positive punk: MORBID ANGEL

6.23.2016

MORBID ANGEL

"altars of madness"
Year: 1989
Country: US
City: Tampa, FL
Label: Earache
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 9
Time: 39 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Death Metal

Think of Possessed's Seven Churches. Multiply the intensity of everything that made Seven Churches heavy in 1985 by 100. Then you've got this album. Intense fucking riffs, mindless solos, growling vocals, and amazing drumming that shoves your fucking head into a fucking blender. The best part about this album is the fucking drumming! Pete Sandoval is a fucking beast on this album, with his blast beats and time changes, like in the song "Chapel of Ghouls" which has at least 10 tempo changes throughout the legendary song. He kicked more ass than Mike Sus. Hell, he even beats Dave fucking Lombardo in terms of complexity and speed. He can play at all tempos, from the complete fucking blast fest of "Bleed for the Devil" to the slow doom metal outro to "Evil Spells". Not even Kreator could play that fast during the recording of Pleasure to Kill in 1986. It is equally matched with Azagthoth's and Brunelle's brutal riffs. Trey Azagthoth's solos during "Evil Spells" sound like the blood curdling screams of the victim of a serial killer who's about to slit his throat. The riffs are inspired by black metal, in songs like "Immortal Rites". David Vincent also created the first true death growl. Both Jeff Becerra and Chuck Schuldiner sound tame compared to this, and Slayer's Hell Awaits is an afterthought. This, along with Seven Churches, is a highlight reel of the death metal genre. The harmonizing leads from "Visions from the Dark Side" sound so fucking evil, I think it is the best moment in all of death metal! "Immortal Rites" has some brutal fucking drumming, and kickass riffs, and the demonic growls of David Fucking Vincent! "Suffocation" has some fucking hellish blast beat drumming, and some brutal riffage and a chaotic solo. The ending is fucking chaotic as hell, with the brutal drumming smashing the ears of you. "Chapel of Ghouls" is the best song on the album. It has crushing riffs, a dark atmosphere, and insane fucking drumming that fucking beats you to death. Every song on the album is fucking crazy and excellent. I recommend this album to anyone who wants to be death metal. You won't ever be death metal until you listen to this album (review ExodusAttack666 )