Morbid_angel

Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel live in Toronto in 2006. From left to right: Dave Vincent (background), Trey Azagthoth (foreground)
Background information
Origin	Tampa, Florida, United States
Genre(s)	Death metal
Years active	1983-present
Label(s)	Earache (1988-2004) Giant (1992-1996) Candlelight/Roadrunner (2008-)
Website	www.morbidangel.com
Members
Trey Azagthoth Pete Sandoval David Vincent
Former members
Mike Browning Wayne Hartsell Dallas Ward Richard Brunelle Kenny Bamber Sterling Von Scarborough Steve Tucker Erik Rutan Jared Anderson Tony Norman John Ortega Michael Manson

Morbid Angel is a Florida-based death metal band assembled in 1983. They, along with Death, Possessed, Obituary and a handful of others were crucial in the development of the death metal genre and its standards. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked two Morbid Angel albums in its \'Top 40 Greatest Death Metal Albums\', with Altars of Madness appearing at #1. Decibel Magazine also rated guitarist Trey Azagthoth as the #1 "Death Metal Guitarist Ever". Their songs are complex in arrangement, owing to the considerable technical skills of Trey and drummer Pete Sandoval who also played in the grindcore/death metal band Terrorizer.

History

Morbid Angel was one of the original death metal bands signed to Earache Records, and was also influential in the transition of death metal from its thrash metal roots to its current form by adding guttural vocals, up-tempo blast beats, incorporating atonality in guitar soloing, and dark chunky-mid paced rhythms. It was also the first death metal band to have a touch of mainstream success, such as being signed to Giant Records in 1992 and having the music video for the song "God of Emptiness" shown on an episode of Beavis and Butthead.

The original lyrical themes focused mostly on Satanism, paganism and anti-Christian subject matter, but from the second album, Blessed Are the Sick onward, the lyrics slowly moved toward the ancient Sumerian gods, though much of this is a nod to the Simon Necronomicon, which was influenced by Sumerian mythology as well as the author H. P. Lovecrafthttp://www.hplovecraft.com/popcult/music.asp, as well as a fascination with the Roman Empire, though anti-christian elements continue to permeate the lyrics.

It is unknown whether Morbid Angel are preparing an 8th Studio album (most likely starting with the letter "I") which would be the follow-up to 2003\'s Heretic and the bands first ever release under Candlelight/Roadrunner Records.

Line-up

• Trey Azagthoth - lead guitar, guitar synthesizer, keyboards, vocals (1983-present)
• Pete Sandoval - drums (1988-present)
• David Vincent - vocals, bass guitar (1986-1996, 2004-present)

Former members

• Mike Browning - drums, vocals (1983-1986)
• Wayne Hartsell - drums (1986-1988)
• Dallas Ward - bass guitar, vocals (1983-1985)
• Richard Brunelle - guitar (1985-1992, 1994(live), 1998 (live))
• Kenny Bamber - vocals (1985)
• Sterling Von Scarborough - bass guitar (1986)
• Steve Tucker - vocals, bass guitar (1997-2001, 2003-2004)
• Jared Anderson - vocals, bass guitar (2001-2002)
• Tony Norman(now member of Belligerent) - guitar (2003-2006)
• Erik Rutan - lead guitar, keyboards (European tour) (1993-1996, 1999-2002, 2006)
• John Ortega - bass guitar (1985-1986)
• Michael Manson - vocals (1986)
• Gino Marino - guitar (live) (1992-1993)
• Ivan Ganchev - drums

Legacy

Discography

• Altars of Madness (1989)
• Blessed Are the Sick (1991)
• Covenant (1993)
• Domination (1995)
• Formulas Fatal to the Flesh (1998)
• Gateways to Annihilation (2000)
• Heretic (2003)
• Untitled 8th studio album (2008)

Other releases

• Thy Kingdom Come (1987) - 7" single
• Abominations of Desolation (1991) — first Morbid Angel\'s studio demo recorded in 1986, and released by Earache in 1991
• Laibach Re-mixes (1994)
• Entangled in Chaos (1996) — live album
• Love of Lava — a bonus CD with re-release of Formulas Fatal to the Flesh

References

Vinylnet Record Label Discographies. link. - Earache Records catalogue numbers.

Notes

External links

• Official website
• Myspace Page
• Morbid Angel discography at MusicBrainz
• Morbid Angel at Discogs

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