Building On the Old, Introducing the New – 95%*
Morbid Angel is a band that started with a bang on their legendary debut, “Altars of Madness.” They took a step forward on “Blessed Are the Sick,” but kept one foot firmly rooted in their older sound. “Covenant” 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.
Opening with “Rapture,” Morbid Angel lets the listener know that they weren’t 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, “Rapture” is a mission statement as much as it is a song. While the band was now a three piece (Richard Brunelle left after “Blessed,” and Erik Rutan was still in Ripping Corpse at this time), Trey Azagthoth manages to pull the weight of two guitarists easily.
The first major change that listeners of just “Altars” may notice is that David Vincent has now almost entirely abandoned his rasp heard on “Altars” and exchanged it for the bark heard on songs like “Day of Suffering” off “Blessed.” The one song that still utilizes his rasp is the re-recorded version of “Angel of Disease” off “Abominations.” David Vincent’s vocals were by far the biggest hurdle for me, as I started listening to Morbid Angel with “Altars” (as my review for that album documents). They are not bad by any means, but as someone who associated Morbid Angel with “Altars” and “Altars” alone for a few years before venturing further into the band’s 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.
Something else the band does a lot more of on “Covenant” is sink into mid-tempo grooves. While “Rapture” and “Pain Divine” fly by rather quickly, “World of Shit” and “God of Emptiness” 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 “The Lion’s Den.” One of the most unnatural sounding pieces of death metal drumming also happens on “World of Shit” around 2:47, where there’s a brief, stutter-sounding fill, followed by a doomier riff coming back. This section shows Pete Sandoval’s absolute rhythmic command at this point in his career. Most of “Covenant” 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.
Morbid Angel had teased the sound heard on this album in most of their newer songs on “Blessed” (songs that weren’t from the “Abominations” 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 “Domination.” The last two songs, “Nar Mattaru” and “God of Emptiness” feel like they could possibly fit on “Domination.” “Nar Mattaru” echoes many of the interludes/electronic songs heard on “Domination,” while “God of Emptiness” 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 “Blessed,” while also adding some new ingredients that would be refined on “Domination.” While I slightly prefer this album over “Domination,” and rate “Blessed…” as the worst of the first four albums due to its scatterbrained identity, the margins between “Covenant,” “Altars,” and “Domination” are slim.
I want to call special attention to “Angel of Disease,” 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’s 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.
“Angel of Disease” also features more of the chaotic soloing heard on the earlier albums. Most of the solos on “Covenant” feel like they have more structure than Trey’s previous lead work. I suspect part of why Trey’s soloing feels a bit more restrained on “Covenant” is that he’s pulling double duty as the only guitarist in the band and likely felt he couldn’t go as wild as he normally did when they had to perform these songs live.
I wouldn’t call this album perfect for a few reasons. The first being that “Nar Mattaru,” 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 “Pain Divine” follows immediately after “Rapture,” 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.
In closing, I feel that “Covenant” doesn’t quite hit the same heights of “Altars,” 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’s songwriting in any way, it just had a stronger marketing push with a couple music videos and some artwork that wouldn’t be seen as overtly offensive at first glance (despite the cover being altered in some pressings). If you’re looking for where to go next after hearing “Altars of Madness,” “Covenant” is the go-to in my opinion. It is a big change in sound, but not alienatingly so.
*Originally posted on the Metal Archives as “Celestialemissary”
