Classic Review: Morbid Angel, "Covenant"

Amongst metal enthusiasts, when it comes to discussion of the greatest death metal albums ever released, Morbid Angel's first three releases (not counting "Abominations of Desolation", which was supposed to be their debut, but was shelved at the time) always score high. And why not? After all, the unholy triumvirate of "Altars of Madness", "Blessed Are The Sick", and "Covenant" are all masterpieces of evil extreme metal, filled with putrid riffs, atonal solos, and harsh vocals that could very well have come from the pit of Hell itself. Today, we'll examine the final piece of the trio, "Covenant", which was released in 1993, a superb year for death and black metal.

"Covenant" kicks things off with "Rapture", an appropriate title if there ever was one, as the listener is soon immersed in some of the best death metal to ever emerge from the swamp of Florida (and when one considers the plethora of amazing metal to emerge from the state in the late eighties and early nineties, that's saying something). Every single song manages to be of high-quality, memorable, and viciously heavy, whether it's the savage "Pain Divine", the slow album-closer "God of Emptiness", or the blasphemous "The Lion's Den". There is a single interlude, "Nar Mattaru", which could be called the calm before the storm, as it's the ninth track on the album and leads into "God of Emptiness". Also of note is "The Promised Land", which starts off with a crushing groove (although it's a much different groove style than the groove metal genre popularized by Pantera) before exploding into lightning-fast riffs and blasts. The vocals are also very catchy and memorable, which is somewhat of a rarity in extreme metal.  Production-wise, the muddy guitar tone meshes perfectly with the sharp drum sound, while the bass is able to be heard by keen listeners.  The vocals are perfectly placed in the mix, as they're neither too loud nor too soft, which is quite different from modern releases who usually turn up the drums and vocals to the point of annoyance while mixing the guitars and bass too low to be easily heard.

David Vincent's growl had gotten far lower than it was on "Blessed Are The Sick" and was a far cry from the rasp of "Altars of Madness", but "Covenant" is all the better for it. You can hear the rage in his voice as he growls "Whips crack/centurions might be known" over the famous double-bass break in "The Lion's Den", which is arguably the best of its kind since "Angel of Death". His spoken word segment in "God of Emptiness" is enough to send chills down one's spine, and it's easy to imagine Vincent as a demon leading potential followers astray. The man could read the phone book and still sound convincingly evil. Bass-wise, Vincent mostly sticks to the root notes and doesn't experiment much (although there are some melodic lines on "Angel of Disease", more on that later), but this fits Morbid Angel's music perfectly.

Although Vincent may be the frontman of Morbid Angel, his bandmates are equally important, as imagining "Covenant" without the blistering riffs of Trey Azagthoth or the blast beats of Pete Sandoval would be impossible. Morbid Angel were legendary for their innovations in brutality, and a quick examination of these songs shows why: Trey's whammy-bar solos, which are present in every song, could almost be interpreted as the wails of undead spirits seeking justice that will never come (see: the cover of "Altars of Madness"), while Pete Sandoval's drum technique is unparalleled, whether he's playing a slow groove, or blasting the listener into oblivion. There's an old story about Morbid Angel that says Vincent and Azagthoth, as a joke, recorded a drum machine playing at a very fast tempo, gave the tape to Sandoval, and told him it was a real drummer. Sandoval, in an attempt to top this master percussionist, worked non-stop to surpass the tempo. He succeeded, much to the amazement of his bandmates. Listening to his playing on "Covenant" makes that kind of story believable, because the man was an absolute drumming god, and the sound of his kit is very crisp and pleasing to the ear, and there's no hint of a ringing snare to be heard. These three musicians are iconic amongst death metal fans for a reason, as their chemistry and contributions to death metal are worthy of praises many times over.

There is a single track that stands out from the rest of "Covenant" that goes by the name of "Angel of Disease". It's an earlier Morbid Angel song that was re-recorded for this release, and it shows stylistically, as it's a lot thrashier than the rest of the album, and David Vincent's vocals are back to his old rasp. Despite these differences, it's easily one of the best songs on the album, with tempo changes, very memorable riffs (one of whom was notably plagiarized by Korn in their song "Ball Tongue"), and a spaced-out middle section that gives the bass guitar some opportunities to play more melodically. This song has it all, thrashy parts, killer grooves, and guitar solos upon guitar solos, so it definitely deserves special mention.

"Covenant" may be one of the best-selling death metal albums of all time, but there is nothing commercial or watered-down about it. It's an undisputed masterpiece of death metal put out by a band in its prime, and anyone who doesn't own it is missing out in a big way. This should be considered mandatory for extreme metal fans, and for Morbid Angel fans who (somehow) don't already own it. Luckily, it's pretty easy to find, so anyone looking for a legendary release by this legendary band should be able to pick it up relatively easily.

For more info: Morbid Angel are recording their new album, and while David Vincent may be back in tow after a lengthy absence, Pete Sandoval is absent from the recording process due to medical reasons, and drums are being handled by Tim Yeung. Check back for more information about the new album (as well as a review) whenever it's released.