The eighth album from the pioneers of American death metal is here, after a long wait. 'Heretic' was waited for with excitement, since a lot of things happened between the previous one, 'Gateways to Annihilation' (2000) and this. Many a fan seemed to be unhappy with the predecessor, but I like it a lot.

'Heretic' doesn't better 'Gateways...'. This album is patchy, to say the least. First 6 songs are "ordinary" (guitar, bass, drums, voice), then 2 instrumentals ('Place of Many Deaths' reminds me of 'Hatework' on 'Domination' [1995]) and 2 "ordinary" ones. Then 4 instrumentals (one being a longish drums-only track....)! And then, a lot of tracks (44 in all!) with silence and more instrumental ones every now and then. I mean, hell, I enjoy listening any album I'm familiar with at random play, it gives more lifespan. No random play with this, then... I hear a lot of out of ordinary song placements during 14 songs, different order might have saved something. My problem, so let's go to the essence; the music.

Death metal (just to give it some definition, okay?!) of Morbid Angel has always been very unique and 'Heretic' is no exception. At first it all felt similar; fast and nothing new or particularly good compared to the past releases. But repeated listening worked, as many of the songs are something special, indeed. The style is immediately recognizable, including familiar elements especially from 'Covenant' (1993) (the opener is as ferocious as 'Rapture') and 'Domination' eras to today. The music is full of weird riffs, leads, solos and other guitar bits, totally trademark Trey Azagthoth. He has said that he tries to play guitar BACKWARDS kind of way! Odd time signatures are abound, but bloody blasting drumming courtesy of Pete "Commando" Sandoval and pounding bass of once-again-Morbid-Angel Steve Tucker help to keep it comprehensible. Polyrhythms are best shown on 'Beneath the Hollow' (instrumental version on track 43, by the way!), which has 2 songs going on at the same time. Believe me, this is weird. It must be heard, it is impossible to be depicted with words. True heretics of death metal. The main lyrical theme is heresy, searching for your own "god", meaning of everything, something like that. Mr. Tucker's vocals are great, his best with the band. Raspy growling has ominous feeling in it. The instrumentals go from weird to menacing, and from calm to a drum solo, plus a guitar solo. I think track 12-14 and beyond would have worked much better as downloadable extra material from the band's website... In general, the music itself is as good and soulful as any older Morbid Angel stuff, if not better, but the structure of the album sucks.

Sound-wise this is familiar, too. The band have had their sound for years. Why change something that works? This might horrify those who like it polished. The guitars are "swampy", muddy yet trebly and reverbing, trademark Azagthoth. The drums are pounding, but sound also triggered (especially the tom drums), which takes away from the organic feel. The bass is somewhat inaudible at times and is the only fuck up in my ears, since it is hard to be spotted. Therefore, the sound is way too trebly for a big part. Vocals are mixed inside, they do not float over the music. The cover art is computer-generated and isn't good at all, but at least the lyrics are printed and a foreword is included. I remember I didn't like 'Domination's (1995) artwork at first, though.

Limited editions come with a bonus disc called 'Bonus Levels' (there's more than one limited version available, mind you). This includes demo versions of some of the album's songs. Good fun for those who try to decipher Mr. Azagthoth's guitar wizardry. I think there's a drum machine utilized in these songs. Anyway, 'Heretic's instrumental songs should have been on this bonus disc in my opinion, so the album itself would have been a lot more tight package.

Morbid Angel fans must get this, of course. I believe this is a kind of back to the roots affair yet offering something special, once again. Generally, death metal fanatics shouldn't miss this either. Only for brave enough adventurers, though.

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/30/2007 22:45