Artist: Morbid Angel
Released: 1993 RATING: 9.5/10
The Good: Morbid Angel faced some tough competition within the Death Metal genre at the time of Covenant; albums by Death, Carcass, and Atheist (though slightly before this album) were expanding Death metal away from it's primative, brutal origins, while a horde of other bands rose up to clutter the scene with their own gore-filled lyrics and wanna-be Slayer soloing styles, among other things. What seperated Morbid Angel from the pack, and, indeed, made them a driving Death metal force, were a.) their muscianship (top-notch), b.) their songs (memorable, brutal, and amazing), and their consistancy. Simple, yes, but not many could come close to what MA was doing at the time, and many still cannot. After two classic albums in Altars of Madness and Blessed are the Sick, Morbid Angel dropped Covenant on the world, and it is safe to say that it was, and is, an embodiment of everything good about Death Metal and Morbid Angel themselves. David Vincent, Trey Azagthoth, and Pete Sandoval all prove themselves not only as all-time-greats of the genre as far as muscianship is concerned, but they also mannaged to pen a great album with high replay value. "Rapture", "Pain Divine", and "World of S*** (The Promised Land)" are brutal tracks that give the full Morbid Angel experience over the course of the songs' lengths. "God of Emptiness" is a sprawling behemoth of crushing heaviness, and a serious achievement, for sure. Covenant is an excellent album.
The Bad: Vincent's vocals are lower; I liked them a bit better on Altars. I also don't really see a need for the instrumental track "Nar Mattaru"; it's fairly boring and really only acts as a tease for those waiting to hear "God of Emptiness". Otherwise, the album is spectacular.
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