Review by Rexorcist for Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)

It's about time I went back on those Morbid Angel albums and saw if my current rankings hold up.  For a very short period of time, Morbid Angel was my choice for best death metal band, right before my venture into Septicflesh.  Now this review is for the original audio rather than the Full Dynamic Range master.  Now it goes without saying that I prefer albums that bring out many noticeable variations between songs, and this is the kind of album that pulls out so many different time signatures every twenty seconds or so that it's no surprise that many of the songs have a few too many similarities.  But this remains an incredible album for two reasons: 1. some of the best production values of the 1980's, clear and crystalline without going into arena reverb, and 2. many of the best riffs you may ever hear in death metal.  Similarities aside, the compositions can oftentimes be absolutely stunning.  The intense power of the album's combination of production and composition can even shine through a set of bad headphones.  Morbid Angel made an instant name for themselves with this album.

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