Review by Emir for Morbid Angel - Covenant (1993)

For me, Covenant is by far the best Morbid Angel record. It not only perfectly reflects the band's evolution in 1993, but also combines the identities of the previous two albums. Take the speed and brutality of Altars of Madness, and add the sophisticated songwriting of Blessed Are the Sick. Finally, give this result to Flemming Rasmussen, the legendary producer of the three great Metallica albums, and then release it. You will have Covenant. Period.

While musically more ferocious, Covenant is also more satanic, thematically. Yes, the issue with Morbid Angel was being satanic as much as possible around that time, but the songs like "Lions Den", "World of Shit (The Promised Land)", and especially "God of Emptiness" increase the anti-religious and satanic tone dramatically, and make you understand why they call the band MORBID ANGEL. Lovecraftian themes are still present, but less visible compared to the previous albums. Cthullu Mythos would dominate Morbid Angel again, after Vincent left the band and Steve Tucker joined.

The best aspect of the album is that when it is slower, it becomes more horrific. As I said, this is one of the fastest and brutal records the band has ever released, but after the closer duo of the album, "Nar Mattaru/God of Emptiness", Morbid Angel leaves the scene in quite an unorthodox way. You would rightly expect that the ending of an album like this might have been a massacre. But, no. Morbid Angel had a different attitude this time. the way David Vincent sings the lines below ultimately became the essence of death metal: bold, imposing, and fear-inducing in its overconfidence:

"Bow to me faithfully,

Bow to me splendidly."