Album Review: Morbid Angel-Illud Divinum Insanus

Where to begin with Morbid Angel? They are without a doubt one of the most iconic death metal bands ever. Personally, their debut, Altars Of Madness, is my favorite death metal record of all-time. So when I first heard about their new record, I was fucking stoked. It was the first Morbid Angel record in nine years and it marked the return of original vocalist David Vincent. With David Vincent back on vocals and this being their big comeback record, no way could it be bad right? WRONG! Illud Divinum Insanus is one of the most disappointing records ever made and it completely soils the name of Morbid Angel.

I don't even know where to start with this record's problems. First off, the god damn techno influences really shouldn't be here. It sounds like Morbid Angel got into fucking Skillrex or some other dubstep shit and just threw these parts in the songs for zero reason at all. These parts are completely unnecessary and just come of as a really stupid addition to their sound. If that wasn't bad enough, they also throw in some serious nu-metal elements. I almost shed a tear when I heard David Vincent scream "Kill, Kill, Kill A Cop" at the beginning of the biggest disaster on the album "Radikult". Is this really the same dude that did vocals and lyrics on classics like Altars Of Madness and Covenant? When the hell did he become Fred Durst? The laughable lyrics and vibe don't end here. Tracks like "Too Extreme!" and "Pro-Foundus-Mea Culpa" in particular, also pile on the laughs. "Too Extreme!" opens with the lyrics "We are your new religion/no religion", you really can't help but laugh out loud at those lyrics. Most of the record is a complete laughing stock. I honestly couldn't believe this was a Morbid Angel record. You really wouldn't expect this big of a stinker to come from a band that was so fucking good back in the day and had not released a bad record previously.

Illud Divinum Insanus is completely fucking horrible. If I hadn't head the new Emmure this year, it would absolutely be the worst record I've heard so far this year. The techno/ nu-metal is far too prominent and laughable to make this album even reasonably enjoyable. The death metal side of Morbid Angel doesn't even come out that much on this record and when it does, it's rarely good. The only I would say is even above average is "Nevermore". That was the only track on the whole record where I felt like I was listening to anything that was created by Morbid Angel. I just really hope they can bounce back from this. I do have faith with David Vincent back in the band that they can do something special, but they need to go back to the drawing board and erase Illud Divinum Insanus from everyone's minds.

1.5/5 Stars
Standout Track
1.Nevermore