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Morbid Angel is a band that started with a bang on their legendary debut, \u201cAltars of Madness.\u201d They took a step forward on \u201cBlessed Are the Sick,\u201d but kept one foot firmly rooted in their older sound. \u201cCovenant\u201d is where Morbid Angel makes a big change in their sound. Tom Morris sat this one out as an engineer, and in came Flemming Rasmussen (who had produced Metallica, Rainbow and Artillery by this time). With a big name attached to produce, a band trimmed to its essentials as a three piece, and an abundance of hype, Morbid Angel was ready to take the leap into death metal stardom.<\/p>\n
Opening with \u201cRapture,\u201d Morbid Angel lets the listener know that they weren\u2019t softening their sound or sanding down any rough edges of their music. With a tempo best described as pummeling, and a drum performance that manages to outmatch the two previous albums, \u201cRapture\u201d is a mission statement as much as it is a song. While the band was now a three piece (Richard Brunelle left after \u201cBlessed,\u201d and Erik Rutan was still in Ripping Corpse at this time), Trey Azagthoth manages to pull the weight of two guitarists easily.<\/p>\n
The first major change that listeners of just \u201cAltars\u201d may notice is that David Vincent has now almost entirely abandoned his rasp heard on \u201cAltars\u201d and exchanged it for the bark heard on songs like \u201cDay of Suffering\u201d off \u201cBlessed.\u201d The one song that still utilizes his rasp is the re-recorded version of \u201cAngel of Disease\u201d off \u201cAbominations.\u201d David Vincent\u2019s vocals were by far the biggest hurdle for me, as I started listening to Morbid Angel with \u201cAltars\u201d (as my review for that album documents). They are not bad by any means, but as someone who associated Morbid Angel with \u201cAltars\u201d and \u201cAltars\u201d alone for a few years before venturing further into the band\u2019s discography, it immediately stuck out as a major change. This was the first physical copy of a Morbid Angel album that I owned, and due to that, I listened to it on repeat constantly until I grew to love the vocals. Nowadays, I am glad that David Vincent stuck with the barkier sound, as I feel it gives his vocals a bit more of an authoritative sound over top the walls of riffs.<\/p>\n
Something else the band does a lot more of on \u201cCovenant\u201d is sink into mid-tempo grooves. While \u201cRapture\u201d and \u201cPain Divine\u201d fly by rather quickly, \u201cWorld of Shit\u201d and \u201cGod of Emptiness\u201d all include slower sections, as well as times where the guitars will play in half time while Pete Sandoval keeps his limbs flying on the drums on tracks like \u201cThe Lion\u2019s Den.\u201d One of the most unnatural sounding pieces of death metal drumming also happens on \u201cWorld of Shit\u201d around 2:47, where there\u2019s a brief, stutter-sounding fill, followed by a doomier riff coming back. This section shows Pete Sandoval\u2019s absolute rhythmic command at this point in his career. Most of \u201cCovenant\u201d is at a rapid pace, but there is a surprisingly small amount of blast beat sections. While Pete Sandoval is no stranger to blast beats, his restraint here and use of the slayer-style polka beat works wonders to let the guitars breathe. Often, if the guitars are playing a faster riff, the drums play a bit slower, and if the drums are playing at a fast tempo, the guitars play at half time, to make sure one of the two instruments is being emphasized.<\/p>\n
Morbid Angel had teased the sound heard on this album in most of their newer songs on \u201cBlessed\u201d (songs that weren\u2019t from the \u201cAbominations\u201d days). They refined it and made each song on this album stand out as its own entity. This album also hints towards the slower sound the band would use to great effect on \u201cDomination.\u201d The last two songs, \u201cNar Mattaru\u201d and \u201cGod of Emptiness\u201d feel like they could possibly fit on \u201cDomination.\u201d \u201cNar Mattaru\u201d echoes many of the interludes\/electronic songs heard on \u201cDomination,\u201d while \u201cGod of Emptiness\u201d features a chunky, doomy sound that Morbid Angel would revisit and refine (albeit, not with the clean vocals used briefly on this album). This album refines the formula that emerged on \u201cBlessed,\u201d while also adding some new ingredients that would be refined on \u201cDomination.\u201d While I slightly prefer this album over \u201cDomination,\u201d and rate \u201cBlessed\u2026\u201d as the worst of the first four albums due to its scatterbrained identity, the margins between \u201cCovenant,\u201d \u201cAltars,\u201d and \u201cDomination\u201d are slim.<\/p>\n
I want to call special attention to \u201cAngel of Disease,\u201d as I feel that this song could have easily been on Altars if it had the production of that album. Of the David Vincent era of the band, this was the last vestige of that early Morbid Angel sound, and it sticks out on this album. It\u2019s not necessarily out of place but sounds significantly different than the rest of the album. I adore the song and think that it absolutely deserves a place on this album. By being so different, it also serves as a bit of a palate cleanser and makes the album more varied without being overbearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel of Disease\u201d also features more of the chaotic soloing heard on the earlier albums. Most of the solos on \u201cCovenant\u201d feel like they have more structure than Trey\u2019s previous lead work. I suspect part of why Trey\u2019s soloing feels a bit more restrained on \u201cCovenant\u201d is that he\u2019s pulling double duty as the only guitarist in the band and likely felt he couldn\u2019t go as wild as he normally did when they had to perform these songs live.<\/p>\n
I wouldn\u2019t call this album perfect for a few reasons. The first being that \u201cNar Mattaru,\u201d while atmospheric, is skippable after hearing it a few times. Without it, God of Emptiness is a bit less foreboding, but the song can stand on its own rather well. My second issue with this album is that I think the track listing could possibly be shifted around slightly. The only real quibble with the track listing is that \u201cPain Divine\u201d follows immediately after \u201cRapture,\u201d and those two songs sound similar in terms of pacing (both are great though). Every song on this album is great on its own and in the context of the album.<\/p>\n
In closing, I feel that \u201cCovenant\u201d doesn\u2019t quite hit the same heights of \u201cAltars,\u201d it shows how a band can polish their production and sound without sacrificing any of the heaviness or grit that they had early on. This album is an unlikely bestseller in my eyes, as it does not compromise on Morbid Angel\u2019s songwriting in any way, it just had a stronger marketing push with a couple music videos and some artwork that wouldn\u2019t be seen as overtly offensive at first glance (despite the cover being altered in some pressings). If you\u2019re looking for where to go next after hearing \u201cAltars of Madness,\u201d \u201cCovenant\u201d is the go-to in my opinion. It is a big change in sound, but not alienatingly so.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
*Originally posted on the Metal Archives as “Celestialemissary”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Building On the Old, Introducing the New – 95%* Morbid Angel is a band that started with a bang on their legendary debut, \u201cAltars of Madness.\u201d They took a step forward on \u201cBlessed Are the Sick,\u201d but kept one foot firmly rooted in their older sound. \u201cCovenant\u201d is where Morbid Angel makes a big change<\/p>\n