Entertainment Earth

11/02/2022

Death Metal Legends Morbid Angel Announce 40th Anniversary Headlining Tour for Spring 2023!

Photo by Chris Casella

Legendary death metal icons MORBID ANGEL will celebrate their 40th anniversary this Spring with a month-long US headlining tour! The United States Tour Of Terror 2023 will commence on March 15th in Pensacola, Florida and run through April 22nd in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Support will be provided by Revocation and Crypta as well as Skeletal Remains from the March 15th through April 4th and Vitriol from April 6th through the tour’s conclusion.
 
Comments MORBID ANGEL’s Trey Azagthoth “We are stoked about this new tour with all these cool bands! We will see you all on the road."
 
Tickets are on sale Friday, November 4th at 10:00am local time. See all confirmed dates below.
 
MORBID ANGEL w/ Revocation, Crypta, Skeletal Remains:
3/15/2023 Vinyl - Pensacola, FL
3/17/2023 Rise - Houston, TX
3/18/2023 Amplified Live - Dallas, TX
3/19/2023 Come And Take It Live - Austin, TX
3/21/2023 Marquee Theater - Tempe, AZ
3/23/2023 Virginia Street Brewhouse - Reno, NV
3/24/2023 Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
3/25/2023 Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
3/26/2023 The Regent - Los Angeles, CA
3/28/2023 Oriental Theater - Denver, CO
3/30/2023 The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
3/31/2023 Apollo Theater - Belvidere, IL
4/01/2023 The Forge - Joliet, IL
4/02/2023 The Art Theater - Hobart, IN
4/04/2023 Piere's - Ft Wayne, IN
w/ Revocation, Crypta, Vitriol:
4/06/2023 Machine Shop - Flint, MI
4/07/2023 Riverfront Live - Cincinnati, OH
4/08/2023 The King Of Clubs - Columbus, OH
4/09/2023 Jergel's - Pittsburgh, PA
4/11/2023 Gramercy Theater - New York, NY
4/12/2023 Warehouse On Watts - Philadelphia, PA
4/14/2023 Empire Live - Albany, NY
4/15/2023 The Palladium - Worcester, MA
4/16/2023 Soundstage - Baltimore, MD
4/18/2023 The Concourse - Knoxville, TN
4/19/2023 Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
4/21/2023 Orpheum - Tampa, FL
4/22/2023 Culture Room – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
 
MORBID ANGEL released their Kingdoms Disdained full-length in 2017 via Silver Lining Music. The critically adored offering reunites founding guitarist Trey Azagthoth with bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker. Captured at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and produced by MORBID ANGEL with Erik Rutan, the record delivers eleven pieces of devastatingly dynamic death metal. Rolling Stone hailed a, “cyclone of blastbeat-driven fury punctuated with Azagthoth’s signature heaving, lunging grooves and Eddie Van Halen–on-a-bad-trip solos,” while Metal Injection crowned the record, “one of the band’s most essential efforts,” adding, “the record contains almost wall to wall instant classics, and is not only Steve Tucker’s best album as MORBID ANGEL frontman, but by extension the group’s most genre-defining effort since 1995’s iconic Domination.”
 
Orders for Kingdoms Disdained are available at THIS LOCATION.
 
“Featuring Trey Azagthoth’s molten solos, the band rediscover what they did well across their career and double down on it.” – Pitchfork
 
“…a cyclone of blastbeat-driven fury punctuated with Azagthoth’s signature heaving, lunging grooves and Eddie Van Halen–on-a-bad-trip solos…” – Rolling Stone
 
“…one of the band’s most essential efforts… the record contains almost wall to wall instant classics and is not only Steve Tucker’s best album as MORBID ANGEL frontman, but by extension the group’s most genre-defining effort since 1995’s iconic Domination.” – Metal Injection
 
“MORBID ANGEL‘s ability to manipulate sounds such that it seems it’s about to collapse and combust without ever doing so is nothing short of brilliant. For the devoted, it seems like magic…. Just incredible.” – Blabbermouth
 

1/03/2018

The 20 Best Hard Rock & Metal Albums of 2017, Pt. 2: 10-1

10. Morbid Angel- Kingdoms Disdained- Morbid Angel are back, motherfucker with the best album they have made in years and the best album from an old school death metal band in 2017. My full review: http://themastergio.blogspot.com/2017/11/morbid-angel-kingdoms-denied-album.html

9. Myrkur- Mareridt- This might piss of some of the more hardcore cvlt readers out there, but, for these ears, Myrkur- Mareridt is the very best black metal album of 2017. She simply drips with so much talent. The album is bold and complex, with various influences that make sound fresh in a world a of bands trying to be like other bands. She was a wonderful voice that ranges from beautiful and haunting to ethereal to menacing. As much as I adored her last full length, studio album M, this album actually tops it.  Not only is this my most played black metal album of last year, but one of my most played, period! Also, the video to "Ulvinde" is one of the coolest of 2017, beautiful, haunting, and horrific, much like her music is. 

8. Thy Art Is Murder- Dear Desolation- Without a shadow of a doubt, Dear Desolation is THE deathcore album of the year. It is heavy, has a great groove to it, and is awesomely aggressive and seething with unadulterated anger. The unrelenting music adds up to the finest album the band, has put out to date. Dear Desolation is a pummeling aural experience with some the most memorable songs of 2017, like "Slaves Beyond Death", "Puppet Master", and the title track They will make you wanna break some fucking shit!

8. Chelsea Wolfe- Hiss Spun- I fucking LOVE Chelsea Wolfe! There is little else of a way to describe how I feel about her and her amazing music. What is truly amazing is how she gets better and better with each following album. She is continuously putting out classics. Hiss Spun is incredible beyond mere words, an album that is more and more rewarding each time you listen to it. Heavy, in both emotion and sound, there is no way in hell that this is not metal. Her voice is majestic and cannot be compared to anyone else. It is one of the best the rock world has seen in the last couple of years. The excellent production brings every thing to life perfectly. I should also mention that the dark and soul crushing "16 Psyche" is one of my favorite, if not, in fact, favorite, single of the year.


6. Body Count- Bloodlust- From the moment I heard this album, I immediately became obsessed with it. While, the preceding album from them, Manslaughter was a very solid release, this is their first truly great work since their classic debut. Angry, timely, and ass kicking to 100th degree this IS the metal soundtrack for the world we live currently. The violent and pissed off lyrics fit perfectly with the strong musicianship on-hand. Songs such as "No Lives Matter", "The Ski Mask Way", and "This Is Why We Ride" will have you signing along and jumping into that motherfucking pit!



5. Power Trip- Nightmare Logic- This is THE album for those of us who reminisce of the old days of 80's thrash metal. Made to make you want to mosh and kick some fucking ass, this will get you thrashing around like a fucking maniac. Recalling bands like Anthrax and Nuclear Assault, at their peak, it incorporates both Bay Area influences and crossover thrash that has resulted in rave reviews from fans and critics. As the word of mouth swelled over, one might have been worried that this one got overrated. I am here to tell you fuck no, it did not! Songs like "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)", "Soul Sacrifice", and the title track, are ones that you will to not spot listening and banging your head to! On a side note, the video to the aforementioned "Executioner's Tax" is the most wonderfully 80s metal video of 2017!



4. Goatwhore- Vengeful Ascension- A monster of thundering and wholly memorable blackened death and thrash metal, with Vengeful Ascension, Goatwhore have made the definitive classic of their career. My full review: http://themastergio.blogspot.com/2017/06/goatwhore-vengeful-ascension-album.html


3. Warbringer- Woe to the Vanquished- Warbringer NEVER fail to make my best of list when they put out an album, and that is with good fucking reason. They are one of the best thrash metal band currently making music. And, Woe to the Vanquished is their best album, yet, and one of the best thrash metal records of the last couple of years. Unrelenting, fast, and crushing this fucker will make you move. In my humble, "Remain Violent" is easily one of the very best singles of 2017.

2. Trivium- The Sin and the Sentence- I am a huge fan of Trivium, and while I like all their albums, to one degree or another, anything after Shogun, just has not felt up to snuff. That is until this album. The Sin and the Sentence is not just their best sine that masterpiece, but ranks among their best work, period. I liked this album from my first listen, but its real power lies in each listen after that. It simply gets better and better after every time you hear it. It is GREAT to hear Matt Heafy scream again, and, of course, the musicianship on display her, from the entire band, is utterly mind blowing. Perfect to sing along and headbang to this is not just the second best album of last year, but the finest mainstream metal album, as well. 

1. The Black Dahlia Murder- Nightbringers- For two albums in a row, a band has topped this list. I maybe mistaken, but I do believe that is a first for a band on this site to accommplish. But, when the band is as great as TBDM, there should be no surprise. Abysmal was a magnificent record, but somehow they topped it with Nightbringers. In many ways, it feels like the real follow up to the perfection that is Nocturnal. From the artwork, to the album title referencing the night, to the very music itself, this is the album for anyone who said that they peaked with that aforementioned disc. Dark, technically strong, and utterly battering this is a masterwork of mello-death. Songs like the absolutely KILLER opener "Widowmaker", the merciless "Of God and Serpent, of Spectre and Snake", the rollicking title track, the awesome "Matriarch", the wait... EVERY fucking song rules on this album, every single one is a fucking 5 out of 5. As such, there is no other choice but to declare Nightrbingers the best album of 2017!

11/30/2017

Morbid Angel- Kingdoms Disdained (Album Review)

Musicians: Morbid Angel
Album Title: Kingdoms Disdained 
Genre/ Subgenre: Death Metal
Label: Silver Lining Music 
Release date: Dec. 1, 2017

The mighty Morbid Angel is back motherfuckers! After the disastrous Illud Divinum Insanus, which had featured the return of original frontman and bass player, David Vincent (who ended up leaving the band not that long after) Steve Tucker has come back to the fold. He has once again taken over vocals and bass duty, something he had not done since 2003's Heretic. The resulting album, Kingdoms Disdained, is a very welcome return to the band's majestic form. And, can I say that the cover art to it is one of the coolest of 2017?

From a musician standpoint, few bands can hold a candle to Morbid Angel. They have, after all, made some of the finest and greatest albums in death metal history. This album is here to remind us of this fact and fucking cement it in our collective minds. Pete Sandoval may no longer be drumming, but former Abysmal Dawn member Scott Fuller does a good job blasting and pounding out behind the kit. Of course, Trey Azagthoth remains one of the greatest guitarists in all of extreme metal. They are complemented by Dan Vadim Von, also on guitar, and Tucker's bass and vocals which are at their best ever, seething with menace, evil, and fury.

The album's first track is "Piles of Little Arms", a pummeling and driving bit of ferocity. "D.E.A.D" opens with a furious attack of blast beats that goes into a head smashing and unrelenting sound. My favorite track on the album, "Garden of Disdain", has a driving riff and pounding drum and bass assault that will cause your neck to fuckin' break from wanting to bang it so goddamn hard. There is sort of locomotive like intro to "Architect and Iconoclast" that leads into a grinding and battering sound that crushes with its heaviness. "Declaring the New Law" is a perfect chance to hear Tucker's voice at its most evil and threatening, resulting in a marvelously dark song. By the time, the final track, the fast and flesh shredding "The Fall of Idols", comes in there is no doubt that one of the true gods of the death metal sub-genre are back to reclaim their crown.

The album is produced by Morbid Angel, themselves, and death metal producer extraordinaire Eric Rutan. As one would expect the resulting production is excellent. It helps the music to sound deep and crushingly heavy. It definitely adds to brutality and helps to give that final push towards the classic and old school death metal sound that this album exemplifies.

Kingdoms Disdained is the best album that Morbid Angel has put out since Domination. Not just that, but it is also one of the best death metal albums of 2017 and the comeback of the year. If you have counted Morbid Angel out of the game, it is time to shut up and reconsider that thought pattern. You will be able to experience this masterpiece for yourself tomorrow, Dec. 1, 2017, when Kingdoms Disdained is unleashed into the world.

You can find copies here: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_id=114&ipn=icep&toolid=20004&campid=5338216687&mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fm.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp2056088.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xmorbid%2BAngel.TRS0%26_nkw%3Dmorbid%2BAngel%2Bkingdoms%2B

   

5 out of 5

1/06/2015

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 14: 30-21

30. Slayer- South of Heaven- Artist Larry Carroll and illustrator Howard Schwartzberg designed the cover for this the fourth album from these thrash metal legends. Both the awesome cover and the album itself are favorites of mine. The cool looking skull, leaning, inverted crucifix, and cathedrals dripping blood forming a pool of blood are just classic and the best cover Slayer has.






29. Testament- Souls of Black- The fourth album by these Bay Area thrashers saw the band try different types of influence in their sound. I so remember seeing this amazing cover with these dark phantoms and being completely captivated by it!








28. Morbid Angel- Domination- The fourth album by one of the greatest death metal acts in the world, saw them make their major label debut. The computer generated image of a desolate world with the huge pentagram that is the band's symbol, in the foreground really pops thanks to the vivid colors. 







27. Motorhead- Inferno- The seventeenth album by these British legends has amazing art by Joe Petango. The band's coolest cover, I think. 










26. Kreator- Pleasure to Kill- The second album by Germany's kings of thrash metal is a subgenre classic. And, the cover where their demon mascot battles skeletons is pretty badass and evokes a very metal version of a Sinbad/ Ray Harryhausen movie.








25. Dimmu Borgir- Godless Savage Garden- This compilation album by black metal band Dimmu Borgir features a haunting beauty sitting on a throne in a garden that looks like Batman villianess Poison Ivy would be right at home at it.








24. Mercyful Fate- Don't Break the Oath- The second album by Mercyful Fate has what might be their most iconic cover as Satan, himself, points to you from the very depths of hell!





23. Cannibal Corpse- Butchered at Birth- The second album by these death metal legends had what is one of their most, if not their most, controversial cover. This was enough so that it it in fact landed on WatchMojo.com's recent list of the most controversial covers, of all time. But, when you have a cover where two zombies are aborting an embryo from a butchered woman's body, while other dead and decaying embryos hang, well, that was bound to piss someone off! Not me though. I think it fucking rules!




22. Cradle of Filth- Midian- The fourth album from this extreme metal band was inspired by the novel Cabal by Clive Barker and the his subsequent film, Nightbreed, based on said book. Midian is where the monsters live, both sources tell us. The excellent cover by JK Potter has monsters, including a beautiful goth chick with bat wings (what else would expect from CoF?) and the entrance to Midian.





21. Vital Remains- Icons of Evil- The sixth album, and last to have Glenn Benton on vocals, of this brutal death band has a cover inspired by Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ (a sample of which is used in the opener of the album). One difference from the film, though is that the one doing the hammering on Christ has a ring with a pentagram on it.

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 13: 40-31

 The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 12: 50-41

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 11: 60-51

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 10: 70-61

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 9: 80-71

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 8: 90-81 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 7: 110-101 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 6: 120-111 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 5: 130-121

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 4: 140-131 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 3: 150-141

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 2: 160-151

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 1: 175-16

9/21/2014

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 13: 50-41

We are now in the top 50 album covers! And, here we go:

50. Anthrax- We've Come for You All- The ninth studio album, and last one with John Bush, by one of thrash metal's Big Four has comic book artist Alex Ross art with the band surrounded by arms with the Anthrax pentagram behind them.







49. Morbid Angel- Altars of Madness- The debut album by these Floridan death metal masters has a very cool cover of "a flat disk made of a fossil material, that has captured souls" by Dan Seagrave.







48. Bleeding Through- The Truth- The fourth album by this American metalcore band is probably their best and most popular. It also has their best cover art. It's a photographic cover of a ripped out jaw. Bloody and in black and white, this is a striking and awesome image!






47. Def Leppard- Pyromania- The third album by this British hard rock act is my personal favorite of theirs. It also has their best, and most controversial, cover: that of a bullseye on a building top set ablaze. It was enough to have some stores refuse to carry it, and music censorship loving Tipper Gore flash it during the PMRC trials.





46. Danzig- III: How the Gods Kill- The third and highest charting album by Danzig has a magnificent cover taken from H.R. Giger's Meister und Margeritha (The Master and Margarita). Giger modified it, so that the erect penis in the painting became a dagger with the Danzig skull, which in turn was used on the cover to the single, "Dirty, Black Summer".





45. Cattle Decapitation- Monolith of Inhumanity- The sixth, and so far best album,  from these American deathgrinders has a Simian humanoid ripping out the flesh from his face on the cover. He is surrounded by bones and garbage and in the background, a monolith and other simians. It's gory and cool and recalls a nightmarish take on Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.





44. Entombed- Clandestine- The second album by this Swedish death metal act features a beautifully unusual cover of some other worldly place.








43. Motorhead- Rock 'n' Roll- The eighth album by these British metal masters, had a very different and intricate idea by it's artist Joe Petagano for it's cover. But, the band went with this cool take on Snaggletooth, instead. It looks awesome, so that's all that matters. right? 






42. Dio- Holy Diver- The classic debut album by Dio has one of metal's most iconic covers: in it, their mascot Murray has a broken chain and there is a priest chained up with his head sticking out of the water. Dio has said don't "judge a book by it's cover" on the meaning of this amazing piece of art.





41. Death- Leprosy- The second album by Death is an out right classic of the subgenre. As is its' awesome cover of a cloaked man suffering from leprosy.








 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 12: 60-51

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 11: 70-61

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 10: 80-71

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 9: 90-81 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 7: 110-101 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 6: 120-111 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 5: 130-121

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 4: 140-131 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 3: 150-141

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 2: 160-151

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 1: 175-16

7/29/2014

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 11: 70-61

70. Metallica- Ride the Lightning- The second album from the seminal thrash metal band is a true  metal classic. And, the cover with lightning hitting an electric chair (a direct reference to the amazing title track) is just as iconic. 








69. Cattle Decapitation- Humanure- The third album by these deathgrinders had an ultra-controversial cover where a cow shits out human flesh. It was nasty enough that they had to put out a censored cover without the cow and only the wasteland, for some stores. Personally, I love it. It's always good to offend people!






68. Immortal- All Shall Fall- The eighth studio album by this black metal band has a metallic, frozen door with a face and two raven heads. The album, itself, is as cool as it's cover!








67. Autopsy- Severed Survival- This is the alternate cover to the debut album of this death metal band. It's a classic of the genre as crazed, bloodied surgeons loom on to operate. Pretty cool and scary looking, too!







66. Dissection- The Somberlain- Classic debut by this Swedish black metal act has cool artwork of a dark, ghostly figure on a horse drawn carriage that was drawn by Kristian Wahlin.








65. Killswitch Engage- The End of Heartache- The third studio album by this metalcore act is one of the sub-genre's very best! The cover of a heart-shaped pincushion held by blood-covered hands is one of the most beautiful in all of metal.







64. Morbid Angel- Gateways to Annihilation- The sixth studio by this Floridan death metal features an amazing painted cover by Dan Seagrave. It is of some monstrous temple and a gateway opening up right by it. This is the first painted cover that the band used since their classic Blessed Are the Sick.






63. Kiss- Love Gun- The sixth studio album by these hard rockers has a classic cover by Ken Kelly. The band and it's groupies look fucking awesome on it! Of note, is the long standing joke/ rumor/ whatever that Gene says that he invented the devil horns hand gesture on this album. While, I have no idea if he ever said this, I wouldn't put it underneath him. And, to that I say whatever buddy! 




62. KoRn- Issues- For the fourth studio album nu-metal band Korn ran a contest and the first place winner to be used as the cover is the one I picked, here. Drawn by Alfredo Carlos, we see a ripped and abandoned doll. It has a tragic look and feel of possible child abuse or sadness, not an uncommon theme with the band. 






61. Avenged Sevendfold- Nightmare- The fifth studio album by popular Cali metal/ hard rock band A7X has amazing and creepy art by Travis Smith with a little girl terrorized in her nightmares, of course, by the band's mascot looming over a graveyard.







The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 10: 80-71

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 9: 90-81 

The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 7: 110-101 


The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 6: 120-111 


The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 5: 130-121


The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 4: 140-131 


The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 3: 150-141


The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 2: 160-151


The 175 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of all Time Pt. 1: 175-16