Morbid Angel

[|iR|Focalor]

Hadn't been paying attention to anything Morbid Angel's been doing since... that last album... THAT one... if you know Morbid Angel, you know that one I'm talking about: Illud Divinum Insanus released in 2011. I was pretty excited when I heard that original vocalist/bassist David Vincent was rejoining the band. But then when the album came out and I heard it in it's entirety, I was like... "Dude... What the hell is this shit!?!" Because they've been known since the beginning as being the fastest, most brutal, most evil sounding death metal band out there. And half of the album was exactly what you'd expect from Morbid Angel. Lightning fast double bass drums that sound like a full throttled propeller plane engine, searing speedy riffs that sound like lava flowing out of the guitar, etc etc. But the other songs were just... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?! Guitarist Trey Azagtoth has been known to include many weird experimental and ambient tracks to albums that aren't really full songs, they're usually just smaller ideas and tinkerings he did and then wedged them onto the album somewhere just for brief interludes between songs. But some of this crap on Illud Divinum Insanus was just... SOOoooo not what Morbid Angel ever does. Very industrial and disco and almost upbeat radio-friendly pop sounding.

Anyway, so that's why I've been kinda ignoring them. Apparently David Vincent was to blame for those awful songs, and that's probably why he's no longer with the band. So after that experience, I hope he never returns again. The shit he did with the band in the first half of the 90's was awesome. But if that's the kinda shit he's gonna contribute to the band, I prefer if he'd stay the fuck away and stop shitting on my good memories of the bands past.

I looked around online earlier attempting to see if the band had released anything else since that "stuff" in 2011. Found out that yet another original member will most likely never be playing with the band again. The two mainstays in the band has always been guitarist Trey Azagtoth and drummer Pete Sandoval. But it seems as though now Morbid Angel is just Trey and... whoever he decides to tap for the other roles. Pete is out. Apparently Pete has become a born-again Christian.

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/former-morbid-angel-drummer-pete-sandoval-how-i-fell-in-love-with-god/

Pretty surprising. I kinda figured he'd be one of the LAST guys who'd ever join the Jesus fan club. I dunno about the rest of the original band, but I know that David Vincent was a prominent member of the Church of Satan, not sure if he still is or if he resigned at any point, which I doubt he has. And judging from that and the lyrical content of their songs, I'd assume that anyone in the band at any point would be of a similar mindset.

That sucks a lot, though. Over the years, Pete has forged a drumming sound that is unique and instantly recognizable. Many drummers out there could probably join the band and then copy his style verbatim, but then people might think it's really lame that they're obviously plagiarizing his style. When bands replace longtime members like Pete, they typically intentionally avoid hiring anyone that would copy the person they're replacing because it feels disingenuous to the band itself as well as to the fans. Which means Morbid Angel will probably never again sound just like the great Morbid Angel from 1993's Covenant and 1995's Domination. 

See? Why does religion have to fuck the world like this? Hasn't it done enough to make mankind miserable without robbing us of our rock and roll heroes? He says he did it basically because his old lifestyle was killing him. But he might as well be dead already. Because since he's found Jewzus, he's never gonna be in any band that will put out anything worth a shit. He's gone. He's already gone. He'll have nothing meaningful to offer ever again.

If drugs and alcohol was killing him... then just GET FUCKIN' SOBER! I did it. Anyone can do it if they want to bad enough. I didn't need religion to do it. I did it for ME. Ugh. Weak fuckin' people, man.