This is a review of "the" album 'Altars of Madness' by Morbid Angel, released in 1989, In general, this album has significantly changed the shape and the structure of death metal for the betterment... and to me, this record has changed my perception towards 'Death Metal' as a genre, now its more of a part of my life (and not just a phase, mind you!) than what 'DM' would have been a couple of years ago. For those who are unaware of the power, that this album possesses and the efforts that were put in to create such a dark marvel of music, this in the purest sense must be experience by all Metal fans across the globe. So,... here is the review I have made (been working on it for months together or so...)
Note:- Readers be advised this is rather a overlong review (you may suffer from boredom, lack of concentration, giddiness...) the idea is to describe the band and the album as one entity, so lets proceed...
Review Title:- A-Maze-ment of Madness...
A-Maze-ment of Madness...
1983 was the year of Morbid Angel's foundation, a birth of the most significant entity in death metal genre was brought to life by the founding member Trey Azagthoth. Through the years Azagthoth and Co. had recorded a few demos with various line-up changes. Settling down with the formidable order of Trey Azagthoth (Lead Guitars), David Vincent (Vocals and Bass), Pete Sandoval (Drums) and Richard Brunelle (Lead Guitars) 'Altars of Madness' -their debut album is published in the year 1989.
As I recall, a friend of mine strongly recommended this album to me. “An introduction to this timeless classic can be life altering for any individual” – he quoted in a “sinister” way ...and well, I decided to play 'Altars of Madness'. With that said lets move on to the review.
The inverted and irregular tunes of the introductory track immediately make you an attendee of a ritual held upon the lands of the several mercilessly murdered, creating a doom-sphere as you soon find yourself participating in a ceremony that gracefully pleads the lords of death to appear, to decimate the existence of the weak, and to regain control once again. The dark musical fury starts to churn taking a form of hatred against one and all. The crucifiers are approaching nearer, to devastate the living. Continuing with the vile rites of a never-ending despair, a foreteller depicts an image of things to be perceived in a rather different form of acceptance.
“Dogs of war, Satan's own, Plotting all their sins, Weapons aimed at liberty, My vision - no one wins”
The vision described here, is that of a broken world from a post apocalyptic era; a hopeless future of all beings dominated by mechanical bodies controlled by the corporate fiends under a gray sky. Returning to the course of your tormented journey, -the acolytes of the black arts incarcerate you eternally to a labyrinth of living nightmares.
Epic sufferings of the murdered souls soon become your dreadful facts of existence. Entering the tombs of unearthly mindlessness; you are reluctant to leave and perpetually loiter beneath the chambers of nothingness. The void stares deep within your soul; it will punish and it will consume the frail. The melodies are simultaneously being played; to reassure your certainty to all conceptual things is lost. Captivated inside the walls of madness, it withers your sanity away.
“Ia iak sakkakh iak sakkakth, Ia shaxul, Ia kingu ia cthulu ia azbul, Ia azabua”
Ambiguous chants that call upon the olden entities are echoed through the halls, the ceremonial blood-shed to satisfy the urge of a deranged mind is commenced. The seer enunciates dialects from the Mesopotamian era that are focused upon the evocation of several mythological gods. Wielding the flames from the depths beneath, they, unseal the scrolls of the ancients, a mysticism of a darker form is here at play. The rather disturbing shrieks of the instruments, is the lunacy crafted by the band; that is indeed the morbid animations, capturing the essence of a greater holocaust.
Vincent breathes out fiery words to set ablaze and blister the integrity of all religious and social establishments that furthermore mock the humankind's delusional reality. With the dry low-toned ghastly screams he stirs a restlessness across the land, awakening the creatures that await retribution which reside deep within the chasm of this dysfunctional pitiful world. The closure to your dream-like state comes through an evil spells of black magic, a mystifying and a dark tranquility that seems gratefully rewarding, hides within the musical mastership which is revealed towards the end.
Individuating from their forefathers of heavy metal and thrash-metal discipline, Morbid Angel adapts a newer approach towards making their music. Arguably, Trey and David indeed draw influences from the Classical music as well; taking the compositional brilliance from Mozart and J.S Bach, -an undiluted product of nasty, malefic and unholy grand musical arrangements is molded.
Their music branches out through the innards of their roots, however, still carrying the rhythmic tone of heavy metal with the intensity and velocity of both speed and thrash metal; to simply put forward in an uncomplicated term; heavy-speedy-thrash metal baptized with the vicious spirit of death metal. Exploring the contingencies of playing to the extreme and then diminishing it, such a progression has enabled them to hoist their flag on a higher pedestal to their subordinates of the same tribe -in terms of experimentation. A time when death metal was dwelling in its adolescent stage Morbid Angel had already matured into the understanding on how to rhythmically tame aggression to its most primitive form, while lyrically conveying the message of the innermost horrors and the social misconceptions that forever lurk inside a human mind.
Production: - Digby Pearson and Tom Morris (Engineer -“Morrisound”) are to be credited for this exquisite distillation of 'controlled menace, illustrious frenzy portraying, never-ending dominance', simply making it right to dissolve with the musical substance. Gathering the bits and pieces of the material and making it to sound aggressively harmonious, is of course, achieved through a cunning and clever production. Bass lines are intelligently rallied in the quad created between the drums and the guitars, with a close ear, 'the bass' is more often than not be discovered. Sure, Azagthoth and Vincent structured most of the songs, but the real architect is the producer who guided all the contents to equip correctly to their respective places thus, orchestrating a ravenous atonality.
Upon careful analysis of the vague and obscure front artwork printed, it describes the various moods that of a human mind. Also, in the album's liner notes, the band dedicates the album to the Underground and all Speed, Death, and Black Metal fans everywhere.
The resonance of the vocals in conjunction with all attributes seem to fit neatly with the entire theme; with the sly and intellectually well-versed lyrical matter that rightfully surpassed anything which was far beyond the greatest at that time. The potent catalyst proves to be a success that resulted in a blend which not many could have obtained at that time. It is unforgiving and it’s unrelenting.
The particularly abstract and unconventional sound regressing to the raw nature of every instrument, concentrated here, was the principal element of this album. The aspect of experimentation was directly confronted to the core with the simplistic logic to stand-out from the rest of the herd; which instantly spawned a newer breed of death metal sound. Extending the boundaries of limitless ideas; this approach by the composers would ultimately provide a future platform that would eventually be considered as the alchemy for the development of this genre. To machinate death metal with unorthodox time signatures, constantly altering arrangements with psychoactive shredding, this, is as witnessed is a grim piece of art.
Comprising of relatively mid-paced tracks to the uncompromisingly high intensity brain-shredding riffs, self-admitting to the pleasing factors that makes this album so enjoyable. “Lord of all Fevers and Plague” along with “Bleed for the Devil” are perhaps the most ferocious songs on this album; at hypersonic speeds with intricate solos that acknowledge to the pace of these songs, in a very definitive manner. The ravaging vocals of Vincent (undoubtedly his career best) directly contribute to a superlative experience that additionally builds up as a strong continual factor for the album. Through the elusive bass solo in the mid-section of "Suffocation", to the hypnotic guitar solos that of Brunelle, to the more insidious ambiance in “Blasphemy”, the word 'experience' has a whole new definition to it. This album greedily, yet in the purest sense, exploits the beauty that metal incorporates.
An admirable death metal album with the right fundamentals of all the things that are, were, and will ever be -extreme! The variations are abundant and are to be heard on almost every song as the album progresses. With the ever more brilliant riffing, that clearly makes the listener well-aware of the fact that both the guitarists are undoubtedly super-competent. Along with the rest of the crew, we have Sandoval with his outstanding 'made-to-play-drums' sense, -he always achieves a whole new level of creativity keeping you in suspense till the next set of blast beats overpowers your sanity. The strength of unparalleled drumming is almost always over-whelming to the point that you could snap one’s neck either through head banging vigorously, or by simply going maniacal till the time you end up hurting somebody or yourself.
Morbid Angel have drawn a tangent from normality to superiority, the work portrayed on this album could easily be referred to as an exhibition of shrewd wizardry executed to accomplish the pinnacle of the performer's endurance which results in engraving their name in the history of Metal.
To experience the insanity of this magnitude is truly surreal. And my belief stands as, every metalhead reserves his share to thoroughly experience what Altars of Madness has offered to me, to you and to everybody else! It’s just a matter of time...
Condemn yourself eternally to the dark and bleak vanity of death metal, pioneered by the masters, therefore, to discredit and to humiliate the term that was formerly known as ‘perfection’.
