DEICIDE drummer STEVE ASHEIM releases new classical album and soundtrack to 1926 'Faust' silent movie classic
13-11-2026
Legendary DEICIDE drummer and songwriter Steve Asheim has announced the release of not one, but two classical piano albums, as well as a soundtrack composition celebrating 100 years of the classic black and white silent film “Faust”.
Having spent decades providing the relentless battery for Florida-based death metal legends DEICIDE, Asheim has helped create some of the most evil-sounding and downright blasphemous music ever committed to tape. From the genuinely shocking barbarity of the band’s self-titled debut in 1990, through iconic albums such as “Legion”, “Once Upon The Cross” and “Serpents Of The Light”, Asheim‘s supreme mastery of his instrument has led to an elevated status among his peers and fans alike. But there is another side to the softly spoken musician far removed from the popular perception of him as simply a blast-beat master.
Most fans have come to know that Asheim is a multi-instrumentalist who writes most of the music for DEICIDE. The more attentive among them will have noted the presence, on occasion, of the odd piano piece working its way into Steve‘s metal albums. Cases in point include the outro to “The Pentecostal” from DEICIDE‘s “Scars Of The Crucifix” and “Dismantling An Empire” from ORDER OF ENNEAD‘s self-titled record.
What many people won’t know is just how proficient Asheim is on the piano, and how deep his love for classical music runs. He reveals though that this has always been a natural counterpoint to his career within DEICIDE: “I’m self-taught on piano. And the guitar and drums. Understanding music and instruments is just something that came pretty easily to me. So, learning piano was just employing the same musical knowledge but on a different instrument, and just learning that instrument’s techniques.”
He adds: “I wouldn’t say I’ve played piano publicly, but I have played in front of people. My folks and friends, and a few strangers at places like airports as were passing through. But not a public performance, as you normally think of one. Not yet anyway, but maybe someday…”
Having earlier this year quietly released, via Bandcamp, his first classical collection simply titled “Volume One”, Asheim has quickly followed up with “Volume Two”, featuring containing classical piano pieces by Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov, as a companion piece to its predecessor.
Not content with these recordings, Asheim has also created a DVD and Blu-ray release, “Faust – 100 Year Special Anniversary Edition”, utilizing material from Volumes One and Two, paired with the groundbreaking visuals from the 1926 film version by F.W. Murnau, now considered a masterpiece of German silent film.
Steve explains that the way the idea unfolded was quite straightforward: “Here’s a project that came about in a somewhat unexpected yet totally predictable way. Learning classical piano pieces in order of difficulty over many years, finding old demos and realizing you have enough material for an EP, then deciding to make new recordings to beef up the running time, then realizing that with enough running time I can score a silent movie that I saw two weeks previously? Things unfolded in just the right ways, at just the right times.”
“Volume One” is available now via Asheim‘s Bandcamp page, both digitally and as a limited-edition blue vinyl pressing. “Volume Two” is up for pre-order now at the same location, with the vinyl version this time pressed on red vinyl. Both vinyl versions are also available as a bundle with the “Faust” soundtrack on either DVD or Blu-ray. European fans can order via Eyesore Merch.
Steve previously told BLABBERMOUTH.NET: “I’d just like to point out that I’m still in DEICIDE. Everything is fine. We’re all looking forward to our tours this year and the future. This is just a hobby project release.”
DEICIDE released their last album ‘Banished By Sin’ in 2024, under Reigning Phoenix Music.
