Following In Torment in Hell, the band parted ways with their founding guitarists—brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman—and replaced them with Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla, formerly of Cannibal Corpse and Iced Earth, two of Deicide’s most respected peer bands. The arrival of fresh talent renewed the group’s creative energies, making 2006’s The Stench of Redemption the most galvanizing Deicide album since 1992’s Legion. By their nature, the band had always been viciously fast and relentless. The difference here—as simple as it may sound—is that listeners can actually feel that the band members are way more into the music than before. The level of commitment and excitement increased tenfold with the arrival of Owen and Santolla. On “The Stench of Redemption,” “Desecration,” and the astonishing “Homage to Satan,” the mixture of ideas and enthusiasm feels organic. The songs are more extreme, but they're also more dynamic, as if the music has been shocked to life by some unholy form of electricity.