Morbid Angel – Heretic

Russell

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Jul 15, 2001
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Morbid Angel – Heretic
Earache – Mosh272 – 23rd September 2003
By Paddy Walsh

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If ever a death metal band deserved to go down in the annals of metal as an all time great, Morbid Angel is one of them. Although many see their more recent output as being vastly inferior to the days of “Altars of Madnes”s etc, some (such as myself) have viewed all of their albums as individual works, each with merits of its own. Guitarist/mastermind Trey Azagthoth has nothing to prove these days; he showed he was one of the best metal guitarists in the world over ten year ago. Since then it has been a case of continuously refining the band’s technique and sound; 2000’s Gateways to Annihilation was their most polished work yet production-wise, even if it did tend to drag on a bit. Soon after came the departure of second guitarist Erik Rutan (now vocalist/guitarist of Hate Eternal), and then vocalist/bassist Steve Tucker left for personal reasons, only to rejoin just prior to the recording Heretic.

Sporting what is quite possibly the worst cover art ever to grace a Morbid Angel album, Heretic is a strange album. Strange in the sense that at first listen it sounds positively regressive, the polished and crystal clear production of Gateways giving way to an increasingly raw and stripped down sound, which is somewhat reminiscent of their Covenant/Domination era material. Kicking off with ‘Cleansed in Pestilence (Blade of Elohim)’, the songs themselves are pretty much what you have come to expect from this band; blazing speed, rapid-fire drumming (courtesy of the ever brilliant Pete Sandoval), growled vocals and mind melting solos from Trey. It’s all correct and in place, and I would even say that some of the material on Heretic is their best and most consistent in years, such as the almost catchy yet fantastic ‘Enshrined in Grace’, the grinding ‘Beneath the Hollow’, or an almost “Altars of Madness” sounding ‘The Stricken Arise’.

Unfortunately, there are problems. Not with the actual songs as such, but with the glut of filler material that the band saw fit to include. There are 14 listed tracks on Heretic, yet only 8 of these are actual songs! Included are 4 short instrumental-interlude type things, a drum solo and (for no apparent reason at all) Trey playing the solo for ‘Secured Limitations’ from Gateways to Annihilation unaccompanied. First of all, these interludes - there are 4 of them, which is way too many. Even two would have been pushing it, but, for argument’s sake, I suppose ‘Memories of the Past’ and ‘Victorious March of Reign the Conqueror’ are the stronger ones, and could have been left in. The drum solo, while technically amazing, simply doesn’t belong on the album, and spoken parts, from what appears to be the producer, seem to be attempted humour. This, on a technical brutal death metal album, is a bad idea. As for the guitar solo, well, it’s completely pointless, and isn’t even one of Morbid Angel’s better ones. Surely they should have put these oddities on the bonus disc and left the album itself intact? And were a few more actual songs so much to ask?

If this all sounds very negative, then don’t get me wrong. Heretic is a quite a good piece of work, excellent at times, but simply doesn’t sound complete as an album. The fact that there are only 2 actual songs on the second half of the album speaks volumes, and as much as I wanted to love this release, I can’t help but feel somewhat disappointed by the band’s lack of foresight. Still an essential purchase for all Morbid Angel fans.

7.5/10

Official Morbid Angel Site
Official Earache Site
 
I hate to say it, but I couldn't agree more. Although some of the tracks on this album are good, and could still put to shame other bands of this style, it seems to me that the last 2 albums they're kind of "going through the motions" so to speak. And yeah, the instrumentals seem to be filler, if they would have put them between songs, it may be a little easier to digest.
Altars- 8/10
Blessed- 9/10
Covenant-8/10
Domination-7/10
Formulas- 8.5/10
Gateways-6.5/10
Heretic-5.5/10
 
I must be the only one who liked all the random filler tracks! :)

Not my favorite Morbid Angel, but I do think it is their strongest since Domination.
 
Not to nitpick on this, but why is everyone picking on the filler sound bites, BS tracks when there are an albums worth of brilliant DM on hand. This record really grows on you.

And Trey's humorous "thanks" liner notes and his obvious Anthony Robbins inspired new found lighter side shines throuhgout the release.

The review above basically says, ... that DM should have a formula and a little humor and different thinking does not belong. What a crock of shit.

My favorite release since Blessed ...
 
Not so much that it needs to have a formula but if putting lots of filler in is their idea of staying fresh then I think i'd rather see them doing what they do best. What would you have rather seen, a few more songs or those interludes?
 
I agree with this review whole-heartedly. The album is great (my first introduction to the band, and pretty much DM), and definitely worth a score of 8/10 for the eight tracks alone. However, the "filler" intrumentals bring it down massivley. Mind you, the "Pete, can we hear your kick-drum please" made me chuckle. I don't really mind such an inclusion of humour on a DM release. Possibly because the only three albums I have include Heretic, In Their Darkened Shrines (WOW!) and Resurrection Through Carnage.