Morbid Angel "Abominations of desolation" CD

Before Altars of Madness changed death metal forever, Morbid Angel had already recorded their first full-length. In 1986, with no label backing them, the band entered the studio and financed the sessions themselves, with future vocalist David Vincent producing the recording while still outside the lineup. Guitarist Trey Azagthoth later rejected the final result, and the album was shelved. For years it only existed as rumor and bootleg, until it was finally officially released in 1991 to fight the flood of underground bootleg copies. This is that record: the raw, feral Morbid Angel before precision replaced possession. Some of the songs here would later be re-recorded under new titles, but these early versions are something else entirely. The riffs are more savage, the structures more unhinged, and the atmosphere is soaked in occult menace. What truly sets this recording apart is the presence of Mike Browning on drums and vocals. His performance is pure instinct: wild, unconscious, possessed. Where later Morbid Angel would thrive on the tension between Trey’s visionary evil and David Vincent’s disciplined power, here Mike is completely aligned with Trey. If Trey is the summoner, Mike is the conduit and the one who lets the ancient force speak through him in manic vocals and chaotic, ritualistic drumming. This version may be a bootleg of the original Satanic Records bootleg, but musically it captures something no later re-recording ever could: primal fury. If you want to hear Morbid Angel when they were still invoking and not calculating, this is where it began. Tracks 10-12 are bonus tracks taken from 7" EP Thy Kingdom Come.