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Class 6(66)
Morbid Angel: Gateways to annihilation
08/08/07 || Daemonomania
Released: 2000
Introduction
Morbid Angel. Fuck beans. Need I say more? If you don’t already know the illustrious history of these Sunshine State Sumerians, you need to go back to the death metal drawing board my friend. They’ve influenced just about everybody (something I will get to more later), and continue kicking ass and alphabetically taking names later. This is their “G” entry into the fantabulous MA album archive, and their heaviest yet. Rutan was in the fold (but about to leave), Tucker was rocking those sick and evil low vocals, and punishment was sure to begin.
Songwriting
7.5. The Angelic ones were always great songwriters, eschewing tradition for experimentation. The experiments went a bit awry, in my opinion, on “Formulas Fatal to the Flesh,” but here they decide to go right for the heavy. And HEAVY it is, like a ton of fucking bricks with an atomic bomb in the middle. This is the logical progression from slow, sludgy bruisers that popped up on otherwise speedy or mid-paced discs – tracks like “Where the Slime Live” and “Nothing Is Not” find their true expression in one album full of malevolently sluggish beatings. However, it suffers a bit of that old repetitive feeling here and there, but with a good pair of headphones the unique characteristics of each song emerge from the churning abyss that is the low-end of “Gateways.”
Production
8. Like I said, a good pair of headphones is necessary to enjoy this fully, and truly hear the genius that is Morbid Angel. Otherwise things have a bad habit of dissolving below Rutan and Tucker’s bruising downtuned guitars. Really, the low end of this sounds like what would happen if you tried to stuff your curtains into the garbage disposal in the sink. Awesome.
Guitars
9. What more can be said about Mr. Azagthoth’s guitar work? His prowess stands out even further on this, as he rises above the chuggery to unbless us all with outstanding, otherworldly leads. Rutan is no slouch either, and on “Gateways” he churns out the pain with addictive riff after addictive riff. If there’s something that Hate Eternal is missing, it is the Trey however – you need the flighty solos to contrast the bottom-feeding riffage.
Vocals
9. I love Tucker’s vocals on this, when I want to hear low death metal vox THIS is what I’m thinking of (or Jorgen, of course). He is understandable, he is brutal, and his patterns are sometimes the catchiest thing in the whole song. “Ageless Still I Am” is a fine example of how to dig up Cookie Monster and rape him. And I believe Azagathothonothinian chips in for “Secured Limitations”. Which leads me to my comparison comment – Behemoth owes Morbid Angel about half of their album sales, if not more. Not that I don’t like Behemoth, but they step dangerously close to being an Angel clone on a regular basis. Seriously, I wonder how many times they listened to “Secured Limitations”. A lot is my guess.
Bass
7. Maybe it is so distorted it just mixes with the already monstrous lower levels of madness on this album. That must be it. It doesn’t sound like a happy, bubbling bass, it sounds like the guitars and bass are battling it out to be the most evil thing you can hear – squids fighting whales on the ocean floor, bats drowning in a deep cavern, whatever, you get it, dark and cruel.
Drums
10. Can you fuck with Sandoval? No, you can’t. It doesn’t sound fake or processed, it just sounds like he kicks 900 kinds of ass. You cannot get enough of fast double bass over slow, sludgy riffs can you? No? Good.
Lyrics
7. Good, but not as good as Morbid Angel has been. Maybe they took it easy on the research, I don’t know. Could be better. Sumerians everywhere are pissed. One absolute winner though, and my favorite on the album, is “He Who Sleeps” – pure fucking Cthulu wasting humanity shit that I love.
Cover art
9. See the interview with Seagrave on this site – the man’s got skills.
Logo
8. You know what the Morbid Angel logo looks like, don’t you? Kind of ’80’s, but still cool.
Booklet
5. Nothing out of this world, as I recall. Lots of reproduction of the front cover image, the lyrics, the band would like to thank your mother, etc.
Overall and ending rant
8. The heaviest I have heard from Morbid Angel, and most certainly a classic. Almost everything they have done before this was faster, or more chaotic, but this album is like a slowly creeping insanity that will claim you. Buy it, put on some headphones, turn out the lights, and let the Ancient Ones arise.
