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Morbid Angel - Covenant review




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Reviewer:
9.6

720 users:
8.64
Band: Morbid Angel
Album: Covenant
Release date: June 1993


01. Rapture
02. Pain Divine
03. World Of Shit (The Promised Land)
04. Vengeance Is Mine
05. The Lion's Den
06. Blood On My Hands
07. Angel Of Disease
08. Sworn To The Black
09. Nar Mattaru
10. God Of Emptiness

One of the most important and cherished albums in the band's roster. Covenant has an incredible Aura of supremacy and bereavement along its whole existence. Let me start by saying, Covenant is a work of art, a masterpiece in the Morbid Angel catalog that everyone must have, if not only for the musical greatness also for the conceptual valor this album on its own has.

Covenant has just amazing production and artwork, the sound was the best in Morbid Angel's history, it's incredibly loud and clear. The artwork is quite astonishing and blasphemous as always; the cover is quite direct and goes straight to what the album wants to transmit, and even in the serigraphy of the disc they drowned the audience in evil concepts (there's a picture of the "baptism" where you can see a guy on his knees kissing the devil in his "you know where")

The album opener is "Rapture" an orgy of hard but catchy riffs, incredible drumming and amazing solos; this one gets the prize of lyrical content, just read this lines "Confront me unholy ones, Bastard saints scorn of the earth, I summon thee now poison me, Death under will burn in my soul." Well, this is only the first paragraph of the song, now imagine how the rest goes, there's no doubt why Morbid Angel earned their "lyrical gods" stamp with this album. Then we have "God Of Emptiness" a dialogue between "The Accuser" and "The Tempter" it's a really crushing song, a "classic" in better words; this one is maybe not as brutal as the rest of the tracks, but the impact of the lyrics and the intensity of its intro ("Nar Mattaru") is just freaking overwhelming.

Anyway, this album is truly one of Morbid Angel's Best works; you already have this on your shelves I'm sure...if not, you're a poser or you seriously need to buy "Covenant" before someone notices this absence.

Best Tracks: "Rapture", "Sworn To The Black", "God Of Emptiness"


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 9
Production: 9

Written by Herzebeth | 21.03.2007




Comments

Comments: 23   Visited by: 214 users
21.03.2007 - 13:07
Rating: 9
Katatronik
Angel of Lust
One of their best ever, definitely! God of Emptiness is a masterpiece IMO!
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"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,
and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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21.03.2007 - 14:47
Paganblood
The Aryaputra
Yes, I already have this and most of Morbid angel albums with me!
good review for a good album.
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that which shines without names and forms...
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21.03.2007 - 19:13
Rating: 9
Sunioj

THE best ever, I enjoy every track off this album...Trey Azgthoth slays in this release.
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22.03.2007 - 00:38
Rating: 9
Dangerboner
Lactation Cnslt
This is one of my favorite death metal albums ever. Rapture and Blood On My Hands are my favorite songs, but I also really enjoy Angel of Disease.

Trey is the man.
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24.03.2007 - 11:29
Basso
Account deleted
Its strange, I find all Morbid Angel albums boring except Altars of Madness, which I happen to really really enjoy. For me MA is Altars of Madness. Must say though that this is their best effort after AoM
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24.03.2007 - 16:49
Stuff1056
Account deleted
Their best!
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05.06.2007 - 14:01
__Az__

Id agree, this is probably the best Morbid Angel album Ive heard so far.. I agree with the review, every track in this album speaks for itself. Its an amazing album, and one that definately deserves to be in every death metal fans collection...
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27.10.2007 - 08:16
Rating: 8
Syk
myspace/bonerama
Wow, I bought this a couple days ago and just listened to it, was kinda disappointed. Most people to whom I usually have similar taste rated it 9 or 10, but only The Lion's Den stood out to me. Also thought the production was a bit off... I'd give it an 8 - 8.5 - it doesn't hit me like Legion, Heartwork or End Complete/World Demise do
edit 5 years later - rating for this is around the same yet my impression of the album is a tiny bit higher... I generally don't rate stuff so highly anymore. World Demise should be removed from my old last sentence, and "/ stick with" should immediately follow "hit" ...and Lion's Den has fallen to tracks 7 & 8 (and perhaps 9 & 10... it's still hard to choose any over anything else, apart from songs 2-4 - World is the most boring of 'em all... though every now & then, I like what little melody it does have)
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death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon!

he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays
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02.11.2007 - 04:17
theflyingmachine

Written by Syk on 27.10.2007 at 08:16

Wow, I bought this a couple days ago and just listened to it, was kinda disappointed. Most people to whom I usually have similar taste rated it 9 or 10, but only The Lion's Den stood out to me. Also thought the production was a bit off... I'd give it an 8 - 8.5 - it doesn't hit me like Legion, Heartwork or End Complete/World Demise do

I actually think the production is decent, and better than probably 90% of death metal albums. Try giving Blood on my hands, Sworn to the black, and Angel of disease another spin.
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02.11.2007 - 04:32
Rating: 8
Syk
myspace/bonerama
Written by theflyingmachine on 02.11.2007 at 04:17
I actually think the production is decent, and better than probably 90% of death metal albums. Try giving Blood on my hands, Sworn to the black, and Angel of disease another spin.
Yeah, Angel of Disease is my second favourite but the writing (musically speaking - lyrics are something else) feels lower quality than what's on the earlier releases. There's nothing as striking as Evil Spells, Abominations etc
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death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon!

he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays
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17.03.2008 - 16:45
Samuel550
Account deleted
WHY has no one mentioned the fact that this masterpiece was produced by Flemming Rasmussen who worked with Metallica?
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20.10.2008 - 18:49
Rating: 10
Deadmeat
Necrobutcher
Written by Guest on 17.03.2008 at 16:45

WHY has no one mentioned the fact that this masterpiece was produced by Flemming Rasmussen who worked with Metallica?

Because the production is something very important but when you hear that album the production is the last thing you'll notice. Basically you can't notice anything, your brain is cut in pieces...
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Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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20.10.2008 - 19:36
Samuel550
Account deleted
Written by Deadmeat on 20.10.2008 at 18:49

Written by Guest on 17.03.2008 at 16:45

WHY has no one mentioned the fact that this masterpiece was produced by Flemming Rasmussen who worked with Metallica?

Because the production is something very important but when you hear that album the production is the last thing you'll notice. Basically you can't notice anything, your brain is cut in pieces...


Good answere! I have nothing further to say.
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15.12.2008 - 20:48
Jotun_01
Account deleted
I'm getting this album for Christmas and I can't wait. I've only heard Rapture, World of Shit (The Promise Land), and God of Emptiness off of this album and I think that all of those songs kicked ass.
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02.06.2009 - 18:21
Uirapuru
Liver Failure
Good album. Angel of Disease is the best song.
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member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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18.10.2009 - 22:24
wormdrink414

This album has some of my favorite riffs of all time. Most of them are a bit slow by today's standards but that obviously shouldn't matter.
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30.11.2010 - 23:40
bluegreengod
Account deleted
This is probably the best death metal album of all time.
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08.01.2011 - 02:53
Rating: 9
@gent_-_orange

I love this album but i cant help but feel "Angel of Disease" should be taken off the album, for me it just seems so out of place when played with the rest of the album.
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08.01.2011 - 09:30
Rating: 9
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Written by @gent_-_orange on 08.01.2011 at 02:53

I love this album but i cant help but feel "Angel of Disease" should be taken off the album, for me it just seems so out of place when played with the rest of the album.


agree 100%. it's horribly, uh, pleasant and totally awkward compared to the rest of the album. it's almost the "pop" old school death metal plan in action.
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get the fuck off my lawn.

Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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08.01.2011 - 13:38
Rating: 9
@gent_-_orange

Written by BitterCOld on 08.01.2011 at 09:30

Written by @gent_-_orange on 08.01.2011 at 02:53

I love this album but i cant help but feel "Angel of Disease" should be taken off the album, for me it just seems so out of place when played with the rest of the album.


agree 100%. it's horribly, uh, pleasant and totally awkward compared to the rest of the album. it's almost the "pop" old school death metal plan in action.


I thought i was alone on that lol . Had the song been on Altars of Madness it would have made more sense IMO (Aparrently it was recorded years earlier) , I like the song but most of the time i end up skipping it because it is so out of place compared to the rest of the songs.
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08.01.2011 - 13:54
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Woah, its been a looong time since Ive heard this one! I think its a good little album, although its definitely weaker to me than it's predecessor "Blessed Are The Sick".
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10.01.2011 - 04:21
Rating: 8
Richard

Written by @gent_-_orange on 08.01.2011 at 13:38

Written by BitterCOld on 08.01.2011 at 09:30

Written by @gent_-_orange on 08.01.2011 at 02:53

I love this album but i cant help but feel "Angel of Disease" should be taken off the album, for me it just seems so out of place when played with the rest of the album.


agree 100%. it's horribly, uh, pleasant and totally awkward compared to the rest of the album. it's almost the "pop" old school death metal plan in action.


I thought i was alone on that lol . Had the song been on Altars of Madness it would have made more sense IMO (Aparrently it was recorded years earlier) , I like the song but most of the time i end up skipping it because it is so out of place compared to the rest of the songs.


The original version of Angel of Disease can be heard on 'Abominations of Desolation', recorded back in 1986!

It's certainly catchy but IMO that's not a bad thing - Morbid Angel have shown a strong sense of catchiness and groove throughout their career, along with the more brutal stuff. The song is still totally Morbid Angel sounding.. Part of their appeal is their diversity.
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10.01.2011 - 16:55
Rating: 9
@gent_-_orange

Written by Richard on 10.01.2011 at 04:21

Written by @gent_-_orange on 08.01.2011 at 13:38

Written by BitterCOld on 08.01.2011 at 09:30

Written by @gent_-_orange on 08.01.2011 at 02:53

I love this album but i cant help but feel "Angel of Disease" should be taken off the album, for me it just seems so out of place when played with the rest of the album.


agree 100%. it's horribly, uh, pleasant and totally awkward compared to the rest of the album. it's almost the "pop" old school death metal plan in action.


I thought i was alone on that lol . Had the song been on Altars of Madness it would have made more sense IMO (Aparrently it was recorded years earlier) , I like the song but most of the time i end up skipping it because it is so out of place compared to the rest of the songs.


The original version of Angel of Disease can be heard on 'Abominations of Desolation', recorded back in 1986!

It's certainly catchy but IMO that's not a bad thing - Morbid Angel have shown a strong sense of catchiness and groove throughout their career, along with the more brutal stuff. The song is still totally Morbid Angel sounding.. Part of their appeal is their diversity.


Yeh i agree with that dont get me wrong, But it is mostly the production of that song that does it for me it just sticks out like a sore thumb and it really messes with the flow of the album ..... still though i like the song, But i still think that the album would be better off without it and IMO it should have been on Altars of Madness
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