Review Summary: A classic in the genre that defined what death metal would be, and still stands tall above many of it's contemporaries.
Morbid Angel is a band name that means different things to different people. On one hand, there are those who see the band as simply one of the founders of death metal. On the other hand, there are those that see them also as the pinnacle of the genre even to this day. I'm one of those people. Altars of Madness was an album that every metalhead owned in 1989. It was far heavier than anything that had come before it, and that was extremely appealing for fans, making it an instant classic in the genre. It boasted top quality musicianship as well, which continued on Blessed Are The Sick and, in my opinion, reached it's pinnacle on their third album Covenant.
If I could only pick one word to describe the sound of this album to people who've never listened to it, it would be evil. Covenant sounds so genuinely evil and carries major themes of occult rituals, cursed scrawls, and demonic tales through both it's lyrical content and musical content. There are several moments on this album where it sounds like the band is conjuring a portal to hell. It's not in any cheesy fashion or, on the other extreme, any over the top fashion either. It finds the perfect middle ground that suits the genre of death metal beautifully. Opening track "Rapture" summarizes the entire album well with its unsettling guitar work and assurance by David Vincent that he and whatever demonic spawn he's talking to are "one". The first time I listened to this track I pictured some ghostly entity chasing me with the intent to kill, and it was a terrifying picture a death metal song has never given me before. Rapture remains one of my favorites on the record. This feeling doesn't stop through the duration of the album, with notable cuts such as "Pain Divide", "The Lion's Den", "Sworn to the Black", and "God of Emptiness" having the exact same effect.
As for the members' performances, they are amazing and suit the album well. Azagthoth's riffs are menacing, Sandoval's drumming is tight, fast, and technical, and Vincent's vocals, while not as deep as his more modern vocal peers in the genre, has a certain conviction to them that sends cold chills down the listener's spine. The production isn't as clean as more modern albums either, but the sludginess of the guitars gives the album a nice aesthetic of doom of gloom. Almost every track throughout the album is phenomenal. The only exception I would give is for "Angel of Disease", which feels out of place because of the length and the higher-pitched vocals. Even the interlude works perfectly to transition into the finale "The God of Emptiness". If "Rapture" was a great abstract of this album, "God of Emptiness" is a perfect conclusion. For the stunning technicality, perfectly evil atmospheres for the genre, and the fact that this album even gained a little mainstream attention because of how good it was, Covenant gets a 5 out of 5.