Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
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Happy 20th birthday, Altars of Madness. The record is actually one of my least favorite by Morbid Angel. It has crackling performances, catchy songwriting, and the band's best production besides Gateways to Annihilation. But it lacks the majestic atmosphere of later records. That infamous murk contributed to Morbid Angel's sick ambience. The dryness of Altars feels sterile in comparison. Some parts are cheesy - the opening riff of "Maze of Torment," the waltz section of "Chapel of Ghouls." The CD has three unnecessary remixes tacked on at the end. And why was "Lord of All Fevers & Plagues" a bonus track? It's arguably the best song on the record. Still, it's a thrill to hear a young band so potent. Morbid Angel weren't kings of death metal yet. Altars of Madness was the beginning of their coup.
Maze of TormentChapel of Ghouls
Buy:
Earache (US)
Earache (EU)
eMusic (MP3)
Amazon (MP3)
Labels: anniversaries, clee, death metal, usa
21 Comments:
The opening riff to Maze of Torment is cheesy?!
Wow - I was just listening to this yesterday and remembering how much it used to scare the shit out of me when I was 13-14 years old. 20 years!
It's still my favorite Morbid Angel record, though for mostly sentimental reasons. Excepting Blessed, I find all their later discs a little monotonous and tiresome. I actually like the messy smears of reverb on everything here... especially Vincent's scathing vocals.
You're looking for a beatdown, Lee. Ha ha ha.
I guess he's talking about the "HA HA HA" part, I remember that one time I was on my way to Uni with my friend and we were with his girlfriend and as we were preparing ourselves to headbang to the blast beat after the "HA HA HA" part, she just started laughing because she didn't understand how a song called "Maze of Torment" could start with what was supposed to be an evil laugh but just failed miserably, this of course just broke the vibe and we just listened to the song quietly trying to save a little face I guess.
Well NOW I noticed that he actually mentioned the opening riff, that's what I get for reading music blogs and trying to post and eat my lunch at the same time.
How can this riff be cheesy? Where does the cheese come from?!
I give up on the kids of today: Officially here and now.
Cosmo, is the Melissa record by Mercyful Fate also cheesy in your opinion? How about Omen's Battlecry?
People take these things so personally.
Great post! It's been years! I did not remember all of the thrash in there...
Not taking anything personally. My enjoyment of Altars of Madness is unaffected by your take on it. You call something cheesy and usually I can see where you're coming from, but I struggle and struggle and I can't see how the first riff in Maze of Torment has anything cheesy about it. I file this next to calling a Satyricon 2-note retard riff 'sexy' under value judgments you've made that I cannot fathom.
I hear a little bit of cheese in the opening riff of "Maze of Torment," but when it resurfaces later in the track it pretty much slays.
Sorry, but I am now obligated to kill you for questioning one of the 3 perfect death metal albums (the other 2 being Deicide- S/T and Pestilence - Consvming Impvlse). Turn yourself in to me at MDF and I'll dispatch you quickly. Make it easier on yourself.
Ha! I'm weird, I know.
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I'm also pleased to point out that I own every edition of this album - CD, LP, cassette, remastered CD, picture LP, and remastered CD/DVD. If they find additional ways to re-release it I will gladly buy each and every one of them! Marry me, Altars of Madness! You are the one for me!
Does your wife know about this? Earache loves you, Averse.
I personally prefer Blessed Are The Sick, although it's not as consistent as Altars of Madness. Its highs are higher, for me.
Averse Sefira: I own the early CD and the sound I think is a bit iffy. If I were to go for one of the other versions which would you say that's the best option? Is the new master too hot, does the compression hurt it?
Ah, I'll leave my proposed dismembering of Cos to Wrath...
This is probably my favorite death metal album ever, and one of my favorite pieces of music. It's difficult to choose a favorite song off it after all these years but I really like "Immortal Rites." It has all of the elements that make the LP so great + such an unearthly sound/presence. My top 3 DM albums would be: this, Autopsy's "Severed Survival" and Death's "Scream Bloody Gore." I think of those 3 as being the foundations of all death metal - well, the DM I want to listen to anyway. ;) If you add in Carcass and Suffocation you have almost the entire range of what DM later became. I don't think anyone has ever matched "Altars of Madness" and it belongs in a select group of releases (in my mind) that includes the Necrovore demo stuff, Possessed, Fallen Christ, etc. - really original, occult-obsessed, extremely dark music that didn't leave any REAL inheritors because it was too unique...I only spin this album maybe 3-4 times a year now because it's too special and I don't want to ever grow tired of it.
Oh, and I'm guessing that including "Lord of All Fevers & Plagues" on the original version would have made the recording too long to fit on one record? I have no idea if that's what happened or not...but it first came out when Earache was only producing vinyl.
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