Formed in 1987 by drummer/composer Steve Asheim and guitarist brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman as "Carnage", then hiring bassist/vocalist/lyricist Glen Benton and becoming "Amon".

Deicide was formed in Tampa, Florida on July 21, 1987, after guitarist Brian Hoffman called Glen Benton, replying to an advertisement the latter had placed in a local music magazine.

Hoffman and his brother, along with drummer Steve Asheim, had previously played together as the band "Carnage", which was in need of a bassist and vocalist.

[6] Within a month, they had recorded the Feasting the Beast 8-track demo in Benton's garage and had started playing the occasional gig in the Tampa area.

Malevolent Creation guitarist Phil Fasciana recalls an early Carnage show: "It was like Slayer intensified a thousand times.

[9] While still under the name Carnage, Benton reportedly stormed into Roadrunner Records' A&R man Monte Conner's office and slammed the demo down on his desk,[10] belting out "sign us, you fucking asshole!"

[citation needed] Deicide then released their self-titled debut album, also produced by Scott Burns at Morrisound, in 1990.

[15] In 1992, Deicide was on tour in Europe with Atrocity from Germany and Gorefest, a Dutch death metal band.

Deicide managed to play three songs before the police decided to stop the concert and evacuate the club.

Eric Hoffman recalled, "We were actually going to use the Deicide name [for the new band], but [Glen and Steve] got on the bandwagon faster than us.

On July 20, 2007, guitarist Jack Owen announced that Deicide would be "on hiatus" and he had temporarily joined Ohio-based deathrash band Estuary for touring purposes.

Entitled Till Death Do Us Part, the follow-up to The Stench of Redemption, promised to be the band's "most savage and aggressive [offering] to date", according to a press release.

As the record was coming out, Benton considered retiring from music, in the midst of personal matters including a custody battle.

[33] On January 6, 2009, Deicide posted a blog on their official Myspace page saying they had signed a worldwide record deal with Century Media, with Ralph Santolla returning to the band for a European tour.

[35] On October 9, 2014, The Village Voice reported that Deicide had started working on new material for their twelfth studio album.

[43][41] On March 10, 2017, Deicide announced a short U.S. tour which would begin in May and also issued an update on the album: "the new record is almost completed, right now its down to scheduling, this run of shows were setting up is to introduce and work in our new guitarist Mark English, that and I need a break from this thing called Florida…".

[45] On June 6, 2018, former guitarist Ralph Santolla died due to complications following a heart attack and was taken off life support since being in a coma for a week.

[46] In February 2019, Deicide parted ways with Mark English and replaced him with Autumn's End vocalist/guitarist Chris Cannella.

[47] On April 17, 2021, the band performed in front of an audience of full capacity at The Verona in New Port Richey amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as all restrictions for businesses were lifted and mask mandate enforcements for local cities in Florida were removed as the state was moved into Stage 3 in late September 2020.

"[54] The band's first three studio albums -- Deicide, Legion and Once Upon the Cross -- are considered classics in the death metal genre.

[62] According to Benton, Deicide was initially influenced by extreme metal acts such as Venom, Possessed and Death.

This is in part thanks to Glen Benton's vocals; individual words are barked out, retaining the evil vibe, and the staccato delivery builds tension before breaking it back down with chaotic guitar solos.

[65] Both the Hoffman brothers tended to play technical solos at fast speeds and with overlapping riffs, which allowed Deicide to achieve the definitive heavy sound and complex song structures the band would become known for.

Their guitar tone preferences heard on early Deicide releases have been noted for their extreme high frequency.

According to Zeke Ferrington of Gear Gods, "It sounds like they plugged their pedals into a BBE Sonic Maximizer, then straight into the [mixing desk] with a HPF at 800hz and an upper mid boost.

"[66] Deicide's lyrics express vehement anti-Christian themes, with song titles including "Death to Jesus", "Fuck Your God", "Kill the Christian", "Behead the Prophet" and "Scars of the Crucifix", "Christ Don't Care" and among others.

[70] Additionally, Benton claimed in the early 1990s that he would commit suicide at the age of 33 to "mirror" a lifespan opposite that of Jesus Christ.

However, he passed that age in 2000 and did not commit suicide, rebutting in 2006 that these statements had been "asinine remarks" and that "only cowards and losers" choose to kill themselves.

[70] Deicide has been banned from playing in several venues (such as Valparaiso, Chile over a promotional poster featuring Jesus Christ with a bullet hole in his forehead[71]) and with various festivals such as Hellfest, after several graves had been spray-painted with "When Satan Rules His World", a reference to a song from Deicide's 1995 album Once upon the Cross.

Benton recalled, “I didn’t think playing shows with rotting meat as part of our set-up was gonna cause that much of a shitstorm.