Customer Reviews

Blessed Are the Sick (Spec)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is perhaps the definitive death metal band. This album is not boring at all. There are a few "classical" pieces written in there. The song desolate ways is awesome and could be put on a new age compilation cd. The album begins with Fall From Grace...a song that has some of the best death metal lyrics of all time. Dave Vincent has a great gutteral but understandable voice when he sings (screams/growls). There are some awesome guitar riffs in this album.....listen to the mid point in brainstorm. On the whole this is a death metal master pice, however, the lyrics are quite hateful towards christians but being a death metal fan perhaps this doesnt bother you. There are a couple songs on the record I dont like because of the talk about putting infant entrails on upside down crosses. Not my cup of tea but whatever floats your boat.

I had to write this review in hopes of offset the morons who have seen fit to down "Blessed Are The Sick"... really, if you can't appreciate this album, you simply do NOT understand death metal -- end of story. This is Morbid Angel's greatest album, and it has many dimensions to it. It is pure evil set to music... everything you want it to be! The guitar work is GENIUS!!! The drumming is magnificent... lyrics, vocal delivery... what more could you want? This is, EASILY, among the greatest death metal albums EVER... I'll see you burning in the Sea of the Absu...

This is my favorite Morbid Angel album, possibly my favorite death metal album, and in my top 10 of favorite albums ever. They succeed in capturing the raw primal energy and sense of freedom that is at the heart of the best metal. I've been listening to this album for 14 years and is even better today than it was then! I can say that of only a handful of metal albums. The guitars and drums combine into a seething thick groove, and David Vincent's vocals are in top form. Some of Trey's solos on here are just unbelievable. What gets me the most about it is how much GROOVE they have going on...even at blast beat speeds! Sick!!!!!!

I owned this album in its original release form, but I bought it in it's newly remastered form and it does sound much better. It's much louder now, and there is more clarity...you can really crank it and hear every little thing going on! I highly recommend this new release.

Yeah, after Morbid Angel's "Altars Of Madness" they decide to create chaos in a more laid back fashion - slower yet heavier but just as deadly and gloomy. This CD has better sound quality than their debut and a more doom death feel to it along with being a lot gloomier. Yet they still retain their typical Morbid Angel chaos with typical blast beats without using them, and displaying the wicked guitar skills of Trey, and the deeper and more growly vocals from David - the vocals are more deeper and more demonic compared to the more "possessed" sound in Altars. This is probably my favorite album by these guys. If you're into Morbid Angel, this is a must have following their debut.

When i first heard this masterwork death metal Lp back in middle school, it didn't really grab my attention as i was just getting into death metal. I was more into bands like Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, and Dying Fetus(more strait foward death metal)and the depth and complexity of an album like "blessed are the sick" was a bit hard for my virgin ears to comprehend at the time. But like a good scotch or wine, this will grow on you over time. Morbid Angel have a style of death metal that is more deep and meaningful than your average "gore death kill" death metal bands. If you like Morbid Angel and don't have this album yet, your missing out.

Any band worth its salt would tell you how extremely vital a sophomore album is. It would not be much of an overstatement to say that it can, essentially, make-or-break a band. See, now matter how successful the debut may have been, it could all go flying out the window if the group cannot back it up with future music that is of an at least of an equal quality. The phrase "sophomore slump" lingers, and is made even more nervous when one realizes that many-a-band has been reduced to recapturing its respectability after such-a-creative slump has seen the light of day. Plus, not only will fans jump ship if they thought even for a minute that they sense a one-trick pony; but some are also likely to have the same reaction if alienated by the musical direction. Hence, incorporating experimental elements into such an early effort takes quite-the-skilled surgeon. But if you just so happen to be in a band called Morbid Angel, then any such worry should be put to rest for good. On 1991's "Blessed Are The Sick," the last thing on the minds of these four Floridian death metal primitives was disappointment. Quite the opposite, in fact, because they clearly pushed themselves into improving as much as humanly possible. As a result, one might say that the resulting album is better than its predecessor, that it is the crown jewel in this band's now nearly untouchable discography, and one of the absolute best heavy music releases of the 1990's. But that would almost detract from being the indisputably legendary masterpiece of heavy metal (death metal or otherwise), and a surefire classic.

Straying away from the grindcore and black metal leanings taken on their debut, 1989's "Altars Of Madness," the band instead favored writing traditional death-oriented songs, albeit with an almost startling amount of texture and diversity. And if this was there intent, then they were more than a little bit successful. The end result was full-length number two, the extremely creative, enthralling, precise, rewarding, carefully-thought-out, and contagious musical opus that is "B.A.T.S." Trey Azagthoth is a living legend, and it is easy to see why: He fills every moment as humanly possible with guitar work that can only be described as positively astounding. Swiftly and smoothly dancing all over his fretboard, Trey displays a truly symphonic range of talent, here. (If a guitarist ever had to take on a concertedly new sound, then this is the way to do it.) His riffs vary widely; yes, they are first-and-foremost relentlessly bullying and brutal, but they are sometimes tastefully tinged with melody. They can also go from being blazingly fast to surprisingly mid-tempo, and sometimes even become positively slow and chunky. However, no matter how aggressive he feels like playing, there is one constant aspect represented in all of his riffs: They are all extremely excellent, inventive, technical, crunchy, heavy, technical, honest-to-god catchy, and positively unforgettable, all-around. Indeed, this is satiating feast of finger-ripping, string-busting riffage is sure to get tattooed to the listener's brain after only one spin.

Furthermore, the arrangements are made even more huge and versatile thanks to the inclusion of tasty, Iron Maiden-worthy harmonic leads. Finally, it is true that some Slayer-ish chaotic shredding does remain, here, but not in a boring way. It exists seemingly only to offset his usual style of superbly technical, complex, involved, and meticulous soloing; and does a very good job at it, too, one must add. Most of his solos are so deliciously melodic and fluid that they conjure up undeniable classical music influences like Yngwie Malmsteen. A case and point of this fact is that Azagthoth dedicated this performance to Mozart. (Later groups, including Deicide and Hate Eternal would go on to continue in this vein. See: 2006's "Stench Of Redemption" and 2008's "Fury And Flames," respectively.) Plus, a few (albeit only a smaller amount -- only a real private selection) of them sound clean enough to evoke the keyboard-esque effect heard from prog metallers like Dream Theater. And there are even more various solo sections, but these are likely the most noteworthy and groundbreaking. They find awesome Middle-Eastern themes being fused into the mix. (This idea would be blatantly ripped off by subsequent generations. Here's looking at you: Nile, Immolation, Vital Remains, Cryptopsy, Melechesh, Behemoth, Origin, Burnt By The Sun, Vehemence, and latter-day Soulfly.) All told, "Blessed Are The Sick" is one terrifically expansive, creative, innovative, fluctuating, detailed, and multi-faceted array of guitar shredding. And Trey Azagthoth is somehow capable of pulling it all off -- frequently bold experimental elements, included, mind you -- with smashingly successful results. (Come to think of it, there is not a single audible flaw present, here!) Hence, this is an axeman who can go head-to-head with (and often beat) the stuff put out by such behemoths as, say, Slash, Dave Mustaine, Randy Rhodes, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbot, Marty Friedman, Zakk Wylde, and Glenn Tipton/K.K. Downing. Ah, heck, it would not even be overstatement to say that nobody is more deserving of being crowned as "The Next Yngwie" or "The Next Eddie Van Halen," than this man. He is the Jimi Hendrix of the death metal community.

And that's not all! Frontman David Vincent turns in a noteworthy performance, too; one that is long on evil, traditional death "Cookie Monster" bellows, evil, foreboding lyricism, and fast and steady bass lines. But skinsman Pete Sandoval out-stages him by turning in some of the best death metal drumming in the history of the genre. He is certainly one of the genre's fastest of all-time, as evidenced by his frequent blankets of brutal, propulsive, and airtight, jackhammer-fast death metal blast blasts (thus evoking his days in the side-project Terrorizer). But he can mix things up a bit, too; keeping his playing interesting with Lombardo-worthy thrash beats, jazzy-sounding beats, rhythmic and martial drum rolls, colorful tribal beats, soft hand percussion, and various other extraordinarily deft, multi-limbed, creative, and truly mind-boggling drum fills.

But this virtuosic musicianship might all be for not if really excellent and imaginative songwriting hadn't been included, as well. Whereas most metal bands would not dare dream of songwriting as epically epic as this, Morbid Angel proudly stand as one of the few unique, smart, and daring enough to be able to recognize the value of sharp contrast. This in a large part is thanks to the above-mentioned use of broad tempo alteration and accomplished and well-assembled melodic sensibility. Most of the time, the songs are blasting death metal, and they will not relent until it has clearly hit scorching levels of speed. But it is not uncommon to see one opt for a concertedly much more restrained and moderately-paced approach. And they can, at times, even go as far as to downshift to acoustic/flamenco strings and/or plodding, pure doom territory. Also, each individual song is, in-and-by-itself, brilliantly-written and multi-faceted. They all boast undeniably godly musicianship, and many of them plow through multiple whiplash tempo-changes, surging rhythms, sudden arrangement change-ups, and technical breakdowns. As such, they bare a strong resemblance to "math metal" (a genre that would boom in popularity in the mid-to-late 1990's). All of which make for a thoroughly exciting, engrossing, and unpredictable listen from beginning to end, and one that is sure to keep everybody on the edge of their seat.

Track numbers one, the foreboding "Intro," five (the really ominous "Doomsday Celebration), and eleven, the beautiful "Desolate Ways," are all brief interlude tracks that serve only to enhance mood and soft/hard friction. The same can be said about record wrapper-upper "In Resemblance," which is a mournful and contemplative closer complete with pretty and textured piano keys. However, on the opposite end, we also get songs like "Brain Storm," "Rebel Lands," and "Thy Kingdom Come." All of which are ripping, face-tearing, uncompromisingly brutal onslaughts. The former has scorching, careening guitars augmented by pummeling drums and a thick bass tone; the second is backed by furious and rip-roaring stream of head-spinning buzzsaw guitar leads; and the latter offers up still more excellent, smoke-inducing riffage, and shriek-y, glass-shattering soloing anchored by skull-caving trapkit annihilation. "The Ancient Ones" could also be fit into the same category as those three tunes, as it, too, is a blinding blast of drum thumps, solid, beeping bass notes, and, most importantly, insanely intricate picking. Some of Azagthoth's virtuosic abilities on display, here, include bludgeoning riffs, barn-burning thrash leads, and screaming soloing.

TRACK TWO is an early-yet-nonetheless big standout song. It smoothly builds from a catchy, sludgy, downtuned main riff (a la Pantera or The Melvins to a furious torrent of pummeling blast beats, breakneck tempos, and crushingly heavy rhythms. Also included are four solos that come ripping through the mix, and a chilling spoken-word vocal part. (You will remember the line "I live in the flesh," whether you want to or not.) A slow breakdown and nice, harmonic solo crop up near the end, as well. Elsewhere, "Day Of Suffering" is a piece of pure doom metal -- with dark and ominous guitars and especially sinister growls from Vincent; "Blessed Are The Sick/Leading The Rats" continues down the same path as its predecessor, with stripped down musical arrangements consisting only of slow, chunky, lurching, doom-laden guitar licks, and a dense, foot-stomping, bone-crunching groove. Nearing the end, "Abominations" may be a fairly restrained and catchy, groove-oriented number, but the redundantly-titled "Unholy Blasphemies" is blisteringly fast, and highlighted by a dizzying display of brutal drum blasts. It also has another handful of great guitar solos, to boot.

Frankly speaking, it would be shocking to find many metalheads that do not already own "Blessed Are The Sick." If you were reading a "Heavy Metal For Dummies" book, this record would be sure to be mentioned somewhere within the first chapter. Death metal does not get any more classic or essential than this, folks. A must.

Blessed Are the Sick being the second offical release of Morbid Angel and their 1991 showcases Death Metal at its finest with amazing riffs, great melodies and well-written lyrics. All the lyrics are included in the booklet including linernotes written by Trey Azagthoth and many nice photographs of the band. Allmusic gave the album 4.5/5 and I agree and up the ante to 5. 5/5.

Probably still one of my favorite! This album is the definitive death metal album, it has everyhthing one would want from the genre. Unfortunately, in my opinion Morbid Angel wouldnt be able to top this album with their newer releases. Get this and Altars of Madness and you should be good w/ Morbid's recordings.

This cd is one of many that Morbid Angel has created to be masterpieces. I find all Morbid Angel albums incredible although Domination is my favorite and then Covenant I have to say this is a pretty damn good follow up to Altars of Madness. If anyone wants to criticize a death metal band make sure you truely have a good reason or otherwise just go kill some emo kids.

This is definitely Morbid Angel's most underrated album, with their debut being rightfully praised (I for one worship it) and then there's Covenant which I think is a tad overrated. Oh and of course there's Domination which I thought kicked arse.

On this album you can immediately since a change in musical direction for the band, especially on the first half. Unfortunately this album has probably one the WORST intros I've ever heard, like most old Bathory album intros they're pretty f*ckin' pointless not like the bad*ss ones on In the Nightside Eclipse, Morbid Tales, and of course HELL AWAITS. All's well though since the album kicks off pretty strong with a heavy sludge/doom number with Fall From Grace and I don't know about you guys but I always like I got a massive wedgie from Satan himself after that one. You see this is what I was talking about, they slowed down their blasphemic speed and musically they became a lot tigher, ESPECIALLY Trey. This is also the first album they added those "atmospheric" acoustic/keyboard interludes which are kind of cool but I feel the last one is a little out of place. However, I love when metal gets all acoustic because I never hesitate to show the nay-sayers those songs to help prove that metal DOES require talent. Trey knows how to f*cking play a guitar and soothing keyboard too! Pete's drumming is still amazing of course and Dave intensifies his vocals a bit which he seems to do on each subsequent album until he left the band and they're awesome as usual.

The second half of the album (I'd say after the title track) is basically what I call "Altars of Madness part 2" with the first being the sludge/doom half. Since most of those tunes were actually revamped ones from their Abominations of Desolation demo days that would make sense since they retain that thrashiness and speed that makes "Altars" so god-like. They wouldn't be too odd to be on that album. 'Abominations' friggin rules as does 'The Ancient Ones'.

Overall a great one to pick up along with MA's first 4 albums. Gradewise I'd give this about a 92% so good job guys!