and we’re super stoked to get it out. Twelve songs, thirty-eight minutes, a ranger from start to finish!
MER: How was the writing and recording process having this being your band’s sixteenth album?
Asheim: It went very smoothly, at least the drums did. I think a total of eight hours to record the drums. The rest took a lot of time to complete. But everyone had their plan ready to execute, and I think they all did a great job.
MER: How was it bringing in your new guitarist Taylor Nordberg?
Asheim: Very smooth, he’s a great addition to the band . He can play, write, do backing vocals, can shred leads, and he’s a good person to be around. Funny and hardworking!
MER: Is there any song in particular that is your personal favorite off the album and why?
Asheim: I like “Faithless”, it’s just heavy as hell and kind of asthmatic for being a faster song, which is a difficult thing to achieve.
MER: You recently released a video for the song “From Unknown Heights You Shall Fall”, what kind of feedback have you received?
Asheim: I’ve heard people say it’s difficult to watch because it’s kind of traumatic and I can see why. It reminds me of a few people I’ve known who are sadly not with us anymore, so let’s just all do our best to keep our feet planted firmly on the ground.
MER: What do you see as far as plans for you and your band after the album release?
Asheim: We’ll be hitting the road extensively for this one, we are booked well into 2025 and we will be playing a lot of the new record live so it’ll be a fun time for everyone.
MER: Is there anyone that you hope to tour with that you haven’t and why?
Asheim: No not really, I don’t have some wishlist of band’s to tour with. I’m just happy to get out there and do my own thing my own way in my own time.
MER: Out of your band’s thirteen albums, what is some of your favorite drum work and why?
Asheim: I’ve done some cool tracks here and there but nothing to technical or crazy, just me trying to be as heavy as I can handle, and giving the songs what they need drum-wise to flourish and sound brutal and not forgettable.
MER: Out of your band’s thirteen albums, what is one you would suggest to a new fan and why?
Asheim: People seem to like our first three records so I’d recommend those ones, plus I’d say go get the newest one as well, it’s a ripper!
MER: Florida is well known for a lot of the biggest names in Death Metal, how is it to be part of a wave that has become so notable and important to the genre?
Asheim: It’s a nice feeling to be a part of something from it’s inception and it’s satisfying that everyone knows it, I don’t have to go around reminding everyone about it, it’s pretty well established so that’s very nice.
MER: Your band’s never been a stranger to controversy, what has been the key to fighting through it?
Asheim: We just keep doing what we do and try to ignore any distractions that may get in the way, we just put our heads down and push through whatever problem we encounter and just crush it.
MER: You’ve been around for almost 40 years now, what has been some of your favorite memories playing music?
Asheim: Completing albums is fun and some of the bigger gigs we’ve pulled off is fun, you know the bigger the better is true.
MER: What do you see as been the key to the longevity of your band?
Asheim: Just keep doing what we do, ignore the detractors, and never let anything stop us.
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