Morbid Angel - Illud Divinum Insanus (2011)^{Release ID: 325}

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 has finally done so...with their most hated album, the St. Anger of death metal, Illud Divinum Insanus! I thought I would check it out and give it a review to finally hear what the deal was after noticing its industrial elements pointed out and a few tracks appearing in the earlier monthly Sphere playlists (before the ones I created). 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, so i can do my usual track-by-track analysis to add a bit of cohesion to a review for a not-so-cohesive album. So let's try it...

"Omni Potens" starts things of as an ominous synth-orchestral intro to remind some of Summoning's album intros and the RuneScape soundtrack. The unexpected sound begins with the first full track "Too Extreme!" The vocals sound cleaner than what death metal fans desire, and in some verses, Vincent sings in Spanish for some reason. Vincent dominates this track more than Trey Azagthoth whom longtime fans consider the actual heart and soul of the band. The intricate soloing those fans want is absent. What really puts this sh*t to ruin is the drumming. Tim Yeung can drum pretty well, but he seemed to use a drum machine for this one. The fact that song is pretty much my entryway to the music of Morbid Angel would disgruntle longtime fans who discovered the band via their 90s albums and want more of that era's sound. One song that's closer to the earlier death metal is "Existo Vulgoré", but that sh*t is too weak for its existence. "Blades for Baal" is acceptable with its stronger attempt at that earlier sound.

One of the worst songs in the album is "I Am Morbid", which is morbidly atrocious. The lyrics are pretty much a f***ing lousy attempt at tackling metal culture the way Manowar can. There's that boring verse-chorus structure with little variation. All of that make that track the worst here and one of the absolute worst stinkers in metal. Carcass's Heartwork is a far better deal for mid-tempo melodeath. "10 More Dead" adds more of the deathly aspects as the band should have. "Destructos vs. the Earth / Attack" is a decent song in the industrial metal category. The structure is quite repetitive, but adds the same time it sounds fun. Plus there's a bit of death metal at the end that would foreshadow a later return to form.

The solid death metal comes back again in "Nevermore". That track and "Beauty Meets Beast" bring back the earlier riff groove, though with a slight edge of the mainstream they were only hinting in those older albums. While I won't elaborate on those songs as much as songs from my other reviews, I'll say that the variation isn't essentially prominent, yet works better without too much of the lyrical charisma. Only fans of the 4 albums before this one would tolerate those riffs, though I like a bit of them too. "Radikult" is the second-sh*ttiest song of the album. F***, this sounds too much like Marilyn Manson! The only good thing is how well the song moves. Vincent thinks he could go Primus on his bass and vocals, but the former ends up practically inaudible. What an absolute drag that is... The closing "Profundis - Mea Culpa" is the best track here. The industrial rhythm and metal complexity are combined very well, Vincent's vocals are very captivating, and there's none of that sh*tty rock in sight.

With all that said, Morbid Angel had really stripped things down for this album. David Vincent had already worked with the band in their earlier groundbreaking albums, and his replacement Steve Tucker continued the band's brutal development. So it's puzzling how low the songs can go in Vincent's comeback release. The longtime fans would definitely like a bit of the different eras of the band they've thrown back to while p*ssing on the industrial metal/rock sounds. They would for sure stay away from the dubstep of Skrillex and the dungeon synth of Summoning's album intros and prefer to stay with Morbid Angel's first 3 albums. 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....

Favorites (only ones I like or slightly like): "Blades for Baal", "10 More Dead", "Nevermore", "Beauty Meets Beast", "Profundis - Mea Culpa"

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.