One of the five quintessential death metal albums ever, IMO. It still sounds as fresh today as it did when I bought it in 1990. One of my very favorites albums. Want your ass kicked sonically? Buy this sucker.

ALTARS... is a great album by one of the few death metal bands that I actually kinda sorta like. My brother was a HUGE M.A. fan when we were growing up (going all the way back to their pre-signed, demo-tape days) so when this album came out I heard it day in, day out for countless months.

My first death metal show ever was when Morbid Angel were touring for this album (in fact, it may only have been available as an import from England at the time, now that I think about it) at the China Club in Hillsdale, NJ (an island-themed, Jimmy Buffett-oriented bar/grill that allowed local bands to play on Sunday afternoons) along with Revenant and Ripping Corpse. They still hold the record for most ferocious live act I've ever witnessed. Trey Azagthoth is the Eddie Van Halen of death metal. I walked outta that club saying "Dude, Slayer are wimps compared to these guys."

The best death metal album ever imo. The only albums that come near are MA's Abomination Of Desolation and Arghoslent's Incorrigible Bigotry. Altars Of Madness would best be described as an even more brutal, darker and more technical Hell Awaits.

One of my favorite bands, seen this guys live countless times in the 90's at The Ritz/Masquerades, and used to talk David Vincent a bit when he worked at Ace's Records.

This album was not just brutal, it was a musical assault. You could literally feel this music physically. I know I had heard Death and Obituary before I heard this band, but I was not prepared by the sound, especially the first time I saw them live.

But brutality in music only gets you so far if that is all you have got going for you. Thankfully this guys had alot more in their musical arsenal. Trey Azagthoth was and is guitarist with a unique musical vision, the guy is amazing.Guitar solos that are fast as lighting, heavy and melodic at the same time. Favorite track; Chapel of Ghouls.

Another good thing about this album is the production. VERY SOLID. Usually debut albums around this era are lacking in this area, but such isn't the case with this one.

The only Morbid Angel I own :metal:

So i am officially done with this thread

Being I can't add to what has already been said and I relate to pretty much everything mention in one aspect or another, nuff said !

(from wikipedia)

1. "Intro" (Trey Azagthoth, David Vincenrt) – 1:27
   
2. "Fall from Grace" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 5:13
   
3. "Brainstorm" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 2:34
   
4. "Rebel Lands" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 2:41
   
5. "Doomsday Celebration" (Azagthoth) – 1:49
   
6. "Day of Suffering" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 1:54
   
7. "Blessed Are the Sick/Leading the Rats" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 4:47
   
8. "Thy Kingdom Come" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 3:24
   
9. "Unholy Blasphemies" (Azagthoth) – 2:10
   
10. "Abominations" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 4:27
    
11. "Desolate Ways" (Richard Brunelle) – 1:40
    
12. "The Ancient Ones" (Azagthoth) – 5:53
    
13. "In Remembrance" (Azagthoth) – 1:25
    

I like the debut only slightly more than 'Blessed are the Sick' but this album is another classic. On album #2 they slow things down slightly and sound even more brutal and evil if that is possible.

The short piano piece at the end even reveals Trey Azagthoth's love for classical music, since he is always citing Mozart in the liner notes. His solos remain completely musical and insane at the same time, if that makes any sense.

David Vincent's lyrics spit out even more contempt at organized religion and human beings in general, making Slayer's lyrics sound tame in comparison. Again one of my favorite albums in my CD collection.

Fun (if ultimately useless) trivia about BLESSED ARE THE SICK:

The painting that appears on the album cover, "Les Tresors de Satan" by Jean Delville (whoever that is), was also used three years prior to BLESSED, by the Swedish band Hexenhaus on their A TRIBUTE TO INSANITY album.



...and even tho the Hexenhaus album came out prior to BLESSED ARE THE SICK, they still got sh*t from people for "ripping off" Morbid Angel.

I saw that once before .


This might be a flashback for some of yall.

They're first two are true staples and death metal classics. Thouch, Altars passes slightly above Blessed for me because its thrashier.

(Time to get this thread moving along now)





(from Wiki)

1. "Rapture" (Trey Azagthoth, David Vincent) – 4:17
   
2. "Pain Divine" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 3:58
   
3. "World of smurf poo (The Promised Land)" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 3:20
   
4. "Vengeance Is Mine" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 3:15
   
5. "The Lion's Den" (Vincent) – 4:45
   
6. "Blood on My Hands" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 3:43
   
7. "Angel of Disease" (Azagthoth) – 6:15
   
8. "Sworn to the Black" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 4:01
   
9. "Nar Mattaru" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 2:06
   
10. "God of Emptiness" (Azagthoth, Vincent) – 5:27
    
    
    
    • "I: The Accuser"
      
    • "II: The Tempter"
      

COVENANT was a pretty big deal at the time, not just for Morbid Angel, but for death metal in general because it was M.A.'s first major label album in the U.S. (on Giant Records) and was produced by Flemming Rasmussen (of Metallica fame).

I remember seeing David Vincent on the short-lived "Jane Pratt" afternoon talk show around the time this one came out -- the topic of the day was "shocking rock lyrics" or something like that, on one side they had a bunch of fire-and-brimstone preacher types ripping on the "God Of Emptiness" video (among other "controversial" vids of the day) and on the other side defending rock/rap music they had David Vincent and believe it or not, the then-relatively-unknown Tupac Shakur. I swear to God! Talk about an odd combo huh? I know my bro taped the show as he was a huge M.A. fan at the time but somewhere along the line it was accidentally erased. I look for clips from that show on YouTube every now and again but to the best of my knowledge it hasn't turned up yet.

I also remember that this was a big deal locally, that Tampa Bay's own Morbid Angel was signed to a major label. I even heard the 98 Rock DJ at the time (used to host metal show The Pit) predicting that Morbid Angel could be the Metallica of the death metal world, and will be the band that makes death metal successfully transition from the underground to mainstream success. Obviously this dude did not bother listening to the lyrics (or reading them) or watching their promo videos.

Excellent album and features their heaviest material to date. The lyrics maybe the most extreme in their long career. Excellent album personally approved by Satan.

(Moving along now . . . )

Domination (1995) was their last album on a major label for awhile, and the last album for awhile to feature Dave Vincent as vocals. Eric Rutan and later on Steve Tucker would be reprising the roles.

I think the album art is kinda lame, but then again I prefer actual hand drawn/painted artwork. Musically the next series of albums would show Pete Sandoval at an all-time high, the riffs are full of modern death metal blast beats, Vincent/ Rutans low growls work well with the style and mood of the music. The band mixes the old school speed with some of their newly found slow and heavy grooves (e.g. Where the Slime Lives)


(wiki)

1. "Dominate" – 2:39 (Azagthoth/Vincent)
   
2. "Where the Slime Live" – 5:26 (Azagthoth/Vincent)
   
3. "Eyes to See, Ears to Hear" – 3:52 (Rutan/Azagthoth/Vincent)
   
4. "Melting" – 1:20 (Rutan)
   
5. "Nothing But Fear" – 4:31 (Rutan/Vincent)
   
6. "Dawn of the Angry" – 4:39 (Azagthoth/Vincent)
   
7. "This Means War" – 3:12 (Rutan/Vincent)
   
8. "Caesar's Palace" – 6:20 (Azagthoth/Vincent)
   
9. "Dreaming" – 2:17 (Azagthoth)
   
10. "Inquisition (Burn with Me)" – 4:33 (Azagthoth/Vincent)
    
11. "Hatework" – 5:47 (Rutan/Vincent)
    

Dominate, Where The Slime Live, and Hatework are some of my favorite Morbid Angel songs. Id rank it right up there in the top 3, the slow grooves here are just bad ass.

I'm ashamed to say I have never owned any of these albums, but this thread has me wanting to investigate.

cool thread.

This is the last Morbid Angel that I own, so I will be reading the rest of this thread with great interest.

As far as this album ' Dominate' is another excellent album and why Morbid Angel ranks slightly higher than Death, as my favorite death metal band.

The grooves are slower but sound even more sinister, Trey Azagoth proves on this album why he was one of the more interesting guitarist of his generation. His leads are brutal but also very musical and even have a groove to them, David Vincent's final studio with Morbid Angel features some of his best performances and his lyrics spitting out even more venom and vile. Great stuff and highly recommended.

FYI, I'm doing the albums in their (intended) alphabetical order (A = Altars, B= Blessed, C= Covenant).

What I'm skipping over and will re-visit later are the EP/Singles and live albums (except for Entangled in Chaos which is part of the alphabetical set)


I correct myself; Rutan doesn't have any leading vocal implements on the next few albums, it was Steve Tucker predominantly.

**** Also ****

Some crack for Pete Sandoval addicts. . .

Entangled in Chaos (1996) was the band's first official Live Album, and even tho it's a live album it's still part of the canonical discography. Was the LAST album to feature Dave Vincent on vocals.

1. "Immortal Rites" 4:08
   
2. "Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost" 3:31
   
3. "Sworn to the Black" 3:49
   
4. "Lord of All Fevers and Plague" 3:56
   
5. "Blessed Are the Sick" 2:48
   
6. "Day of Suffering" 2:02
   
7. "Chapel of Ghouls" 3:47
   
8. "Maze of Torment" 4:25
   
9. "Rapture" 4:07
   
10. "Blood on My Hands" 3:41
    
11. "Dominate" 2:54
    

This album just sounds heavier from the production perspective, great mixing. I love how you can hear the drums AND the guitars and the vocals quite well.