Morbid Angel
Illud Divinum insanus
season of mist
DM kings return to smash the mould
Sixteen years have passed since Trey Azagthoth and David Vincent last made an album together, and so it seems more than a little bizarre that anyone would expect them to lazily pick up where they left off. Judging by some of the hysterical, reactionary responses to this long awaited renewal of this revered partnership, people either have a very short memories or a woeful lack of imagination. Seemingly destined to split the vote between those who delight in Morbid Angel's perennially brave and experimental nature and those who have somehow mistaken the Floridian legends for bog-standard death metal meatheads, Illud Divinum Insanus is unquestionably the most diverse, daring and cantankerous album of the bands career, and yet given past experiments like industrial titans Laibach's 1994 remix EP and digi-grinders The Berzerker's dismantling of Day of suffering, none of the supposed curveballs contained herein are unprecedented.
In stark contrast to it's predecessor, 2003's decent but unremarkable Heretic, this sounds brash, haughty and sonically colossal, heralding a welcome return to the gleaming clarity and punch of the Domination era. With Dave Vincent reinstalled as imperious master of ceremonies, the classic Morbid Angel sound is intermittently reborn, particularly on more traditional acts of extremity like Existo Vulgore, Nevermore and Beauty Meets Beast. Debutante drummer Tim Yeung acquits himself superbly throughout, aptly stepping into the legendary Pete Sandoval's hyper-blasting shoes. In terms of the albums more contentious material, this veers from Too extreme! distorted techno-death hammer blows and the grimly anthemic doom rock of I Am Morbid through to the quasi-industrial stomp of Destructo Vs The Earth/Attack and the mischievous, purist-baiting Marilyn Manson-isms of the surefire rock club favourite, Radikult, with an invigorating arrogance and intensity of focus. In fact, it's not hard to see why some older fans and other wavers of the metal rulebook will be horrified by some of the detours Morbid Angel have taken here. But what really matters is that every last riff, beat, growl and blast exudes the same cold and majestic spirit of potency and defiance that informed the bands early records. The end result is a twisted, confrontational masterpiece and a triumph for individuality and testicular fortitude. 9/10
DOM LAWSON
