Once Upon the Cross

Once Upon the Cross
Studio album by Deicide
Released April 18, 1995
Recorded 1994
Genre Death metal
Length 28:10
Label Roadrunner
Producer Deicide, Scott Burns
Deicide chronology

Amon: Feasting the Beast
(1993)
Once Upon the Cross
(1995)
Serpents of the Light
(1997)

Once Upon the Cross is the third studio album by American death metal band Deicide. It was released on April 18, 1995, by Roadrunner Records.

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.

Background

Steve 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

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
NME 3/10[3]

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

All lyrics written by Glen Benton, all music composed by Deicide.

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

References

  1. Deicide interview (06/2006) - Metal Storm
  2. 2.0 2.1 Jehnzen, David. "Once Upon the Cross - Deicide". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  3. Lewis, Angela. "Review: Deicide - Once Upon The Cross (Roadrunner/All formats)". NME (IPC Media) (May 20, 1995): 45.