Morbid Angel

Morbid Angel is one of the cult groups of death metal, having traumatized the world scene by the originality they displayed in the late 1980s. Formed in 1983 in Tampa, Florida, by guitarist Trey Azagtoth, drummer Mike Browning (future Nocturnus) and bassist Dallas Ward, the band began as an instrumental band until Dallas Ward began singing. The band is looking for a frontman, and finds him in Kenny Bamber's person. He and Dallas share the song on the band's first demo: The Beginning. The two members left the band shortly after, and Richard Brunelle, guitarist, joined the band, bringing a dose of madness and significant technique. In 1986, after some demos, Morbid Angel recorded Abominations Of Desolations , considered a mythical death metal album. Mike Browning sings on this album. We don't know who played bass on this album, the band claiming that this role was played by Sterling Von Scarborough, while Richard Brunelle says that a bassist named John Ortega recorded the bass lines... Mike Browning and the new bassist then left the band, and Abominations Of Desolations did not come out (Trey found this album too weak). Trey and Richard then started looking for musicians. They find their happiness in another cult group (but Californian): the Grindcore Terrorizer group. Pete Sandoval (battery, legend says he invented blast beat, the main drum rhythm of several branches of the extreme metal) and David Vincent (bass/song) join Morbid Angel, thus constituting the mythical line-up that will record their first cult album: Altars Of Madness. In 1989 this album was released and became a cult since its release. So far, no one had released a death metal album that extreme and also technical (even Death, a reference at the time, was beaten on this field). But above all, Altars Of Madness is the first death metal album using the terrifying blast-beat, famous drum rhythm borrowed from the grindcore... The success is immediate, Altars Of Madness even going so far as to lead the British charts, and he traumatizes the whole death metal scene that is starting to increasingly use the terrible blast-beat (which was previously reserved for the grind and other punk derivatives). The band started a European tour, and became the biggest death metal band of the moment. In 1991, the album Blessed Are The Sick was released, which also became a cult, defining new directions for death metal. Morbid Angel is then considered the king of death metal, ahead of the big ones of the time like Death or Obituary, the members then gain a huge recognition as innovative songwriters. Taking advantage of Morbid Angel's commercial success, their Earache Records label releases the old album Abominations Of Desolation. Later, Brunelle was fired from the group because of drug problems, and the combo remained in the trio. In 1993, Morbid Angel surprised by becoming the first death metal band signed on a major: Warner. He then released Covenant (recorded at Morrisound Studio as Death's Leprosy), also mythical, confirming Morbid Angel's status. The album, though brutal and black, became the band's biggest hit: more than 500,000 copies sold (only Obituary will beat this score). This is where the group is beginning to be controversial, the texts showing some political and religious ambiguity, some claiming that Morbid Angel made Satanism and the extermination of Christendom seductive, giving an almost glamorous image... In 1995, the new album Domination was released, marking the presence of Erik Rutan (future Hate Eternal), one of the best death metal guitarists in history, at this time a member of Ripping Corpse. The album is also a success, though controversial. Morbid Angel is moving towards a more brutal death metal. The lyrics of this album are still very ambiguous, and David Vincent is even accused of being a fascist doing anti-communist propaganda, which he will deny on many occasions. Erik Rutan will leave the band after the release of Live Entangled In Chaos. In 1996, David Vincent left the band, no longer finding interest in death metal, and joined his wife's group, Genitortuers. His replacement will be Steve Tucker (Ceremony), a radically different style. In 1998 Morbid Angel released his first album with Steve Tucker: Formulas Fatal To The Flesh. The album is in the continuity of Domination , more brutal. Morbid Angel will then stagnate and sit on his reputation, releasing two albums without much change (Gateways To Annihilation and Heretic ). In 2004, Morbid Angel wiped out two major shocks: first, they left their legendary Earache label following the disastrous sales of Heretic (less than 20,000 copies sold against over 500,000 for Covenant), and especially Steve Tucker left the band. To the delight of the fans of the first hour, David Vincent returns to the band and announces that he could participate in a new album. The band is therefore expected at the turn, hoping that it confirms its status as a mythical group rather than sitting on its reputation as it has done since a few albums. Finally, Illud Divinum Insanus released in 2011 and announced a musical shift in the band's career. This album mixes Death Metal and electro music is a risky choice that cost the band very much, a lot of fans turned their backs, fusing a mediocre opus, some even seeing it as an affront, at best a joke. In June 2015 begins the descent to the underworld; On the 15th, drummer Tim Yeung announced his departure from the band for financial reasons. Three days later, guitarist Destructhor also announced his (the band would like to work with someone more local), and the next day it was David Vincent who announced that he too was leaving Morbid Angel because of musical differences. In the end of 2015 this Death Metal legend is in a very bad way, only Trey Azagthoth and Steve Tucker answer the call.
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