SEPULTURA Morbid Visions is the first full length album from these legendary Brazillian Thrashers. It sounds and feels like 1986 (not that I was listening to extreme metal then, but something about it takes me back). I like this album, it has a certain rawness and and evil feeling to it. It’s still a little undercooked, but this only goes to show that in many circumstances it is “he who got there first” that gets the prize of being known and rising out from the underground despite the fact there might have been 100’s of thrash bands better than this to release albums within the next couple of years. This got there early along with early (and undercooked… but still immensely enjoyable) albums from Sodom, Destruction etc…
This is slightly better recorded than the previous bestial devastation EP but the band have definitely improved a fair bit, the songs are better and tighter and they’re definitely writing catchier more listenable songs whist keeping that evil black thrash feeling. One thing you can see in the expansion of their sound is the start of the hardcore influences creeping in. Igor’s drumming is much clearer and his double kick work is now much better. They’re basically punching along with bands like Sodom etc… and show casing some great grooves.
The album opens with Morbid Visions which is a great example of the raw thrash / black metal cross over thing the band had going on with the first EP, but the third song “Troops of Doom” really starts to set them apart from this label being instantly likeable and allowing the listener to lock onto a groove. One thing becomes instantly clear when listening to this album, this album is packed full of great songs, its just a little hard to lock into with the production quality still being so rudimentary. “War” is excellent with some cool slow sections. One thing I have to commend the band on is the most excellent riffage (I feel influenced by “hell awaits era Slayer”). Further into the album there really isn’t a dud track on here.
This album is a land mark in the then embryonic death metal scene but definitley one of the most enjoyable of the early death metal scene and to be fair I still really find this one enjoyable to this day!For more great heavy metal reviews be sure to keep checking back on Metalhed.com on a regular basis!