Heretic is a very... interesting... cd

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Wraith
Oct 1, 2002
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Rumson, NJ
www.getyourasstomars.com
First off I should say that the music is great, I love it, but there are many interesting and odd things i've noticed about this cd....

I just bought the 2 cd edition in a store.... the first thing i noticed when playing it is that it has CD Text, which for any of you who don't know, it basically labels the tracks so the names can be displayed on your cd player's display, where text is, im pretty sure all cd players nowadays have this feature by now. However I noticed a few mistakes, the first track is labeled "Ensrined in Grace" (both spelling error and wrong wording), and it should be labeled under track 2, not 1. So they got those two mixed up. No big deal at all.... at least its nice that cd text was put on the cd, especially since there are several secret tracks (ill get to them later)... another error, track 5 is labeled with a "and" instead of "the", and tracks 8, 9, and 12 have just little spelling/wording errors, just a little error, like i said no big deal.

Ok im not complaining about this at all, just noting it. After all, its nice to see an actual metal cd with CD Text. The most interesting CD Text error(?) is track 11, on the case it is called "Memories of the Past", but on the cd text it says "Angelic Voices". Odd.

If you thought the end of Formulas was wierd, this one ends with 4 instrumentals including Pete's awesome drum solo, which is obviously Drum Check. But I instantly noticed that "Born Again" was just the Secured Limitations lava. I guess the track is aptly titled, but seems like an odd choice for the last track of the new cd.

And things just keep getting stranger.... as some of you know already, this is a 44 track cd! After track 14, tracks 15-29 are silence. Then track 30 is labeled "Inflections" by the cd text, its basically a minute and a half harpsicord solo. Then more silence until track 35, which is labeled "Tortured Souls" by the cd text. This one is nearly 4 minutes of very eerie noise. I actually like it, I think if fits in with the whole odd "away from the cd thing". Then silence until track 41 which is called (get ready for this one...) "Terror of MechaGodzilla Lava!!" by the cd text. Its basically a 30 second lava. Next, track 42 is labeled "Triplet Lava!!", this is another lava, except its odd because it doesnt start until 40 seconds into the track. Track 43 is labelled "Doomcreeper", its a pretty cool instrumental track. Its exactly 4 and a half minutes long. Then, track 44 is just labelled "Laff".... 11 seconds into the track is just a 3 second long guitar noise, and the cd ends.

Well, like i said, this certainly is an odd cd.... I think the whole odd stuff at the end might work well if you are listening to the cd half asleep or in bed, you might get lost inbetween the silences and odd stuff.

And as for the "Bonus Levels" disc.... Theres no text and I haven't really listened to all of it, only scanned through, I think its just demo versions of a couple of the tracks, one Heretic lava, and the rest is some Gateways lava.
 
Overall i'm not happy with the album. Although i love (some of the) songs, the whole package just pissed me off.

Firstly, 44 track! wtf! Why? What is the fuckin point in sticking all that shit at the end? the only tracks worth listening to are "Doomcreeper", which is an instrumental of "Beneath The Hollow", and "Inflections". Why didn't they just stick all the tracks, excluding the silent ones, onto Bonus Levels!?

Secondly, "Place of Many Deaths" and "Victorious March of Reign The Conqueror" are complete shit and are placed next to other interludes which doesn't make sense and totally takes away any momentum. I think "Abyssous" is quality and would fit in really well in between "Stricken Arise" and "God of Our Own Divinity", but it, to me, feels like a complete waste since PoMD is before it. Like "Abyssous" i thought "Memories of The Past" was excellent, and would have been a good album closer. But "Victorious March of Reign The Conqueror" is shite. Sorry Pete but this has no place on Heretic.

"Drum Check" and "Born Again" are great, but should be on Bonus Levels. And why the hell have the "Secured Limitations" solo in Heretic!? Although "Secured Limitations" is my favourite MA song I think that its just plain weird that its on Heretic.

Another gripe is the prouction. I just can't understand why a band like Morbid Angel would employ such an odd sound, I woulda been much happier if it even had the "Gateways..." sound to it, which i though suffered from the triggered drums.

When i was reading thru the booklet i noticed to my horror that MA thanked such awful bands like Superjoint Ritual :ill:, Static X :erk:, Korn and Soulfly o_O, Nothingface, Ronny James Dio, Down, Aerosmith and fuckin Slipknot!!! I know MA toured with Pantera but please, SjR!? :puke:

To me it seems that MA have made an album to piss their fans off. Weird accusation, i know, but they are so many things in this album that made me go :err: , :confused: , :guh: , :err: , :erk: and :eek: that made me come to that comclusion.

I can only ever see myself listening to the CD when i'm driving, at home i'll just listen to it on my mini disc player. Its a shame that i have to record it on MD and then delete the tracks to dont like just so i can enjoy the album.... but the cover art is great though!

Anyway, rant over.
 
yeah, I agree with Ageless. It's a bit of a let-down album. I figured it probably would be. MA just seem to keep going downhill which most bands do over time. The music is on the FFTTF experimental level, but some of it seems washed out like it's been done already. There's some great guitar parts on the album, but to me it just sounds like they were rushed to make this stuff or something. At some point they seem to have gone from this awesome Florida death metal band with kick ass swampy and funky riffs to this new-wave speed metal shit. Just think of how their next album would be if they actually make another. By all means I still like the album a bit. I think it's a bit too short in the fact that it's all bullshit filler and not enough actual rocking fucking metal, but oh wel you know. Atleast Trey thanked the Power Rangers.
 
There is not enough actual material on the album, although the material they put on is some of their best IMO, there just isn't enough of it, there is like six actual songs, that is bullshit IMO.
 
AjDeath said:
There is not enough actual material on the album, although the material they put on is some of their best IMO, there just isn't enough of it, there is like six actual songs, that is bullshit IMO.

totally agree.

I think the track listing should have been:

1. Cleansed In Pestilence (Blade of Elohim)
2. Enshrined By Grace
3. Beneath The Hollow
4. Curse The Flesh
5. Praise The Strength
6. Stricken Arise
7. Abyssous
8. God Of Our Own Divinity
9. Within Thy Enemy

Well thats how i have it recorded onto Mini Disc.

All the rest should have been left out ("Place Of Many Death", "Victorious March Of Reign The Conqueror") or moved onto Bonus Levels ("Drum Check", "Born Again").
 
I think it's a great album but the silent tracks are kinda stupid. And I think it's a bit stupid to put "Doomcreeper" onto the first disc when there are a bunch of instrumental tracks on Bons Levels.

It's also weird that though the FFttF solos are all on Love Of Lava, they've put some of the on Bonus Levels too. Trey told in an interview (by Metal-Rules.com) that he'd like to do another Love Of Lava, so why the hell didn't he extract the solos of Heretic on bonus levels? (Or are there some? Haven't listened to it so much)
 
Sado God said:
It's also weird that though the FFttF solos are all on Love Of Lava, they've put some of the on Bonus Levels too. Trey told in an interview (by Metal-Rules.com) that he'd like to do another Love Of Lava, so why the hell didn't he extract the solos of Heretic on bonus levels? (Or are there some? Haven't listened to it so much)

from what i could be bothered to listen to, i think, most of the solo's were ones from Gateways.
 
I to was dissapointed with Heretic when I first litened to it. The production was the first thing I noticed. Very thin. At first listen, I also thought the tracks were quite boring as well. I was hugely dissapointed. When I first got it, I looked at the back. Seeing 14 tracks listed, I thought I was in for something. I was alright. A huge kick in the ass when I discoverd a good third of the album was pointless filler. I'm spewing I forked out for the bonus disc version as the 'bonus levels' disc is a waste of fucking time. I've listened to the album a few times now, and the songs have grown on me considerably. Infact I think their great, but why all the pointless filler. 6/10
 
Hell yeah! Now it's fully opened up for me too! It really is a masterpiece. When i first got it, it was like 7/10 or something, but now it's a fuckin 10+!

It actually restarted my Morbid Angel fundamentalism and made me order "Covenant" and a MD t-shirt from Earache...
 
I don't think it's got fillers except the silent tracks. Maybe that noise stuff after the silence and that instrumental of the 3rd song. I consider that bonus though.
 
Good! I am not alone!
My first thought was that the album was good but certainly not true MA material. Now I realize that it clearly is...it just took some time. It seems that some of you feel that way too...
Now I love the CD, though I admit that I find the track layout annoying and alot of the extra "stuff" seems unneccesary.
I will say this though, most of my friends aren't into TRUE metal and some of them consider it mindless noise by "talentless" individuals. I have been playing the Drum Check solo to successfully prove them wrong.
PETE SANDOVAL RULES!!!
By the way, how are some of you adding artwork/pics to your replies/posts?? Thanks for the help.