On June 22, 1993, Morbid Angel released one of the most important milestones of the still-young death metal genre. Of course all of the first three Morbid Angel albums are now considered absolute classics of the style, and fans can argue all day which out of Altars of Madness, Blessed Are the Sick, and Covenant is the best, but Covenant still merits a special distinction in the context of death metal history and the band’s own progress. It was one of the first death metal albums to be released on a major label (spawning some of the few death metal videos to get MTV airplay – in turn spawning a rather memorable Beavis and Butthead scene), and is still one of the highest-selling death metal albums of all time, none of which came at the expense of their all-out dizzying morbid vision.
Market success aside, it’s quite possibly Morbid Angel’s most fully realized work – a textbook example of excellent death metal. Save for “Angel of Disease” (a re-recording of a song from the shelved pre-Altars album Abominations of Desolation) they had mostly moved past the thrash roots still evident on the first two albums and created a blueprint for countless bands that would marry sinister melodicism, off-kilter grooves, battering brutality, and a production drenched in subterranean darkness. I could gush about this album all day, but you’re better off reading Michael Nelson’s excellent article on this album’s 20th anniversary on Stereogum, because I’m supposed to actually review a show somewhere in this post…
Whether it was due to the fan backlash against the questionable “experiments” on Illud Divinum Insanus, a matter of timing (the anniversaries of the first two albums came either during the writing/recording of Illud or the touring for that release), or a sense that this was indeed their best album, the current lineup of Morbid Angel evidently saw fit to celebrate Covenant’s 20th birthday with a tour wherein they would play that album in its entirely from start to finish. Lucky for us Pittsburgh metalheads, the tour made a stop at Altar Bar on November 15.
Unfortunately I arrived too late to catch the first openers, Disobey, who apparently play a mixture of black, death, and thrash metal. I did, however, catch Pittsburghers Liquified Guts, who are always a treat. Musically a goregrind/death metal band in the vein of pre-Necroticism Carcass or Exhumed, Jim Sherwood’s goofy sense of humor and absurd lyrical themes set them apart from the usual milieu, putting them more in the camp of Impetigo than General Surgery. (Lyrical themes include a “Battalion of Fonzies” and “The Third Quaid” – about Dennis and Randy Quaid’s lesser-known brother Buddy.) I was less impressed by Lythem. Perhaps the overly bass-heavy sound at Altar Bar did not do much justice to the nuances of their songs (since their recorded content sounded better to my ears), but the live set failed to sustain my attention. Moreover, one song’s attempt to merge grungy alt-metal vocals with death metal growls, to put it lightly, just did not work.
Around 11, the main attraction finally hit the stage, and boy did they destroy. Trey Azagthoth may have sported the goofiest pants of the evening, but he and new guitarist Destructhor (also of Zyklon and Myrkskog) tore through those classic diabolical riffs with absolute finesse – although at times some of the leads were a little buried in the mix. It’s unfortunate that original drummer Pete Sandoval could not participate, as he is evidently still taking it easy since recovering from the back injuries and subsequent surgery that left him off Illud, but replacement Tim Yeung (ex-Hate Eternal) more than admirably covered Pete’s indispensable drum performance from that album. Dave Vincent’s vocals aren’t quite what they used to be – his most ferocious growls were more Domination and Illud than the beast-man roar (or is that a bear?) on Covenant, but his nuanced vocal modulations and commanding stage persona still delivered the goods.
After the closing riffs and “bow to me” intonations of “God of Emptiness,” the band immediately segued into “Where the Slime Live” which kicked off a mini-set of highlights from each of their other albums, even those from the Steve Tucker era. (While “Bil Ur-Sag” has been a live staple since at least the last time I saw them, it was a treat to hear “Ageless, Still I Am”, one of the best songs from the too-often-neglected Gateways to Annihilation.) The band closed out the night with two of their all-time classic album openers: “Immortal Rites” and “Fall from Grace.” As they set down their instruments and the lights brightened, it was easy to imagine you couldn’t be further from Jehovah’s grace.
(Photos by Brittany Paige)
I would let the crowd speak for lythem because they were going crazy and cheering after every single song that was played they were awesome!
That’s a bit of a stretch RE:Lythem. There seemed to be a handful of meathead types that were real into it, moshing among themselves. Early on there was a good response, but after the grunge-ballad it seemed people were ready for them to be done. I know I was, but I drove a ways to go to the show and was eager to see Morbid Angel. Liquefied Guts had a more old school and diverse sound. Disobey were pretty cool too.