K's Reviews Topic!
- Vooder
- Mature Neophyte
- Posts: 69
- Joined: 20 Jun 2009, 07:43
- Location: Portugal
K's Reviews Topic!
Let's put here all the reviews about K?
Metal insider
http://www.metalinsider.net/reviews/alb ... -disdained
Zero Tolerance Magazine
http://www.ztmag.com/blog/news/morbid-a ... -reviewed/
nocleansinging.com
http://www.nocleansinging.com/2017/11/0 ... ore-132563
Metal insider
http://www.metalinsider.net/reviews/alb ... -disdained
Zero Tolerance Magazine
http://www.ztmag.com/blog/news/morbid-a ... -reviewed/
nocleansinging.com
http://www.nocleansinging.com/2017/11/0 ... ore-132563
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
interesting. in the last review, the reviewer think this album is the best album with tucker in the band.
- Verbal
- The Melancholy Wizards
- Posts: 25051
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 03:05
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
isnt that the g.uy from breaking bad
- H4T3M4CH1N3
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 748
- Joined: 03 Jul 2011, 07:07
- Location: Place Of Many Deaths
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
"Vincent’s voice has more personality"
"and is the best work they have done without Vincent"
Hahahahahahahahaha. I mean, seriously?
"and is the best work they have done without Vincent"
Hahahahahahahahaha. I mean, seriously?
Wide open 'til you see God, then BRAKE!
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
- Phantoon
- Ancient One
- Posts: 1145
- Joined: 23 May 2011, 01:47
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
The second statement at least remains to be seen. I mean it could be
- Ninny
- Metal God
- Posts: 15714
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 15:24
- Location: Groaningagain
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Vincent’s voice has more personality
- Shredlord
- Ancient One
- Posts: 1730
- Joined: 16 Apr 2009, 20:07
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
I don't see that as completely contradictory (If I am interpreting your comment correctly). I think he's saying while he prefers Vincent's voice, this is their best non-Vincent release.H4T3M4CH1N3 wrote:"Vincent’s voice has more personality"
"and is the best work they have done without Vincent"
Hahahahahahahahaha. I mean, seriously?
- TamPron
- Metal God
- Posts: 16582
- Joined: 24 Apr 2009, 00:50
- Location: Rod Stewart
- Contact:
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
thisShredlord wrote:I don't see that as completely contradictory (If I am interpreting your comment correctly). I think he's saying while he prefers Vincent's voice, this is their best non-Vincent release.H4T3M4CH1N3 wrote:"Vincent’s voice has more personality"
"and is the best work they have done without Vincent"
Hahahahahahahahaha. I mean, seriously?
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
makes sense
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
This needs to leak already I'm too ansy in the pantsies
Can't remember the last time I was this excited for a death metal album
Can't remember the last time I was this excited for a death metal album
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
three weeks from yesterday
- Methuselah Honeysuckle
- Postwhore
- Posts: 58513
- Joined: 26 Jul 2009, 22:32
- Location: the bottle dump
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Yeah but that's not today so
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
almost!
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
If it's as good as I think it'll easily be my aoty
- TamPron
- Metal God
- Posts: 16582
- Joined: 24 Apr 2009, 00:50
- Location: Rod Stewart
- Contact:
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
jorsh wrote:This needs to leak already I'm too ansy in the pantsies
Can't remember the last time I was this excited for a death metal album
- H4T3M4CH1N3
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 748
- Joined: 03 Jul 2011, 07:07
- Location: Place Of Many Deaths
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
No, you're not.Shredlord wrote:(If I am interpreting your comment correctly)
IMHO first of all he needs to define "personality" in this particular context. Second, it's not been a consistent performance and delivery because he (Vincent) has been sounding different on each of his releases with the band. I don't see what the splendid mate of mine means with "personality", perhaps making the same point as me?
Also, I feel like he's not giving Tucker the proper credit and praise he deserves. Fuck him
Wide open 'til you see God, then BRAKE!
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
- H4T3M4CH1N3
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 748
- Joined: 03 Jul 2011, 07:07
- Location: Place Of Many Deaths
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Yeah, fuck you toohorse dealies wrote:
Wide open 'til you see God, then BRAKE!
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
you are...youthful
i’ll say youthful
i’ll say youthful
- TamPron
- Metal God
- Posts: 16582
- Joined: 24 Apr 2009, 00:50
- Location: Rod Stewart
- Contact:
- vO)))id
- Metal God
- Posts: 12201
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 14:44
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
horse dealies wrote:you are...youthful
i’ll say youthful
- H4T3M4CH1N3
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 748
- Joined: 03 Jul 2011, 07:07
- Location: Place Of Many Deaths
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Let's just stick to the OP. You have plenty of room on Necro's to shitpost and stuff.
Also, fuck you, again
Also, fuck you, again
Wide open 'til you see God, then BRAKE!
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
- Shredlord
- Ancient One
- Posts: 1730
- Joined: 16 Apr 2009, 20:07
- User
- Metal God
- Posts: 15429
- Joined: 14 Aug 2014, 13:18
- Location: Unknown
- H4T3M4CH1N3
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 748
- Joined: 03 Jul 2011, 07:07
- Location: Place Of Many Deaths
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
I'm diggin' it, nice review. You can tell the hard-on bearer is on our fucking side, unlike some of those whiny "I11 fuck1n l0v3 t3h D4v1d V1nc3nt" bitchesShredlord wrote:http://www.toiletovhell.com/review-morb ... disdained/
Wide open 'til you see God, then BRAKE!
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
Kevin Schwantz #34 - Team Suzuki Lucky Strike
- TamPron
- Metal God
- Posts: 16582
- Joined: 24 Apr 2009, 00:50
- Location: Rod Stewart
- Contact:
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
"However, if your first reaction to a new Morbid Angel album is to have gripes about the production, you either 1. Haven’t spent much time with the band, or 2. Need to reset those death metal priorities. Because minor production issues are far less crucial than Trey’s riffs, Tucker’s spews, and the whole goddamn death metal shebang. Thankfully, this record delivers it all in heaps."
this is 100% true and the chapel in a nutshell
surely it will be the #1 thing discussed regarding this record. you know, rather than the actual songwriting.
this is 100% true and the chapel in a nutshell
surely it will be the #1 thing discussed regarding this record. you know, rather than the actual songwriting.
-
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 575
- Joined: 17 Apr 2009, 10:08
- Contact:
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Ha, what a ridiculous and loaded statement. By that person saying that, they are assuming K is on par sound quality wise to the other albums. So THAT reaction tells me they have no clue as to how to properly compare a listening comparison. IF they did, they would realize, like any sane person, take Covenant or Formulas for example (or even I's sound!), that K doesn't measure up sound quality wise. It's not a minor issue and precisely why I can't enjoy "Trey’s riffs, Tucker’s spews, and the whole goddamn death metal shebang." Sorry, it's not delivering on the sound front. I'm sort of fed up with some people fudging the matter of sound quality or letting it pass as if it's not important to the experience! As I said, I will be "remastering" it for myself once I get the CD so I can listen with enjoyment and actually hear the riffing.jorsh wrote:"However, if your first reaction to a new Morbid Angel album is to have gripes about the production, you either 1. Haven’t spent much time with the band, or 2. Need to reset those death metal priorities. Because minor production issues are far less crucial than Trey’s riffs, Tucker’s spews, and the whole goddamn death metal shebang. Thankfully, this record delivers it all in heaps."
this is 100% true and the chapel in a nutshell
surely it will be the #1 thing discussed regarding this record. you know, rather than the actual songwriting.
- Methuselah Honeysuckle
- Postwhore
- Posts: 58513
- Joined: 26 Jul 2009, 22:32
- Location: the bottle dump
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Or maybe he thinks that because like opinions man
- Vooder
- Mature Neophyte
- Posts: 69
- Joined: 20 Jun 2009, 07:43
- Location: Portugal
- vO)))id
- Metal God
- Posts: 12201
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 14:44
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
A production, mix or master can get in the way of the song and its songwriting. Even if you've never paid attention to the actual sound of a record that you can't really enjoy but have no explenation for why you can't enjoy it, it could very well be the sound of it.
The opposite can also be true; bad songwriting but great sound.
In my experience songwriting trumps sound. A mix can be great but not have great sound.
The opposite can also be true; bad songwriting but great sound.
In my experience songwriting trumps sound. A mix can be great but not have great sound.
-
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 575
- Joined: 17 Apr 2009, 10:08
- Contact:
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
I agree with you, you're not wrong at all that songwriting trumps sound. I would however put it in a better way, that songwriting should trum.p sound when assessing music for music.iamgoat wrote:A production, mix or master can get in the way of the song and its songwriting. Even if you've never paid attention to the actual sound of a record that you can't really enjoy but have no explenation for why you can't enjoy it, it could very well be the sound of it.
The opposite can also be true; bad songwriting but great sound.
In my experience songwriting trumps sound. A mix can be great but not have great sound.
I say that because people at times don't evaluate the quality of songwriting but rather the aesthetic. Within that convention, a good song could go unnoticed or underrated, while a crappy one gets all the glory. So what should be doesn't mean is what always happens.
That being true also - and this has been my point all along - doesn't mean that good sound shouldn't exist with good songwriting (not saying you are saying this).
Using Morbid Angel as the obvious example, Covenant alone tells me that is true.
- vO)))id
- Metal God
- Posts: 12201
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 14:44
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Taurean Mixing wrote:I agree with you, you're not wrong at all that songwriting trumps sound. I would however put it in a better way, that songwriting should trum.p sound when assessing music for music.iamgoat wrote:A production, mix or master can get in the way of the song and its songwriting. Even if you've never paid attention to the actual sound of a record that you can't really enjoy but have no explenation for why you can't enjoy it, it could very well be the sound of it.
The opposite can also be true; bad songwriting but great sound.
In my experience songwriting trumps sound. A mix can be great but not have great sound.
I say that because people at times don't evaluate the quality of songwriting but rather the aesthetic. Within that convention, a good song could go unnoticed or underrated, while a crappy one gets all the glory. So what should be doesn't mean is what always happens.
That being true also - and this has been my point all along - doesn't mean that good sound shouldn't exist with good songwriting (not saying you are saying this).
Using Morbid Angel as the obvious example, Covenant alone tells me that is true.
I would also like to point out to the other forum members that we're not just talking shit about stuff we do or don't like about an album. We actually really like talking about this and sharing our thoughts. And because it's our job and passion we might go into details you don't care about. And that's fine. We're just not whining for the sake of it but we're expressing our opinions. And if that expression seems technical then okay... but in the end for us, as for you, it's just all about how the music makes us feel.
-
- God of Emptiness
- Posts: 575
- Joined: 17 Apr 2009, 10:08
- Contact:
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
iamgoat wrote:Taurean Mixing wrote:I agree with you, you're not wrong at all that songwriting trumps sound. I would however put it in a better way, that songwriting should trum.p sound when assessing music for music.iamgoat wrote:A production, mix or master can get in the way of the song and its songwriting. Even if you've never paid attention to the actual sound of a record that you can't really enjoy but have no explenation for why you can't enjoy it, it could very well be the sound of it.
The opposite can also be true; bad songwriting but great sound.
In my experience songwriting trumps sound. A mix can be great but not have great sound.
I say that because people at times don't evaluate the quality of songwriting but rather the aesthetic. Within that convention, a good song could go unnoticed or underrated, while a crappy one gets all the glory. So what should be doesn't mean is what always happens.
That being true also - and this has been my point all along - doesn't mean that good sound shouldn't exist with good songwriting (not saying you are saying this).
Using Morbid Angel as the obvious example, Covenant alone tells me that is true.
I would also like to point out to the other forum members that we're not just talking shit about stuff we do or don't like about an album. We actually really like talking about this and sharing our thoughts. And because it's our job and passion we might go into details you don't care about. And that's fine. We're just not whining for the sake of it but we're expressing our opinions. And if that expression seems technical then okay... but in the end for us, as for you, it's just all about how the music makes us feel.
- Abzu
- Postwhore
- Posts: 45528
- Joined: 17 Apr 2009, 08:35
- Location: next door
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
::::::;;;;;;;;
- Vooder
- Mature Neophyte
- Posts: 69
- Joined: 20 Jun 2009, 07:43
- Location: Portugal
- TamPron
- Metal God
- Posts: 16582
- Joined: 24 Apr 2009, 00:50
- Location: Rod Stewart
- Contact:
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
This review the hard-on bearer describes some of the riffs...It's just some hard-on bearer humming, but it gives a slightly better idea of what some of these riffs might sound like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VMr9xbP3yA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VMr9xbP3yA
- Verbal
- The Melancholy Wizards
- Posts: 25051
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 03:05
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
is that a g.uy humming what he is guessing the riffs will sound like
- Vooder
- Mature Neophyte
- Posts: 69
- Joined: 20 Jun 2009, 07:43
- Location: Portugal
- Shredlord
- Ancient One
- Posts: 1730
- Joined: 16 Apr 2009, 20:07
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p04DOohS89g
this hard-on bearer is a fucking chode
this hard-on bearer is a fucking chode
- shadowalk
- Metal God
- Posts: 13455
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 09:16
- Location: Manila, Philippines
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Best album since F. I'd even go as far saying it's on par with F.
- User
- Metal God
- Posts: 15429
- Joined: 14 Aug 2014, 13:18
- Location: Unknown
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
i plan to listen to this for the first time tonight in bed with earphones
i haven't bought it yet cos i am in land of ps2 emulators, so i have the 320k leak
i haven't bought it yet cos i am in land of ps2 emulators, so i have the 320k leak
more metal
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
hey luke
you have reminded me to update the dropbox
you have reminded me to update the dropbox
- happiness and harmony
- Postwhore
- Posts: 77224
- Joined: 18 Apr 2009, 07:36
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
also paradigms warped is way better on the album, i love how slow and sparse it gets near the end almost like a greymachine track
the end of the pillars crumbling is wonderful, an unexpected riff there
the end of the pillars crumbling is wonderful, an unexpected riff there
- Mutilator
- Ancient One
- Posts: 1578
- Joined: 11 May 2009, 02:44
- Location: Utrecht NL
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
It's been awhile since I logged in here again.
Here is my review (in Dutch) dating from November 4th:
http://wp.livereviewer.com/review-morbi ... disdained/
Here is my review (in Dutch) dating from November 4th:
http://wp.livereviewer.com/review-morbi ... disdained/
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Dead metal - 50%
There are bands which protect their integrity and realize their full artistic potential by broadening their horizons in spite of disappointed fans, negative critics and lukewarm sales figures. These bands might have to stand their ground to face the negative external influences but at least these band members don't have their ass stuck in their manager's butt and don't feel like vomiting when they look at themselves in the mirror in the morning. Integrity is worth more than any fame and money in the world.
Only few bands have carried the torch of this free-spirited approach throughout their careers. Many of them have tried out different things in experimental phases but decided to keep things safe in their late careers which is acceptable at that point. This is the case for many famous bands from Iron Maiden over Judas Priest to Metallica. The only band I could think of that still surprises with each new record and does what it feels is right for it would be In Flames. A German proverb says: the more danger, the more honor. It means that if you get massive negative feedback, you're doing something right because you're moving people in one way or another.
Morbid Angel has done exactly that. The band had already experimented with industrial music in the era of the gloryhole but the band's last output Illud Divinum Insanus was a radical step forward to cover new ground after eight years of silence. Obviously, capitalists, critics and fans passionately despised this output but it seemed to be the right release for the band at the right time.
Six and a half years later, the previous release turns out to be only a storm in a teacup. Kingdoms Disdained is the band's mea culpa and represents a solid loss of credibility. Morbid Angel has gone through numerous line-up changes during the past few years, almost doesn't play any songs from the last record live anymore and desperately tries to go back to its technical death metal roots on this bland, repetitive and soulless output.
Kingdoms Disdained isn't particularly bad or good, it's actually worse because it's painfully average, exchangeable and predictable. Generic grunts meet senseless blast beat patterns, worn-out riffs, uninspired guitar riffs and powerless bass guitars. To suggest an illusion of diversity, overtly fast passages are occasionally interwoven with chugging mid-tempo parts. The unbalanced production focuses on hyperactive drum passages and monotonous vocals while the guitars sound bland and the bass is often barely audible. This kind of music might have been emotional, exciting and original three decades ago but today any amateurish high school death metal group comes around with more interesting ideas. This record is bland and by the numbers. No effort whatsoever was put into the musicianship and songwriting aside of the omnipresent drum patterns that are so overused that they become just as boring as everything else. Not one single song sticks out among the eleven new tracks. In a few years, nobody will remember any of those tunes as even the band's most faithful fans will always prefer the idealized old days due to some misplaced nostalgia.
Grow some balls and listen to something exciting once in a while. Morbid Angel's new coaster is everything but that. The band should stand its ground and do what it thinks is right instead of playing charades among band members to assemble a group of exchangeable yes-men without any own artistic vision that copy their idols of yore in the case of the drummer and guitarist or repeat themselves in the case of the two older members. Kingdoms Disdained is a headless assimilation to nostalgia. Playing it safe and boring to death is always worse than taking risks and offending people in my book. This isn't death metal but dead metal. Shame on you. This faceless release only deserves the most average rating possible.
There are bands which protect their integrity and realize their full artistic potential by broadening their horizons in spite of disappointed fans, negative critics and lukewarm sales figures. These bands might have to stand their ground to face the negative external influences but at least these band members don't have their ass stuck in their manager's butt and don't feel like vomiting when they look at themselves in the mirror in the morning. Integrity is worth more than any fame and money in the world.
Only few bands have carried the torch of this free-spirited approach throughout their careers. Many of them have tried out different things in experimental phases but decided to keep things safe in their late careers which is acceptable at that point. This is the case for many famous bands from Iron Maiden over Judas Priest to Metallica. The only band I could think of that still surprises with each new record and does what it feels is right for it would be In Flames. A German proverb says: the more danger, the more honor. It means that if you get massive negative feedback, you're doing something right because you're moving people in one way or another.
Morbid Angel has done exactly that. The band had already experimented with industrial music in the era of the gloryhole but the band's last output Illud Divinum Insanus was a radical step forward to cover new ground after eight years of silence. Obviously, capitalists, critics and fans passionately despised this output but it seemed to be the right release for the band at the right time.
Six and a half years later, the previous release turns out to be only a storm in a teacup. Kingdoms Disdained is the band's mea culpa and represents a solid loss of credibility. Morbid Angel has gone through numerous line-up changes during the past few years, almost doesn't play any songs from the last record live anymore and desperately tries to go back to its technical death metal roots on this bland, repetitive and soulless output.
Kingdoms Disdained isn't particularly bad or good, it's actually worse because it's painfully average, exchangeable and predictable. Generic grunts meet senseless blast beat patterns, worn-out riffs, uninspired guitar riffs and powerless bass guitars. To suggest an illusion of diversity, overtly fast passages are occasionally interwoven with chugging mid-tempo parts. The unbalanced production focuses on hyperactive drum passages and monotonous vocals while the guitars sound bland and the bass is often barely audible. This kind of music might have been emotional, exciting and original three decades ago but today any amateurish high school death metal group comes around with more interesting ideas. This record is bland and by the numbers. No effort whatsoever was put into the musicianship and songwriting aside of the omnipresent drum patterns that are so overused that they become just as boring as everything else. Not one single song sticks out among the eleven new tracks. In a few years, nobody will remember any of those tunes as even the band's most faithful fans will always prefer the idealized old days due to some misplaced nostalgia.
Grow some balls and listen to something exciting once in a while. Morbid Angel's new coaster is everything but that. The band should stand its ground and do what it thinks is right instead of playing charades among band members to assemble a group of exchangeable yes-men without any own artistic vision that copy their idols of yore in the case of the drummer and guitarist or repeat themselves in the case of the two older members. Kingdoms Disdained is a headless assimilation to nostalgia. Playing it safe and boring to death is always worse than taking risks and offending people in my book. This isn't death metal but dead metal. Shame on you. This faceless release only deserves the most average rating possible.
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Eh, who cares? - 45%
Morbid Angel, after 14 years of nothing (Illud doesn't count), has decided to release a new studio album. The band has changed a lot in those 14 years, but one thing still persists; the overall decline in quality the band has faced for a while now. While the last Morbid Angel release I actually liked was from 1998, I actually had some hopes for this album. However, this was, to me, a huge letdown, but I can see why some people would like it; I mean, this is Morbid Angel's first album in a very long time, the anticipation was surely a killer. However, it really doesn't mean anything if the end result is mediocre. While this is better than the last two albums, this album is still a very boring, very average death metal album. This album starts strong enough, with a decent opening track, but it begins to descend after that.
The first thing I will get out of the way is this; don't try to listen to this all the way through. Personally, I tried this approach (as I always do) with the album and ended up zoning out. I barely remembered anything about the album after I was done. So, I went back in and relistened to it, which brought somewhat more fruitful results. This album is basically similar to Gateways To Annihilation, in more ways than one. This includes the fact that the songs here lack the interesting and innovative songwriting the band brought to the table as a coherent unit, instead having a more confused and jigsaw-puzzle style sound, with riffs randomly tossed into the music. These songs were really only interesting when I was listening to them; after they were finished, I barely remembered anything about them.
The drummer basically worships at the altar of Pete Sandoval, but has none of the spirit that he had. The riffs, or at least what I remember of them, were half decent, but largely had none of the spirit that the riffs have on, say, Altars of Madness. The solos are, as with other Morbid Angel albums, the highlight of the album, but even they are very lacking. Steve Tucker is still a decent vocalist, but he seems very bored as the album progresses.
Overall, everything feels like it was thrown together in about a week, compared to some of the previous albums where it was obvious that the band wrote the music beforehand. There is also no spirit, nor the energy that drove the older albums. This feels devoid of anything that made Morbid Angel great in the past, and is just another testament to the fact that Morbid Angel has been on the decline for almost 20 years now. It, much like the new Incantation release, really just sounds like another boring death metal record, and if it didn't have the name attached to it that it does, it would be discarded and forgotten, then later dug up as a "forgotten classic". If you want great Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel, listen to Formulas Fatal To The Flesh. Or, if you're really in the mood for a new album by an older band, listen to the new Immolation, because Atonement is the best album by that band since 2002. Either way, just skip this bargain-bin worthy snorefest.
Morbid Angel, after 14 years of nothing (Illud doesn't count), has decided to release a new studio album. The band has changed a lot in those 14 years, but one thing still persists; the overall decline in quality the band has faced for a while now. While the last Morbid Angel release I actually liked was from 1998, I actually had some hopes for this album. However, this was, to me, a huge letdown, but I can see why some people would like it; I mean, this is Morbid Angel's first album in a very long time, the anticipation was surely a killer. However, it really doesn't mean anything if the end result is mediocre. While this is better than the last two albums, this album is still a very boring, very average death metal album. This album starts strong enough, with a decent opening track, but it begins to descend after that.
The first thing I will get out of the way is this; don't try to listen to this all the way through. Personally, I tried this approach (as I always do) with the album and ended up zoning out. I barely remembered anything about the album after I was done. So, I went back in and relistened to it, which brought somewhat more fruitful results. This album is basically similar to Gateways To Annihilation, in more ways than one. This includes the fact that the songs here lack the interesting and innovative songwriting the band brought to the table as a coherent unit, instead having a more confused and jigsaw-puzzle style sound, with riffs randomly tossed into the music. These songs were really only interesting when I was listening to them; after they were finished, I barely remembered anything about them.
The drummer basically worships at the altar of Pete Sandoval, but has none of the spirit that he had. The riffs, or at least what I remember of them, were half decent, but largely had none of the spirit that the riffs have on, say, Altars of Madness. The solos are, as with other Morbid Angel albums, the highlight of the album, but even they are very lacking. Steve Tucker is still a decent vocalist, but he seems very bored as the album progresses.
Overall, everything feels like it was thrown together in about a week, compared to some of the previous albums where it was obvious that the band wrote the music beforehand. There is also no spirit, nor the energy that drove the older albums. This feels devoid of anything that made Morbid Angel great in the past, and is just another testament to the fact that Morbid Angel has been on the decline for almost 20 years now. It, much like the new Incantation release, really just sounds like another boring death metal record, and if it didn't have the name attached to it that it does, it would be discarded and forgotten, then later dug up as a "forgotten classic". If you want great Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel, listen to Formulas Fatal To The Flesh. Or, if you're really in the mood for a new album by an older band, listen to the new Immolation, because Atonement is the best album by that band since 2002. Either way, just skip this bargain-bin worthy snorefest.
-
- I'd Rank That For $1
- Posts: 49332
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 06:40
- Location: to the depths, in degradation
Re: K's Reviews Topic!
Contrived and uninspired. - 0%
There comes a time in some band in some band's lives where they make an irredeemably bad album that is reviled by fans and critics alike. They come to a crossroads and have a choice. They can double down and continue to improve upon that new style or figuratively apologize and/or try to write it off as a joke and go back to what they were doing. Morbid Angel attempted the latter by going back to doing what they used to do best: old school Florida death metal. One would've thought that we, the fans, would've seen a grand return to form upon the expulsion of the "incompatibility" from the band. Instead of said return to form, we're treated to an insultingly safe attempt at what can only be called death metal by numbers.
Every song has the same structure with a seeming inability, whether by choice or sudden lack of songwriting skills, to include any deviation from an unwritten formula set up by "classic" death metal albums released before them. They meander through song after lazy song and riff after lazy riff, seemingly hoping that the song will just come to an end. There's no real direction any song takes, nor is there any real balls behind the songwriting. Trey has shown that he is running out of ideas on this album, taking on the songwriting exclusively, refusing any help save for one track from the new guitarist. New and fresh ideas are sometimes good, Trey. Take note of that next time you go into the studio. They've essentially become a tribute band, playing songs from other albums just slightly re-imagined with new lyrics.
Production-wise, this album is a mess as well. The drums are entirely too loud and entirely triggered to hell, to the point of sounding like a drum machine. They ruin the songs, drowning out a decent amount of what the other instruments are doing. This gives the album an even more mechanical approach. The guitars are mixed too low, losing to the drums and vocals in both volume and staying power. Why the band agreed to this final mix is beyond me. It ruins any atmosphere the band was trying to create, instead causing the album to sound like a vapid attempt at making music.
Morbid Angel has proven with this album that they have not aged gracefully. From a sudden stylistic change to force new ideas to playing it babyproof safe in an attempted "return to form", they are a band that has lost its flame and flare. It's a shell of its former self, trying to hang on for dear life to its glory days while simultaneously insulting its fans. For that reason, I can openly say that this is a worse album than Illud Divinum Insanus. This album is a forced attempt at staying relevant while they pay tribute to themselves at their own altar of worship. It's an album that will profoundly waste the listener's time trying to find any redeeming qualities. Skip it, unless you absolutely have to hear anything Morbid Angel pumps out, due to the weight their name holds.
There comes a time in some band in some band's lives where they make an irredeemably bad album that is reviled by fans and critics alike. They come to a crossroads and have a choice. They can double down and continue to improve upon that new style or figuratively apologize and/or try to write it off as a joke and go back to what they were doing. Morbid Angel attempted the latter by going back to doing what they used to do best: old school Florida death metal. One would've thought that we, the fans, would've seen a grand return to form upon the expulsion of the "incompatibility" from the band. Instead of said return to form, we're treated to an insultingly safe attempt at what can only be called death metal by numbers.
Every song has the same structure with a seeming inability, whether by choice or sudden lack of songwriting skills, to include any deviation from an unwritten formula set up by "classic" death metal albums released before them. They meander through song after lazy song and riff after lazy riff, seemingly hoping that the song will just come to an end. There's no real direction any song takes, nor is there any real balls behind the songwriting. Trey has shown that he is running out of ideas on this album, taking on the songwriting exclusively, refusing any help save for one track from the new guitarist. New and fresh ideas are sometimes good, Trey. Take note of that next time you go into the studio. They've essentially become a tribute band, playing songs from other albums just slightly re-imagined with new lyrics.
Production-wise, this album is a mess as well. The drums are entirely too loud and entirely triggered to hell, to the point of sounding like a drum machine. They ruin the songs, drowning out a decent amount of what the other instruments are doing. This gives the album an even more mechanical approach. The guitars are mixed too low, losing to the drums and vocals in both volume and staying power. Why the band agreed to this final mix is beyond me. It ruins any atmosphere the band was trying to create, instead causing the album to sound like a vapid attempt at making music.
Morbid Angel has proven with this album that they have not aged gracefully. From a sudden stylistic change to force new ideas to playing it babyproof safe in an attempted "return to form", they are a band that has lost its flame and flare. It's a shell of its former self, trying to hang on for dear life to its glory days while simultaneously insulting its fans. For that reason, I can openly say that this is a worse album than Illud Divinum Insanus. This album is a forced attempt at staying relevant while they pay tribute to themselves at their own altar of worship. It's an album that will profoundly waste the listener's time trying to find any redeeming qualities. Skip it, unless you absolutely have to hear anything Morbid Angel pumps out, due to the weight their name holds.