Morbid Angel
Illvd Divinvm Insanvs ()
Wydane przez Season Of MistRok wydania Kraj USANapisał Wouter3
This once considered unattainable and infallible Florida institution certainly has taken a beating over the last decade and lost much of its luster and relevance. Eclipsed in terms of compositional excellence, technical skill as well as lyrical prowess in North America with acts new and old (Aurora Borealis, Brain Drill, Cannibal Corpse, Decrepit Birth, Monstrosity, Nile, Suffocation, Vital Remains) as well as Europe (Behemoth, Cerebrum, Hour Of Penance, Lost Soul, Necrophagist, Nox, Obscura) the band's leader position has been compromised. The Dog Latin title means 'that divine, insane thing', although the title clearly wasn't thought through as it isn't grammatically sound. This new album, their first since 2003's bafflingly masturbatory, egomaniac and experimental opus "Heretic", an album so bloated, hopelessly self-important and misguided in its own ways that it was directly responsible for Morbid Angel's sacking from their long-time contractor Earache Records. This is the first since 1986's "Abominations Of Desolation" not to feature drummer Pete Sandoval, the first since 1995's "Domination" to feature vocalist/bassist David Vincent, the first to be recorded outside of either Morrissound Studios and Diet Of Worms Studios and the first to have Morbid Angel with two guitarists again, this time Norway-based Thor Anders "Destructhor" Myhren (Myrkskog, Zyklon). Substituting for Sandoval on drums is session musician Tim Yeung (Aurora Borealis, Decrepit Birth, Hate Eternal), who lives up to his reputation and resumé, but remains fairly restrained through out the majority of the album. Morbid Angel have lost none of the pretentiousness and delusions of grandeur that plagued their post-David Vincent catalogue, on that aspect "Illvd Divinvm Insanvs" isn't any different. After the semi-instrumental intro 'Omni Potens' the first real track kicks in with 'Too Extreme!' which besides sounding as slowed down Eurodance also has the unintended side-effect of not living up to its ill-chosen name. 'Existo Vulgoré' and 'Blades Of Baal' aren't entirely terrible but don't come close to matching anything of the band's classic era. They at least resemble the Steve Tucker-era material. They are lukewarm recalibrations of earlier material, without the conviction and spiritedness of earlier albums. At least 'Blades Of Baal' reuses the classic riff from 'Vengeance Is Mine' (from the "Covenant" album) and has a similar structure as 'Nothing But Fear' (from "Domination"). 'I Am Morbid' is probably meant as a band anthem. The easy verse-chorus structure makes it a future live staple. '10 More Dead' could have been culled from the "Domination" b-sides, but is flat and weak compared to that standard. The death metal tracks are workmanlike, entirely uneventful and astoundingly directionless at best. There is no insane ripping thrash current ("Altars Of Madness"), occult atmosphere ("Blessed Are the Sick", "Covenant"), spine-crushing groove ("Domination", "Gateways to Annihilation") or the band's once patented mammoth speedfests ("Formulas Fatal to the Flesh", "Heretic"). 'Radikult' sounds like a failed attempt to replicate the Marilyn Manson/Rob Zombie formula. Manson and Zombie have proven that industrial and metal can be combined in listenable music, refer 'The Beautiful People' and 'Living Dead Girl'. 'Nevermore' is a lone highlight in a mess of an all-important comeback album. Where their earlier albums dealt with occultism, Sumerian gods, the Roman empire and Babylonian mythology here songtitles as 'Destructos vs. The Earth / Attack' (which sounds more like a 1950's sci-fi romp), 'Too Extreme!', 'Omni Potens' and 'I Am Morbid' don't make any mistake about the juvenile lyrical stance displayed. Main composer and guitarist Trey Azagthoth has clearly lost touch with the earthly plains and reality as a whole. David Vincent is an impotent and ineffectual frontman and vocalist, sounding hollow, uninterested and tired. This vocal contributions coming not even close to his earlier genre-defining work with this band. Vincent's once commanding bellows are notably absent here. Instead there are heavily processed vocalisations and gruff screams that remind of Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell in his lesser days. Azagthoth is still a master of crafting unique esoteric leads/solos that few are able to reproduce. Sadly, the metal elements have been toned down considerably to crank up the industrial and Eurodance bits. The industrial-techno segments are poorly integrated in the band's metallic structure and they do not add anything. Front Line Assembly, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails ("Pretty Hate Machine", "The Downward Spiral") and Rob Zombie have proven in spades that extreme metal and industrial can be combined while sounding interesting and angsty. Here it sounds contrived, forced and added as a mere afterthought under the guise of so-called experimentation, being different and tauting it as progression – while it in reality only serves to mask that these songs aren't worth the 8 year wait, nor are they remotely worthy of Morbid Angel's reputation in a scene they helped continually shape. The outro was fittingly titled 'Profundis – Mea Culpa' – the second part of that title being Latin for 'my mistake'. Nothing could be closer to the truth. Essentially, Morbid Angel have engineered their demise with this unmitigated disaster of an album, it turns out "Heretic" wasn't a fluke, it was the dying breath of a once heralded metal bastion. The hit-and-miss nature of "Heretic" and the protacted gestation period for this eagerly awaited record already stretched fan goodwill and - patience to its absolute maximum. The 4-5 traditional tracks ('Existo Vulgoré', 'Blades Of Baal', 'Nevermore', '10 More Dead' and, being forgiving, 'Beauty Meets Beast') should have been released as a compact EP instead, relegating the rest of the album to a Vincent-Azagthoth industrial side-project or on the studio cuttingfloor where it rightfully belongs. This would have allowed them to concentrate on writing actual mammoth occult death metal while excreting whatever 'creative' ideas they were brewing on in another project, unrelated to their main band. With this abomination Morbid Angel have buried the last shred of dignity they had left. Fortunately, there's no one to blame but themselves for this aural abortion. Morbid Angel have put the final nail in their coffin and pulled the lid shut. "The old king is dead, long live the king."
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