MORBID
ANGEL “Heretic” VS REVIEW
Earache rec.
Morbid
Angel are one of the most important bands in the history of metal and maybe the
hinge of death metal and so on…bla bla bla…probably they deserve to be the
idols of a certain way to intend extreme metal BUT to remain impressed into the
history is needed something that all of this old bands seems to be lacking…to
be shortly I’m speaking about death, the need to split up and put an end and
begin to be immortal…like the glorious choice of Emperor that I’ll remember
always without bad or weak episodes. Otherwise it seems that the only choice
that this band are capable of is the musical death and waste of time, another
band like Immortal that made masterpieces and when they split up the only thing
It provoked was a “Oh finally!!” and a great laugh, this will be the same
when the time will come for Darkthrone, Dark Funeral,
Satyricon, Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir…
To
be short about the album, the fact is that the guitar sound is horrible, drums
too, the singer is the thing more impersonal that I’ve ever heard and the
riffs are always the same Floridian death metal style…you’ll be thinking
“but it’s Morbid Angel!” and I say WHAT IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
It’s
like to finish a perfect painting and insisting to add particulars until it will
become inevitably horrible…and this is made worse by the two final
auto-celebrative tracks of this work, we all know that Trey Azaghtot and Pete
Sandoval are great with their instruments…who needed them ? Maybe only them
but suddenly they don’t know that their time has come three albums ago…
The
godfathers of death metal are returned after 2 years where their future totters
by line-up problems(Steve Tucker leaves the band after the recording of
“Gateways of annihilation” for personal reasons and Eric Rutan decides to
leave after the last tour to dedicate himself completely to his own band HATE
ETERNAL)so the hystorical duo composed by Trey Azaghtoth and Pete Sandoval has
continued their introspectiveful musical journey releasing this 8th
chapter crating another masterpiece of coherence with no compromises recalling
epocal sounds like “Covenant” for its aggressive approach united with a
decadent gloomy vein and the solemn majesty and spectral dark dreaming
atmospheres of “Domination” produced with powerful dynamic sounds very dry
and direct underlining pronouncely the immense compositive work done.
“Heretic”
also signs the come back of Steve Tucker (bass,vocals) who does an excellent
performance passing through his typical growling to a screaming style recalling
distanly the unforgettable Dave Vincent.
This
album is a serious re-searching of their roots where brutality and madness are
fused again building 14 venomous tracks soaked in apocalyptic visions re-echoing
the ancient spirits of the earth through spells and rituals described by the
notes of the visonary Trey
Azaghtoth who has composed all the songs framed in a timeless picture of
emptiness.
Another
novelty on this record is 3 tracks completely created and performed by
Pete Sandoval that for this occasion also plays the piano and keyboards
reveiling his “human” side delivering
wistful songs with ossianic flavour kike “The victorious march of the reign
the conqueror” and the quite “Memories of the past”that draws with its
notes visions of blood red warfields after a battle and finally there’s a nice
but track called “drum check” that shows his unhuman drumming capacities
That
needs no introductions.
I really think that “Heretic” is not a simple album infact it asks more listening sessions to be deeply comprehended and assimilated in its musical expression but then it enters forever in your brain embracing and enchanting ‘till the end,Morbid Angel riconfirms its value and the paternity of the throne they made!
Dark
Omega