It’s 1993 and MORBID ANGEL return with Covenant their third album and up until that point their heaviest. After the success of the first two records Morbid Angel were picked up by Giant Records, which at the time was a break through for the band, especially a band as extreme as this.
There’s a decidedly darker tone to this album than the two before it. The vocals have gotten even deeper, the guitars tuned down and the kick drumming of Pete Sandoval has gotten even faster. This is a pummelling listen.
The album opens up with Rapture and immediately the listener is bludgeoned in the ear holes by the intense drumming of Pete Sandoval and the hyper fast guitar work of Trey Azagthoth. Interesting to note, Trey did all the guitar work on this album as Richard Brunelle had been ejected from the band, I’d heard substance abuse issues, but I’m not sure as the others in the band were well known users of “Substances” and it does sound hyprocritical but hey, maybe his usage was holding the band back whilst others usage wasn’t.
The blinding speed and technicality continues with “Pain Divine” and then slows down for some sludgey death with “World of Shit”. With Morbid Angel I can’t say I like this better than than “Blessed…” or “Altars…” as those two albums are holy grail albums to me but this is still very good and gained the band a lot of new fans. Later in the album the tone changes a lot for the re do of their old track “Angel of Disease” which was originally recorded on the “Abominations of Desolation” album, but given a new lease of life on this one. It does break up the album a little.
I have to also shout out to Trey Azagthoth as his guitar playing on this is phenomenal. He’s re-invented himself from the last 2 albums before this and come out with a new style of playing that really pushed the limits of extreme guitar playing and stamped his authority on the genre.
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