MB Metal Classics: "Altars of Madness" by Morbid Angel

Mondo Bungle · 05-08-2018, 03:19 PM

one of those indisputable 10s if you ask me, for its massive impact and significance and just the fact that it is literally sick 100% of the way through

I always thought it was something even more special since it came so early, making the already original instrumentation even more impressive and spectacular. Guitar, drums, and vocals more on point than anything at the time. Atmosphere obscure and unmatched.

It sounds like the cover.

The Batlord · 05-08-2018, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mondo Bungle

one of those indisputable 10s if you ask me, for its massive impact and significance and just the fact that it is literally sick 100% of the way through

I always thought it was something even more special since it came so early, making the already original instrumentation even more impressive and spectacular. Guitar, drums, and vocals more on point than anything at the time. Atmosphere obscure and unmatched.

It sounds like the cover.

How dost thou rate Formulas Fatal to the Flesh?

Trollheart · 05-08-2018, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

How dost thou rate Formulas Fatal to the Flesh?

Crap! Batty's been trapped in the Dark Ages again! Who has a time machine handy? Anyone?

Mondo Bungle · 05-08-2018, 03:39 PM

I'm gonna admit that I used to say Blessed are the Sick was my favorite MA album just cuz I like rooting for the underdog, although I do reeeaaallllyy love that one, but Altars has to get that spot. So Blessed would be number two, and I'd put Formulas confidently in the third spot if not even a tie for 2, cuz it's a totally different animal honestly. It comes through with an even more unorthodox and complex display of musicianship and composition than Altars combined with the spruced up quality giving it a heaviness that surpasses any given ice giant.

so I guess I'd rate it no less than 8/10 and probably their heaviest album if we were to theoretically weigh them.

I need to better acquaint myself with Covenant if we're being real, Domination is cool but kinda eh for an MA release though not without some interesting elements, Gateways is Domination-esque musically but better in every way and mad heavy (not on par with Formulas heaviness), Heretic has sucky production and is a little whack sure but I always thought it had a certain cryptic charm, I've never even listened to a full song from Illud and I don't see that ever changing, and Kingdoms is a musical return to the mid era style but nowhere near as excellent so it's just solid.

~~MicShazam~~ · 05-08-2018, 03:51 PM

I think the most exciting part of this album is the drums. They sound really good compared to a lot of compressed/triggered/plastic-bucket drum tracks on death metal albums from all four decades of the genre's existence. On this album, the drums sound lively and dynamic. The high hats and cymbals stepp in character and there's some low end to the kick drum. Hard to explain what it is really - the drums just sound good to me on this album.
They're also played in this sort of loose-but-not-amateurish manner that has a lot of character.

So that's a good thing about the album.

You can hear the bass, but it's got sort of vimpy tone, except when it plays in the lowest register. It's fine though. It just supports the riffs, so it works. It's not supposed to stand out on it's own.

The vocals are fine. A fair bit of power and variety. Better than a monotonous grunting thing.

The guitars sound fine and all, but the riffs are seriously hit and miss for me here. For every grinding, blood gargling skull crusher, there's a lame, cookie cutter death metal riff of the sort that sounds less menacing than goofy.

I'm not really a fan of this band to be honest. Their later albums mostly bore me to death. I can't even listen to the Covenant album without my mind wandering every two minutes.

This album is maybe one of the best of their I've heard. I also like some things on Heretic, even if it sounds so cardboard flat that it's considerably less heavy than it ought to be.

Altars of Madness may be a classic in death metal circles, but I'm no big fan of the genre and I'll always insist on rating according to my own tastes.

That means this album gets a fair grade, but nothing more.

It's got some bright spots, some fun drumming... but nothing I'll ever feel like returning to if I'm being perfectly honest.

I'll be listening to some Nile instead, thank you very much.

5

The Batlord · 05-08-2018, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mondo Bungle

I need to better acquaint myself with Covenant if we're being real

Covenant's good, but a lot of it feels like diminishing returns from Altars of Madness and the sludgey elements were underdeveloped to take their music to the next level. It's got some great **** but in general it's "solid".

The Sane Psycho · 05-11-2018, 07:01 PM

Everyone and they're grandmother already talks about how much of a defining landmark this is in the death metal genre, so I won't. Instead, I just want to talk about something I miss from older bands that I don't hear as often in modern death metal; that classic thrash sound. You could chalk that up to the genre evolving as all genres do, but damn it, I really love '80s thrash metal. This is essentially a Slayer album with more growly vocals. And these guys are ****ing great at that style. And I love it. A DM masterpiece for sure.

Trollheart · 05-12-2018, 10:36 AM

Mega-riffs, cool melodies, great ideas, even vocals I can handle. Superb. I'm not familiar enough with death metal to be able to comment on how this changed the genre, but I'll bow to the expertise of those who have more knowledge about DM than I do about dad jokes, and I can see how it would have been a game changer at the time. Must listen to more. Voted 10.

Trollheart · 05-14-2018, 06:54 PM

No surprise this made it in, too.

Anteater · 05-15-2018, 09:34 PM

Swoll album. That's all she wrote.

05-12-2018, 10:36 AM	#18 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Mega-riffs, cool melodies, great ideas, even vocals I can handle. Superb. I'm not familiar enough with death metal to be able to comment on how this changed the genre, but I'll bow to the expertise of those who have more knowledge about DM than I do about dad jokes, and I can see how it would have been a game changer at the time. Must listen to more. Voted 10. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

05-14-2018, 06:54 PM	#19 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	No surprise this made it in, too. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

View Poll Results: Vote, mother****er!
10	3	42.86%
9	3	42.86%
8	0	0%
7	0	0%
6	0	0%
5	1	14.29%
4	0	0%
3	0	0%
2	0	0%
1	0	0%
Voters: 7. You may not vote on this poll

05-08-2018, 03:19 PM	#11 (permalink)
Mondo Bungle Prepare 4 the Fight Scene Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 7,675	one of those indisputable 10s if you ask me, for its massive impact and significance and just the fact that it is literally sick 100% of the way through I always thought it was something even more special since it came so early, making the already original instrumentation even more impressive and spectacular. Guitar, drums, and vocals more on point than anything at the time. Atmosphere obscure and unmatched. It sounds like the cover.

05-08-2018, 03:39 PM	#14 (permalink)
Mondo Bungle Prepare 4 the Fight Scene Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 7,675	I'm gonna admit that I used to say Blessed are the Sick was my favorite MA album just cuz I like rooting for the underdog, although I do reeeaaallllyy love that one, but Altars has to get that spot. So Blessed would be number two, and I'd put Formulas confidently in the third spot if not even a tie for 2, cuz it's a totally different animal honestly. It comes through with an even more unorthodox and complex display of musicianship and composition than Altars combined with the spruced up quality giving it a heaviness that surpasses any given ice giant. so I guess I'd rate it no less than 8/10 and probably their heaviest album if we were to theoretically weigh them. I need to better acquaint myself with Covenant if we're being real, Domination is cool but kinda eh for an MA release though not without some interesting elements, Gateways is Domination-esque musically but better in every way and mad heavy (not on par with Formulas heaviness), Heretic has sucky production and is a little whack sure but I always thought it had a certain cryptic charm, I've never even listened to a full song from Illud and I don't see that ever changing, and Kingdoms is a musical return to the mid era style but nowhere near as excellent so it's just solid.

05-08-2018, 03:51 PM	#15 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	I think the most exciting part of this album is the drums. They sound really good compared to a lot of compressed/triggered/plastic-bucket drum tracks on death metal albums from all four decades of the genre's existence. On this album, the drums sound lively and dynamic. The high hats and cymbals stepp in character and there's some low end to the kick drum. Hard to explain what it is really - the drums just sound good to me on this album. They're also played in this sort of loose-but-not-amateurish manner that has a lot of character. So that's a good thing about the album. You can hear the bass, but it's got sort of vimpy tone, except when it plays in the lowest register. It's fine though. It just supports the riffs, so it works. It's not supposed to stand out on it's own. The vocals are fine. A fair bit of power and variety. Better than a monotonous grunting thing. The guitars sound fine and all, but the riffs are seriously hit and miss for me here. For every grinding, blood gargling skull crusher, there's a lame, cookie cutter death metal riff of the sort that sounds less menacing than goofy. I'm not really a fan of this band to be honest. Their later albums mostly bore me to death. I can't even listen to the Covenant album without my mind wandering every two minutes. This album is maybe one of the best of their I've heard. I also like some things on Heretic, even if it sounds so cardboard flat that it's considerably less heavy than it ought to be. Altars of Madness may be a classic in death metal circles, but I'm no big fan of the genre and I'll always insist on rating according to my own tastes. That means this album gets a fair grade, but nothing more. It's got some bright spots, some fun drumming... but nothing I'll ever feel like returning to if I'm being perfectly honest. I'll be listening to some Nile instead, thank you very much. 5

05-11-2018, 07:01 PM	#17 (permalink)
The Sane Psycho Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 299	Everyone and they're grandmother already talks about how much of a defining landmark this is in the death metal genre, so I won't. Instead, I just want to talk about something I miss from older bands that I don't hear as often in modern death metal; that classic thrash sound. You could chalk that up to the genre evolving as all genres do, but damn it, I really love '80s thrash metal. This is essentially a Slayer album with more growly vocals. And these guys are ****ing great at that style. And I love it. A DM masterpiece for sure.