Morbid Angel
Formulas Fatal to the Flesh
Earache
Morbid Angel was not deterred by the loss of bassist/vocalist Dave Vincent. Instead they have added Steve Tucker to replace him and have kept going as if nothing happened. Obviously, the change in vocalists is going to be a major change for a band, but this change has caused less of a drastic change as one might expect. The vocals, although a bit deeper, are surprisingly similar to Vincent’s on the last few releases. With the release of Covenant and Domination, Morbid Angel established a direction with their music that they have chosen to follow with this release as well.
Although there is no drastic change with respect to the aforementioned albums, there are a few new additions to their song writing. The band has always put a few ambient and mysterious tracks on their last few albums, and this album has even more of those, such as the appropriately named “Disturbance in the Great Slumber.” The three final tracks are also rather unique for the band whether it’s the noise of “Trooper” (this is not an Iron Maiden song), the ambiance of “Ascent through the Spheres,” or the most unique track, “Hymnos Rituales de Guerra.” This song gives drummer Pete Sandoval a rare shot at the spotlight, which in my opinion was too long in the waiting for a drummer of such skill. If that is not enough for you, then check out the nearly 10 minute death metal epic “Invocation of the Continual One.” Earache America, 295 Lafayette St, Ste 915, New York, NY 10012-2700; http://www.earache.com
