http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/morbid ... io-return/

It is what it is. I think they can't do much worse than the last one and I'll leave it at that.

Well, as shitty as the last album was, there's nothing to stop them making another great death metal album, particularly with Steve Tucker back on board.

One thing though, I'm not gonna get myself hyped over this one. I predict a 2019/20 release.

As it happened with Crytopsy I expect a more standard death album. Time will say if its something worth of it. But I only love Alta of Madness and Covenant so I am not so hyped about it.

Keen to know who will be the new members. Any bet or desire?

This could be a good one, but I'm not expecting too much quality. I'm sure Steve Tucker will still sound fantastic though.

I can't help it...I'm actually very excited, though after remembering how it happened last time...I'm a bit cautious . To be fair, judging from Steve's quote, it appears that Trey has really learned from his mistakes and regrets doing "Illud" himself. And if I'm totally honest, I've always felt that it was moreso David Vincent's involvement, rather than Trey's artistic "vision" or whatever, that made the album so fucking bad anyway.

Not expecting anything soon since these guys love to drag their feet, but I'm pretty excited. I really enjoy the earlier Tucker albums, especially Gateways.

Of course Trey "regrets" Illud now - it was so widely panned that it almost destroyed their fanbase. Not surprised at all that he wants to move the band in a more generic, palatable DM direction.

It's easy to be cynical about the band and Trey, who has sometimes come off as a pushover when it comes to the other members and their contributions in the band. I mean in a more extreme way, this is basically exactly what happened with Domination followed by Formulas. However, Trey stating that he wants to be death metal doesn't really suggest to me right off that this will be a safer, more generic (in the negative sense) album. Sure, Domination was an experimental album by Morbid Angel standards in the sense that it doesn't really sound as much like the band's signature style, but it does have a typical 90s metal thing going on in some ways. I felt Vincent brought some of that back when he returned and hey, suddenly Trey remembers why they stopped working together in the first place. Formulas was far more labrynthine and complex and challenging in a lot of ways than DOmination was, so maybe this too will cause Trey to work all the harder to prove himself. I don't have crazy expectations either, but I admit it'd be pretty damn cool if Morbid Angel were able to come up with a good album again.

Yeah, I'm sure it'll at least be pretty good if not better - hoping it is better, certainly. I'm just not surprised Trey didn't want to double down on Illud after the backlash it received. Not a good idea in these days when you can see very clearly what the fans want. I never thought the Tucker albums were close to the first three, but I do agree they're good and quite complex, so this could be good too, yes.

Oh, I absolutely love Formulas; top death metal album for me along with Altars.

If it's anything like Formulas or Gateways i'll be happy

Definitely. I love Morbid Angel, they have such an endearing style for their genre and still to this day remains one of the more unique approaches to death metal, very hard to replicate what they do. Here's to hoping it will kick ass!

Interesting that nowadays people rank the F-G albums up there with their first three. For some reason I seem to remember those albums being a little less praised when Heretic was still their most recent album, but I guess Illud just made everyone cling to them like a scared child running back to his mother.

I'll be keeping tabs on them. I imagine the new album will be an ostensible return to death metal but it won't really stand out in any way, much like post-TUK Cryptopsy. Their choice of drummer will hugely impact the album's quality; they've been looking for a guy to fill Pete's shoes ever since he left and Tim Yeung definitely wasn't it.

I've always ranked F and G with the first three, personally. Those are two of my favorite MA albums ever. And losing Pete was a huge blow to the band. Tim Yeung is a good drummer but his style is not a good match for this band at all.

Same. here. always felt these were my favorites. I'm interested to say the least. I knew Illud was going to be shit long long before it was released. more so as each new detail came out.

Also agree with Tim not being a good match for the band as well. I think his best performance was on Decript Birth's first album.

I figure with this new album it's not like it can get worst... I mean it can but put it this way. Can't get any worst to me cause it just means I'll keep listening to A-H

The good thing about this new album is that they basically eliminated most of the anticipation because everyone has Ilud fresh in mind. We all realize this could be just as bad which of course opens up the field to pleasant surprises.

As for Formulas being as good as the early stuff, I don't think so. It is good but very disjointed in the way the tracks are laid out and while I often like small interludes the ones on Formulas are just not very good. I also have a slight problem with the lyrics and the repeating of certain words. This can irritate me to no end. In this case the word "flesh", another example is the Rome album A Passage to Rhodesia where Jerome incorporates the actual word Rhodesia into his lyrics way to often. I get that its the theme of the album but you don't have to hit me over the head with it.

The death metal is very decent though on Formulas. Some great stuff.

Vincent out, game over.

The only weakness of Formulas is the crappy instrumentals but it is definitely as good as the old stuff IMO.

Formulas has some great tracks on it but I will say the interludes are indeed what holds it back. Put that one on with my band in the car not too long ago and it was universally agreed upon that they totally kill the flow. I could even tolerate the ones on Blessed to some extent, but not those. The riffs are on par with anything they've done and for that reason I'm excited that Tucker's back in the fray, but yeah as far as personal preference goes I'll take Altars and Covenant easily. I will say though that Formulas and Gateways both have the best art. The latter especially.

I think the first two Tucker albums are very solid, but A, B and C just have something to them that's missing in the later albums - it's a combination of tight songwriting, innovation and just a general morbid, sinister feel so many great metal bands capture early in their careers.

I think the later albums still have those qualities, but manifested in a different way. I'm glad most of their albums sound different from one another, makes for an exciting band career. I just hope they don't pull another Ilud

I most likely see Trey and Steve expanding on the ideas shown on Heretic, with the syncopated, poly-rhythmic riffs, picking up where they left off, so to speak.
Those two as a creative force (and of course Pete) have always produced top-shelf death metal, and the three albums they've done together are all so different. Formulas with it's brutal, underground feel, Gateways with its bombast and huge production, and Heretic having this weird dynamic of having almost machine-like performances, and yet it still sounds organic and full of energy, along with that strange arcane atmosphere that i don't think has been recreated by anyone since then.
So whether or not they choose to emulate or expand on one of those three, make a mix of all the different sounds, or venture off into new atmospheres, it's gonna rule. I just hope they find the right drummer to help represent that vision.

I think this is good point. I appreciate bands where I can hear that they have developed over time. Each Morbid Angel album has its own feel to it that makes it sound unique. Many great ones and one awful but in general an impressive output for sure.

If by game over you mean the game of being the worst band in metal then yes, that game is over.

Tucker > Vincent in every area. Far superior musician, better vocalist, better lyricist and he's not related to Miley Cyrus.

At least he went out on a strong note, right?

It is probably just going to be a average death metal album. I can't say I'm not excited for it though.

If not for nothing, that new Warfather album sounds like it'll be a massive improvement over the first, so we know Steve still has his chops.

Personally, Trey letting him and potentially whoever the new members are collaborate and write collectively is the most assured route to prevent the new album from being just a bunch of the standard songs on "Illud...," both in style and mediocrity.

Even though Morbid Angel have a fairly solid discography that's tarnished by an embarrassment of an album, I'm indifferent to them making a new album. Maybe they did learn from their mistakes, but at the end of they day, they lost a lot of respect for fucking up so badly. All we have to do in the meantime is wait for it to come out.

I'll check it out when it gets released. But I can't say I'm gonna be waiting impatiently or anything.

No love for Blessed?!
That's my favorite

TBH the ideal scenario for me would be if they got Rutan back (if only as a session member on the recording) and James King on drums (since he's fresh out of Unmerciful and his brutally pulverizing style is exactly what MA needs at this point) and make Gateways II.

I find Blessed incredibly underwhelming, especially considering it comes after the perfection that is Altars. Covenant I only just started really getting into very recently, outside of God of Emptiness which I've always loved. Domination is still my favorite album by them, and everything after that is lesser, but still damn good.

Well, except Illud. That will always be awful.

"10 More Dead" is a kickass song, though.

Blessed is often a 'grower' for most people. It doesn't have the big hooks that Altars had. I dunno personally I just love it. Sometimes I just put it into the car stereo and keep playing it for days on end.

That and Blades for Baal are the only truly kinda-above-just-good songs on the album. Existo Vulgore and Nevermore are fine, but any band ever could have written them. Everything else ranges from comically bad to really stupid to FUCKING RADIKULT IS A REAL SONG, FUCK OFF DAVID VINCENT.

I really liked Beauty Meets Beast, to be honest, despite the awful title. Nevermore and Blades for Baal were quality tracks too, but Existo was boring and 10 More Dead is fucking nu metal, it could've turned out like At One With Nothing though, if Pete had got a hold of it. Too Extreme I actually kind of like as a general idea, but it goes on for too long and the ideas aren't implemented very well.

Forgot about Beauty Meets Beast. I don't remember that one being intelligence insultingly awful.

I don't know about that, Blessed has some of the most memorable songs of their entire career. Day of Suffering, Fall From Grace, and the title track, to name a few. But a good portion of it is just blitzkrieg death metal.
You're also correct in saying that it's a grower, at least it was in my case. I think that's down to the production more than anything though, being that it's basically the polar opposite of Altars in that regard.

Blessed Are The Sick wasn't a grower for me. I instantly loved it. It's a different approach to death metal than Altars Of Madness. This album is more typical old school death metal from Florida, and I don't think it takes a lot for it to grow on someone.

About Altars Of Madness, this album can never be replicated by anyone. It remains the most original album from the genre despite being released in 1989.