Howdy, friends. It’s Staff Infections time. If you’re knew here, the gist is this: We, the Last Rites Staff, listen to stuff, and then you read about it. It sounds kind of stupid when you write it out like that, but the idea is that you might, through our collective good taste, discover music that you would in turn like to listen to.
Another Staff Infections feature (flaw?) is that I often ramble on about some inane horseshit and/or ask stupid questions. This month, however, let’s talk about something really important: Morbid Angel. What do you think is the best Morbid Angel album? Myself, I most enjoy the earliest stuff, and my favorite is either Altars of Madness or Blessed Are the Sick, depending on which day you ask me. However, there are quite a few folks around here that I think might just pick 2000’s Gateways to Annihilation as their favorite. I certainly enjoy the Tucker era of the band, but while they are ungodly heavy, I don’t find the Tucker albums have quite the same dynamic pizzazz as the Vincent albums. By Vincent albums, I mean the first four. I haven’t yet and don’t ever plan on listening to Illud Divinum Insanus. But enough about me. In the comments, let us know what your favorite Morbid Angel album is.
Now, let’s get to what we’ve been listening to. We have a pretty clear winner for album of the month. But first, we have a three-way tie for second place, including some death metal and some Indie rock or whatever it is that you call Dinosaur Jr. J. Mascis is a great guitar player, so I’ve heard. By heard I mean people told me, as I’ve never actually heard J. Mascis play great guitar. In fact, the only Dinosaur Jr. song I’ve ever heard made me not want to hear any more Dinosaur Jr. songs. Anyway, included in the tie with Dinosaur Jr. are Fumes, with its compilation of EPs entitled Assemblage of Disgust, and Ghastly, with its soon-to-be released third album, Mercurial Passages. Reviews for the latter two are possibly forthcoming. As for Dinosaur Jr., hopefully not. The big winner this month, though, is Cannibal Corpse, with its latest and fifteenth full-length album, Violence Unimagined. Spencer has a thorough and thoroughly excellent review of Violence Unimagined for you right here.
That’ll do for this month. Share your own playlist in the comments, along with your favorite Morbid Angel album. Also, have a listen to the staff-curated and Andrew Edmunds-assembled Spotify playlist right below. Stay safe out there, and, if you have the opportunity, get vaccinated. I’m sick of this pandemic. People are still dying in droves, and shots are our only way out.
- Zach Duvall
Fumes – Assemblage of Disgust
Meshum – Enigmatic Existential Essence
Meshuggah – None
Moonspell – Night Eternal
Lethal – Programmed
Anaal Nathrakh – The Codex Necro - Danhammer Obstkrieg
Ghastly – Mercurial Passages
Pharaoh – The Powers That Be
Amanda Whiting – After Dark
Comit – An Ocean of Thoughts
Biomorphic Engulfment – Incubation in the Parallel Universe
My Dying Bride – Songs of Darkness, Words of Light - Andrew Edmunds
Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined
Black Sabbath – Heaven & Hell
Voivod – Rrröööaaarrr
Fates Warning – Long Day Good Night
Sepultura – Arise
Rottrevore – Iniquitous - Captain
Forbidden – Twisted Into Form
Confessor – Uncontrolled
Fumes – Assemblage of Disgust
Monolord – No Comfort
Meshum – Enigmatic Existential Essence
Ben Seretan – Cicada Waves - Lone Watie
Ghastly – Mercurial Passages
Fumes – Assemblage of Disgust
Elder – Elder
Overkill- Feel the Fire
Intrusion – The Seduction of Silence
James Brown – Take a Look at Those Cakes - Dave Pirtle
Dinosaur Jr. – Sweep It Into Space
Carcass – Necrotism – Descanting the Insalubrious
Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined
Tanzwut – Seemannsgarn
Tomahawk – Tonic Immobility
J.B.O. – Happy Metal Thunder - Ryan Tysinger
Eisenhand – Fires Within
Heavy Sentence – Bang To Rites
Dinosaur Jr. – Sweep It Into Space
Depeche Mode – Exciter
ZZ Top – Afterburner
Resinator – Warp Lord - Megan Astrael
Children of Bodom – Hatebreeder
Carcass – Heartwork
Nile – What Should Not Be Unearthed
Gojira – Fortitude
billy woods – Hiding Places
Chris Potter – The Dreamer is the Dream - Spencer Hotz
Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined
Dordeduh – Har
Empty Throne – Glossolalia
Meshuggah – Chaosphere/Catch-33
Napalm Death – From Enslavement to Obliteration
Dark Quarterer – Pompei - Jeremy Morse
Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined
Kiss – Kiss
Kiss – Creatures of the Night
Carcass – Symphonies of Sickness
Sanctuary – Into the Mirror Black
Morbid Angel – Altars of Madness
- Zach Duvall
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Spectral Wound – Diabolic Thirst
Nekromantheon – Visions of Trismegistos
Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined
Slutvomit – Copulation of Hooves
Lostregos – Onde Calan os Corazons
Ninkharsag – The Dread March of Solemn Gods
Malevolent Creation – Eternal
That new dor de duh has been a looooong time coming! What I’ve heard so far sounds pretty much excellent, the production really helps this one shine. Can’t wait to hear the rest! Love the new mare cognitum and spectral lore!
Cheers
Defecrator – Unholy Hymns of Bestial Warfare
Ufomammut – Live at Roadburn Festival 2011
Gojira – Fortitude
Death SS – first four albums
Agnostic Front – Get Loud
Mastodon – Leviathan
DMX – It’s Dark and Hell is Hot
Thronehammer – Incantation Rites
Decline of the I – Johannes
Vokonis – Odyssey
Spectral Wound – A Diabolic Thirst
Sterbefall – Verlorene Zeit
Toxik – Think This
(Not qualified for Morbid Angel)
“Not qualified” hehehe, same here
Dvne – Etemen Ænka
Fear Factory – Demanufacture
Fear Factory – Archetype
Fear Factory – Mechanize
At The Gates – To Drink From…
Siberian Meat Grinder – S/T
Moscow Death Brigade – Bad Accent Anthems
Favorite Morbid Angel? I have a real soft spot for ‘Domination’ because it was my first full exposure to the band, but ‘Altars of Madness’ is probably my current answer.
Enslaved – Monumension
Amon Amarth – Twilight of the Thundergod
Opeth – Blackwater Park
Julien Baker – Little Oblivions
Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss
Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure
Favorite Morbid Angel record would be “Covenant,” but recently, “Altars of Madness” has been giving it some stiff competition.
Morbid Angel? Gateways to Annihilation to me is king.
Definitely the peak of the Tucker era. I go back and forth with this and Altars, but, in a way, it’s almost like trying to rank Hammerheart against Bathorys – two different itches that are tough to stack against each other.
Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined
Meshuggah – Obzen
Pig Destroyer – Head Cage
Dir en grey – The Insulated World
Vital Remains – Icons of Evil
Endon – Through the Mirror
No One Knows What the Dead Think
Against Me! – Reinventing Axl Rose
And ya know what?
WE WILL DOMINATE
Confession – I’ve never listened to Morbid Angel. (Or Cannibal Corpse for that matter.) Where should someone begin with them?
Not much listening this month, only repeat listens of:
Isis – Panopticon
Genghis Tron – Dream Weapon
Paranorm – Empyrean
I’d recommend starting at the beginning with Morbid Angel. Altars of Madness was too important to not let it be the entryway. For Cannibal Corpse, I’d jump in the middle — either Wretched Spawn or Kill.
For Morbid Angel, I’d honestly just go in order from the beginning. Altars is what I usually list as #1, but they’re a tough beast to grapple – Gateways is a different beast entirely but also a peak for the band. Each era has peaks, and going in order provides a good context.
Don’t bother with Illud at all unless you’re curious and a glutton for punishment.
Nekromantheon – the Visions of Trismegistos
Motorpsycho – Kingdom of Oblivion
Jointhugger – Reaper Season
Nattverd – Vandring
Agabas – Voluspå
Wheel – Preserved in Time
Hail Spirit Noir – Eden in Reverse
I have come to peace with the fact that I will never be able to choose between ‘Altars of Madness’, ‘Blessed are the Sick’, ‘Domination’ and ‘Gateways to Annihilation’ when choosing my favourite MA-album. I think everybody should come to peace with the fact that they should mirror my opinion 100%+
Heck, I’ve never listened to a full Morbid Angel album (immediate points off I know). And I dig J Macis, hehehehe. What else? ok, in kind of heavy rotation the following:
The Symbol Remains – Böc
Coverdale/Page
Def Leppard – Hysteria
Beastwars – Blood Becomes Fire
Crowbar – Lifesblood For The Downtrodden
I’ll try and catch up with the Angel discography. Great weekend
I’m not sure how J Mascis is seen amongst guitarists, but to me he is one of the underrated heroes of a generation on the instrument.
Dordeduh – Har
Pearl Jam – discography
Thin Lizzy – Thunder & Lightning
Witold Maliszewski – Symphony No. 1 in G minor
Grima – Rotten Garden
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Morbid Angel, especially beyond Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, but I do have a soft spot for that one.