December 2023 Feature Release - The Sphere Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Sphere has been nominated by myself. It's Florida death metal legends Morbid Angel's divisive 2011 eighth album "Illud Divinum Insanus" which saw Trey & the boys incorporating industrial metal influences into their sound for the first time. The death metal community was horrified with the new direction at the time with most slamming the release but I do feel that the extent of the criticism was unfair. Do you think that this is a genuine industrial release that's worthy of its place in The Sphere? Was it an interesting creative move or musical blasphemy? I'm keen to hear your thoughts on this one.

https://metal.academy/releases/325

Here's my review summary:

Now ain't this the most shocking revelation in any metal community website! A metalhead who had never dared to explore the standard death metal of Morbid Angel had finally done so...with their most hated album, the St. Anger of death metal, Illud Divinum Insanus! This was released in 2011 when Skrillex and dubstep were sweeping the globe, and bands of most genres were pressured to follow that trend. Bassist/vocalist David Vincent, who had rejoined the band for this album, had past experiences with other genres. Guitarist Pete Sandoval couldn't participate because of surgery for a herniated spinal disc, eventually fully leaving a few years later due to his Christianity. Of course, I have to also mention the two guitarists Trey Azagthoth (founding member) and Destructhor (temporary). Illud Divinum Insanus may be one of the worst albums in metal history, but for me it's not as bad as what others think, probably because of my industrial metal passion. Yep, the style is basically their death metal sound toned down with emphasis on industrial metal and synth-rock. You can also hear some interesting vocals from Vincent including some Spanish! I say this album is about half-fun half-awful, not very cohesive yet still interesting, probably would work better as a few EPs. Despite the downsides, Morbid Angel have gone their most diverse in this style of styles. The vocals and guitars have different tactics in each track, with some throwing back to their earlier death metal while many others have a more industrial metal sound, even leaning towards rock. I actually enjoy the more deathly songs and a bit of the industrial ones, though the more rock ones ("I Am Morbid" and "Radikult") are a couple of the absolute worst stinkers in metal. Sure, this band really roughed up their fanbase's expectations, but I appreciate what they could do. I just don't wanna have to hear those two rock-sounding sh*t-songs again, and there's much worse trash out there....

2.5/5

So, I have to admit that I had ulterior motives when selecting this release as I'm fully aware of how notorious it is. We haven't seen too many takers for some really good The Sphere feature releases in recent months though so I thought I'd give us a record that a) lots of people have heard & b) that people tend to have very strong feelings about so as to encourage some healthy conversation. Personally, I do think that "Illud Divinum Insanus" is underrated even if I still think it falls well short of a par score. It's just that many people seem to tag it as one of the worst releases ever & I think that's a bit of a harsh call when you consider some of the absolute dross that's out there. In fact, I quite enjoy nearly half of the album & awarded it 3 stars shortly after release. I think the shockingly low quality of opener "Omni Potens" & closers "Radikult" & "Profundis - Mea Culpa" tends to warp people's views a bit. I mean, "10 More Dead" is a classic Morbid Angel track & I also find a song like "Blades for Baal" to be really solid too. Perhaps they could have made a pretty decent E.P. out of this record but it certainly doesn't work as a full album. Then again, neither did their previous full-length "Heretic" & I don't think "Illud Divinum Insanus" is all that much worse than that release to be honest. The "Illud Divinum Insanus: The Remixes" compilation is a step down from the both of them though. What the fuck were they thinking with that one??

3/5

I recalled that I had taken some time to review this one already:

It has taken me the best part of a decade to get around to undertaking an erstwhile and meaningful effort to review the release that is recognised by some as being “the worst album in the history of death metal”. With so much negativity flying around it is difficult to write a genuinely impartial review based on how an album sounds to you personally. A task made no easier by the fact that the band in question are one of your favourite bands in death metal, responsible for some of the greatest albums the sub-genre has seen, and they have undertaken a huge change of direction and seemingly alienated the vast majority of their fanbase.

Looking on the internet there are two camps of opinion (broadly speaking) on Illud Divinum Insanus. ‘The “this is Ear Rape” Camp’, have a clear standpoint from the outset of their argument. In this camp you are most likely to hear that this album is all the fault of either a) David Vincent and his “fucked up ideas” or b) Trey Azagathoth for letting David Vincent do “whatever the fuck he likes”. The more rational ones in this camp still exhibit an astonishing lack of rational thought by citing Pete Sandoval having back surgery and finding Jesus as being the source of the problem. In the face of such astonishing, evidence-based, and well-researched findings it is hard to see how any opposing camp could possibly exist.

Amazingly, the second camp of opinion, ‘The “this isn’t so bad guys” Camp’ has managed to flourish in the face of such vehement opposition from the aforementioned “Ear Rape” camp dwellers. This second group of more open-minded music fans acknowledge some very important distinctions in their argument when compared with their more reactionary counterparts. Namely, they admit that a) it is in David Vincent’s gift to do whatever the fuck he likes and that b) Trey Azagathoth was quite good at video games by this point and wanted someone else to run point on the album because he had done more than a few years of good shit and had earned some time with his feet up. They tend to also acknowledge that Pete Sandoval had a debilitating injury that required surgery and his belief change was a more than reasonable step in his recovery and he was rightly (and publicly) proud of what he had achieved with Morbid Angel so let’s leave him out of this!

If I had to choose sides, then go right ahead and sign me for the latter of the two camps. I might not agree with everything either camp say but there is far more wrong with the “Ear Rape” sentiment to justify any involvement there. I mean looking at old reviews I did for the follow up to this record, I slate it based on cursory listens and peer pressure so I have had a foot in the former camp at some point.

So, I do not like Illud Divinum Insanus. I do not hate it either and I think the general backlash against it is both unnecessary and misguided, showing the rather grandiose idea that bands somehow owe something to their fans to stay on the same trajectory their whole career. The fact is though that this is not a Morbid Angel album (well apart from the two main players being kind of well-established with the band name – oh and the band logo on the front of the record), in fact it is not really a death metal album when taken in its entirety. Clearly carrying a variety of musical influences in their heads at the time there are lots of non-metal as well as various other sub-genres of metal being explored here and whether you like it or not is up to you. Whether you like the industrial-tinged elements is a matter of taste (I personally do not like a lot of industrial metal but find the elements here quite measured and appropriate). If you find the “bangers” type dance beats abhorrent, then any hope you have of any return to form in the future being of a Blessed… or better still an Altars… level of accomplishment is slim to zero.

The point is that bands move on, and musicians influences change. Records that defined part of your life will always remain relevant and your favourite band now going off in some previously unheralded direction is not the end of the world. Illud… is a bitter pill to swallow after nearly a decade of waiting for a follow up to Heretic, with little to no warning of what was coming from these titans of death metal. References to Domination keep popping up in the more amenable camp but I do not see those as really all that relevant and perhaps are just over-exuberant attempts to provide some sense to Illud… and make it more palatable.

Fact is, both Trey and David can do whatever they like. Do you have to like it? No. Tim Yeung and Destructhor are no more to blame if you dislike this album than Pete Sandoval is – the album just isn’t for you.

It seems very simple to me. If you like death metal and death metal done like it was in the 90s, then you will not like this record. Stop listening to it and saying nasty things about it on the internet some eleven years after it was released and just get the fuck on with your lives. If you want to hear something different that to my ears is not all that appealing overall, then take a risk and form your own opinion.

2.5/5