DEICIDE

eicide is the prototypical American death metal band. The band arose in Tampa,
FL, alongside Morbid Angel and Executioner (later to be called Obituary) and
released monumental records recorded at the legendary Morrisound Recording.
Song subject matter ranges from aliens to murderers, but mostly focuses on satanic
opposition to Christianity. Believe it or not, the band has lots of Christian fans who enjoy
the Bible-based blasphemy. Singer and bass player Glen Benton is known for the upside-
down cross he branded into his forehead and his guttural monster voice. Drummer Steve
Asheim hits his drums with the precision of a surgeon and the power of a gorilla. Here he
talks about stuffing mannequins with meat, sloppy metal and the good times. —Nate Denver

D

How did you go from tinkering on pots and
pans to where you are now as a death
metal drummer?
It’s just a lot of practice. I started young with the
pots and pans. I started taking lessons with a
snare drum at ten. At 12 I got the drum set and
I was listening to Iron Maiden and stuff like that.
As soon as Metallica and Slayer came out I
gravitated toward that ’cause it was pushing the
drums forward. I had been in bands since I was
14, but finding people who were into Slayer and
wanted to play that stuff—you were getting into
a more select crowd than just musicians in
general. So I kept on the front edge of the scene
musically and kept trying to help develop that,
and once I was able to play technically, I was
able to join that wave and help
push it.
Did you practice all the
time, endless
paradiddles?
Yeah, I definitely had
to be more
dedicated because it
was hard! It’s still
hard! Ha! At
the time
I blew

off parties and getting laid because I wanted to

practice. Not really paradiddles, but I’d play

through songs I knew were difficult until I was

nailing that shit. From there on, I invited people

over to play—like the one guy in high school who

was into Slayer.

Would you play to headphones?

Yeah, I got stereo equipment when I was younger

and played to the KISS records. Then headphones

came along, but it was tough to get anything loud

enough to hear over the drums. So I’d just

imagine the song in my head and play to that.

You can play leads on guitar as well?

I can. I’ve been working on leads for the past

number of years. I started drums at 11 or 12 and

started guitar at 15. I write a lot

of the music for Deicide

and I have for years.

And that’s cool and fun

’cause it makes

songwriting easier

’cause I can put the

whole song together

in my head. On top

of that, I got into

playing leads

with

the old instructional videos.

I have a good ear and learned a

couple of techniques. You

noodle and you get better.

How long can you go without

playing before you start to

lose your edge?

I used to worry about that, but I

can go for months. I’ll play a few

minutes to make sure I don’t get

too rusty, but it’s muscle

memory and my technique is pretty solid. The

songs, I’ve played ’em a million times so I just

autopilot that shit and hope everything responds.

What body parts feel it the most from

drumming?

Shoulders. For playing there’s a lot of swinging

my arms around. Once you’re on the road, it’s

different. You play a lot harder than at practice.

My blast hand will get a cramp. Toward the end

of the show my hand will sort of snap shut on

the stick. I have to pry the stick out of my hand

at the end of the show.

What drummers do you admire?

Buddy Rich is the best drummer that ever was.

His rudiments and his solos have still not been

surpassed. The kid from Origin has an awesome

double bass technique. And of course Mike

Mangini has a lot of technical prowess and

knowledge. There are a lot of very great

drummers out there and I don’t claim to be one

of them. I’m a heavy drummer and I’m good at

what I do, but there are a million drummers out

there that blow me away. I’m just glad to be able

to do what I do and have people appreciate it.

It doesn’t feel unappreciated, which is nice.

Have you guys had much contact with

Christian fans of Deicide?

Yeah, I remember one time we were on the road

and some guy rolls up like, “Hey, Deicide! I love

you guys. I’m a Christian, but I still love

you guys.” His wife was eyeballing me

sideways and said, “God bless

you,” all snotty. It was

almost nice. Whatever they

believe is fine.

Some of your

lyrics assume

CAKEBREAD

202 Thrasher