Thursday, June 9, 2011

Long Time No Seethe

Well it's been entirely too long since I've updated this. Lots of things going on with the band and stupid graphic design. To some degree, I forgot about blogging about metal because, quite frankly, nothing's happened in metal news to merit me blogging about it. Well, nothing significant. That changed last week when I...mysteriously happened upon a copy of Morbid Angel's newest release. I heard it once all the way through, and one of the only thoughts in my head was "I can't wait to ream the shit out of this on Blogger."


Well here we go. 




Morbid Angel.

Anyone who knows even the most minuscule fraction about metal, has at least heard of Morbid Angel, if not, have heard one of their tracks. Needless to say, they've cemented their position in the metal world forever, and ushered in a new generation of brutal technicality, grim, H.P. Lovecraft inspired lyrics amid trippy guitar solos over crushing drums. 'Altars of Madness' changed the game, 'Blessed are The Sick' further improved upon the volatile formula, finally 'Covenant' made it into a sickening black entity. Then 'Domination' reared its head. The magical concoction had been altered, not negatively, mind you. Generally, people liked and or loved Domination (myself being one of the people who genuinely loved it).


Domination. Morbid Angel had decided to tinker with the critically acclaimed sound that Altars, Blessed, and Covenant had so eloquently solidified a sound that many future generations of bands tried (and failed) to replicate. It was industrialized just enough to keep it fresh, but not enough to drive dedicated fans away. The songs were brutal, sludgy, and dark. Included among these smashing tracks were quirky instrumental pieces that added an odd aura to the album. It is here that David Vincent decides to leave the band, in order to pursue what I can only assume what was a miscalculated assumption of the wealth of profits of his wife's techno-garbage Genitorturers failed to yield. 


Time goes on. Steve Tucker gets behind the vocal wheel and everything seems to work out swimmingly. 






Formulas Fatal To The Flesh, Gateways To Annihilation and Heretic all see their way to the public, and are all almost universally praised by critics. All of these albums offer up distinct sounds and styles. Each one accentuates a different Morbid Angel style, and all of them being memorable and easily discernible from the others. 


Well the Morbid Angel trains seems to slow down after Heretic. Nothing is heard from them, it's quiet in the camp. And after a reasonable amount of time, people begin to anticipate a new Morbid album 'any day now'. I remember I myself had fallen victim to one of the rumors in 2006. About an hour before leaving to go see Iron Maiden, I was informed that Morbid Angel were hard at work, crafting a sickening, evil new album that I  anticipated would be even more skull dust-ifying than the others. For about two weeks I churned and prepared for the day when I would hear new Morbid Angel. Sadly, that day passed. Needless to say, seven years later, they've finally put out an album of new material. 


So what do we have? The return of David Vincent. Also, the unfortunate departure (he's not dead, just recovering from back surgery) of Pete "The Feet" Sandoval, and a new album to reawaken all of the fans from their seemingly endless slumber. Christ almighty, this is a rude awakening. 



Illud Divinum Insanus. What can I say? Close to an entire hour of shit-club horseshit. Half of the album would be pretty good if it weren't horribly outweighed by the atrocious counterpart. The opening track reeks of teenage computer angst, and a failed attempt to create a pounding dance masterpiece that falls flat on it's face and small genitals. Seriously, I could have made that first track in 15 minutes in FL Studios and Audacity. My first listen was not a pretty one. I recall during this track, frantically re-assuring myself that the album could NOT be like this to the end. I was right, of course. The album was not like that. "Existo Vulgore" was a song I had heard before the albums release. I kind of liked it, knew what it was about, so I skipped it and moved on to "Blades for Baal". A showcase for Tim Yeung (who I think is an extremely competent drummer). The song is okay. It sounds like Morbid Angel but not quite as... Morbidly Angelic? I like it but at the time, I'm still reeling from "Too Extreme!" to even initially appreciate the goodness that "Blades for Baal" has to offer. 


I move on to "I Am Morbid" which opens up with an audience chanting what I think is 'morbid' before some good drumming and heavy guitar follow. The song kind of dies out on me and I move on to "10 More Dead". The song is Morbid Angel how I remember them. Good. Then I'm treated with "Destructos Vs. The Earth/Attack". The most aggravating song on the album, to be honest. It goes on much too long for how boring and cheesy it is. The lyrics fire off a salvo of douche chill artillery from my brain stem all the way down to my asshole for a whole 7 minutes and fifteen seconds of almost unbearable rubbish. I sit through all of it to really soak it in. "Nevemore" is next, a song I've also heard prior to the release. It's good song, but nothing special. "Beauty Meets Beast" is also another song that just falls to the wayside as far as memorability goes. Then my personal 'favorite-song-that's-not-my-favorite-but-I-say-it-is-so-I-can-play-it-and-annoy-my-friends" song. "Radikult". At this point I'm laughing. There is no other explanation for this. This album has got to be a practical joke of some form. I'm too far gone to care about the last track to write about it. I've probably heard half of it once. 


Point? I've been double crossed. Backstabbed. The victim of treachery of the highest capacity. The gods of death metal have turned their shoulder towards their fans in favor of club metal hits. I've not given up on them though. Many bands have put out a shit album and come back ten times stronger than before. Fear Factory, Testament, Machine Head, all have made triumphant resurrections, and I hope to Cthulhu that Morbid Angel does likewise. Who could forget "Where The Slime Live", or "Chambers of Dis", or "Maze of Torment", or "Blessed Are The Sick/Leading The Rats"? I didn't. Sure, this is a mountain in the road of Morbid Angel, but I'll survive. I just hope that they come back stronger than this. 


In the meantime, check this out:
http://morbidfails.tumblr.com/