Customer Reviews

Altars of Madness

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Altars of Madness was released in 1989 and to this day, it is hailed as one of the best death metal albums ever. Sure it doesnt have the up-to-date production that bands have today, but make no mistake this is what its all about. Evil vocals, amazing blast beats, insane solos... I honestly can not put into words how great this album is.

Morbid Angel has re-released this album and included a 2nd bonus DVD of Morbid Angel on the Grindcrusher tour back in 1989. The sound is excellent and the DVD is worth the price alone.

All metal fans should own this CD. All Morbid Angel fans MUST check out the DVD as well.

Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness, released in 1989 continues to tear faces off 21 years later.

From the first snap of Pete's snare drum following the reverse intro on Immortal Rites, to the eerie outro riff of Evil Spells, this album takes the listener on a journey unlike any other death metal album ever produced. This album holds a special quality being released so early on in the death metal genre. The cookie cutter sound had yet to be created and the most guttural vocals of the time period are considered tame by today's standards. Which leads to one of the albums high points - David Vincent's vocals. His raspy delivery is both understandable, haunting, and downright vicious. The lyrical content is interesting and has good imagery throughout. Trey's signature riffing and soloing is at it's best on this album, and Brunelle does a good job of molding himself into Trey's vision. I could write a book about Pete Sandoval's drumming on this album. It's a cornerstone of death metal percussion. His precision blasting and fill-work is second to none, while his groove sections provide perfect headbangability consistently. This album was the first death metal album that I noticed a drummer making a concentrated effort to match the drumming to the riffs being played rather than double time or blasting. Sandoval's ability to accentuate riffs through cymbal and tom work astounds me to this day. The production is surprisingly clear, albeit a bit noisy.

All in all, if you consider yourself a fan of death metal, or even metal in general and haven't heard this, you are doing yourself a disservice. Buy this album YESTERDAY.

Morbid Angel is all about brutal!!! This is they're first in a long line of brutal outputs... X-cellent stuff here!!!

Altars of Madness is the first death metal album I ever bought, and it was as an EXCELLENT introdction to the genre for me. Before this album, the most "extreme" metal I listened to was probably Venom, Satan, or Metal Church. Morbid Angel's early music remains my favorite death metal today, and this album is a big reason why.

I think there's something different about the atmosphere of the songs on this album compared to the average death metal album. Most death metal has very violent lyrics and is all about speed and ferocity. Some bands lose their atmosphere in the process and end up sounding more noisy and less ominous and evil (and I've always felt that sounding ominous and evil makes for great metal--just listen to Angel Witch). Altars of Madness never loses its creepy, occult atmosphere, but is still relentlessly ferocious. David Vincent's vocals are demonic, and the lyrics more than just violent; they're based in the foggy realm of the supernatural. Some death metal bands will just try to gross you out with their lyrics, but Morbid Angel CREEPS you out, which is much more exciting and effective, in my opinion.

The musicianship on the album is fantastic, which is another reason I love it so much. I've always loved to listen to metal virtuosos like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Helloween, and guitarist John Sykes, and Morbid Angel has some serious skill too. The rhythm section and the guitars do remarkable things at high speed. Being a guitarist myself, Trey Azagthoth's riffs and solos in particular have thrilled me. I would describe his playing as exquisitely chaotic and menacing. In the solos, it's like he plays all over the place in an uncontrolled frenzy, except that it IS controlled PRECISELY, and the melody of his lead playing complements the ominous riffs in the songs perfectly.

The compositions are a little more complex than you're average rock or metal song. While there ARE recurring riffs in the songs, it's kind of hard to pick out a real verse and chorus in each one. There are many different riffs and sections that make up each song. They're kind of like classical compositions in this way. It doesn't take away from anything, though. If anything, it just adds to the chaotic nature of the music, which is a good thing. Also, the songs, while all being very fast, are often tastefully interspersed with slightly slower parts which are kind of like brief lulls in the storms of metal this band creates. After all, how would one realize they were amidst a storm of metal if it never abated just a little?

I can't think of much I don't like about this album. All the songs are great. Especially my personal favorites, "Visions from the Dark Side," "Chapel of Ghouls," (CHILLING mid-section and solo in this one), and "Evil Spells." Get it right now if you, like me, have a taste for ferocious, diabolically creepy metal that is not only brutal, but haunting.

This is one of the best death metal album ever made bar none. The songs are intense, the lyrics are great, the vocals and riffs are killer. Great stuff right here for any fan of good music \m/

Florida. Deicide and Obituary are ok but this is true old school death metal greatness. This album is chock full of churning chaotic riffs, uh, madness and that always welcome Lovecraftian vibe. Highest possible recommendation.

Morbid Angel's message is about thinking for yourself. To be a force that loosens and helps to tear down the conditioned limiting paradigms which enslave mankind by blocking the realization, flow and manifestation of Spirit in their lives. To interrupt the mass hypnosis that hinders one's pursuit of their dreams and causes the illusion of separation from the Higher Self. To promote clarity and to quiet the clamoring of those treacherous ones who seem only to wish confusion and belittlement upon mankind by influencing us to willingly receive and find comfort in these shackles presented to us all by the falsifiers. To shine some light, which removes the shadows and illusions, so we all may reach the potential that is ours by birthright. And it's not about destroying those who try to manipulate for they are already their own worst enemy, but rather to first remove within ourselves the fear induced confusion which would give nourishment to their unskilled influences and ultimately give aid to those disconnected ones as to help free themselves from their own sufferings and "sin". Only once this dilapidated "unreal" foundation is cleared away can the individual witness the Affluence Of The Living Continuum and utilize the magic that is deep within each and everyone of us, always.


ALTARS OF MADNESS

"One man's insanity is another man's genius and from these altars of madness the heretic rejoices in things unseen."

After several years of experimenting and lineup changes all was finally in place for our first record. Altars Of Madness, a title so fitting for this was truly a product of divine intervention, a meeting with The Most Ancient Of The Days. Inspirations only possible through our commitment to the Ancient Ones.

"We willfully give of ourselves to be your instrument on this earth."

Like every recording that followed, we received a bit of "opposition" from those who found their strength through aligning their beliefs and meanings with this or that group. Paradigm Shifters are always dealt a large portion of resistance before they are accepted and embraced. All the pain and rejection was well worth it for we have inspired and motivated many musicians and therefore did our part to keep the cycle going. It was only due to our commitment to the Ancient Ones that resulted in this extreme "living" music but it wasn't for the casual "it's cool to be fooled" listener.

During this time I couldn't be bothered to have to conform to certain keys or scales and for some who witnessed Morbid Angel live it was an experience that was quite painful to the eyes and mind. This music was pure chaos and chaos can cause confusion to those conditioned by certain doctrines of musical, and even overall discernment foundational orders.

It's from these fashioned systems of thinking and the presuppositions resulting that create useless oceans of illusions that some unknowingly spend their lives drowning in. All that there is - is here and now. The wake never propels the boat and it's only through the attachments of the ego holding on to the past and creating a dependency on how others abide by one's hierarchy of rules that causes the toils of sin. The "burning in hell" Christian concept at best reflects on the suffering brought about by one's determination to hold on to such illusions while the Higher Self is subtly showing that these attempts are the works of folly. That with such efforts men confuses iron shackles with golden chains, luxurious palaces with sorrow filled dungeons, respect with fear, and all the while adding more concrete to his cell. The self-made prison in which he further buries himself in this realm of time and space, this realm of illusions, this realm of the mundane. It is only through one's investment into such falseness that causes one's "separation" and blindness to the cornucopia and affluence that is in everyone by birthright.

Trey Azagthoth

altars of madness is a historically important album, but it's not a great album. while there was nothing else quite this blazingly fast and twisted at the time--you could swear some of the riffs are being played backwards--the lack of rhythmic dynamics makes it monotonous to sit through; it gets to a point where we are merely waiting for the next hellish, atonal solo to ooze out of the speakers. it is also worth noting that the band was still very conceptually immature at this point. "evil spells"? really? ooo, now i'm spooked.

don't get me wrong, it's good, but blessed are the sick and covenant show this band at their most masterful. altars has its place as a historical document, but other relics from around the same time like repulsion's horrified and autopsy's severed survival have aged better, and are still awesome without any qualifications or contextual pretense.