Altars of Madness

Altars of Madness
Studio album by Morbid Angel
Released	May 12, 1989
Recorded	December 1988 at Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida
Genre	Death metal
Length	38:53
Label	Combat/Earache
Producer	Dig and Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel chronology
Altars of Madness (1989) Blessed Are the Sick (1991)

Altars of Madness is the debut album of Florida-based death metal band Morbid Angel. Bonus tracks were included on the CD version as well as the remastered 2003 release. These are remixed versions of songs from the album. 2006 saw a dualdisc release with the 2003 remaster on the audio side and Live Madness 89 recorded at Nottingham Rock City on November 14, 1989, on the DVD side.

The cover artwork, by Dan Seagrave, depicts "a flat disk made of a fossil material, that has captured souls".^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Decibel Magazine	favourable[3]

Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic wrote that one "cannot deny its influence".^[2] UK magazine Terrorizer rates this album as both Morbid Angel's and death metal's finest hour, describing it as "bludgeoning and raw but also technical, exacting and intimidatingly consistent". Robban Becirovic of Close-Up Magazine credits Altars of Madness with launching the popularity of death metal in Sweden:

"...Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness changed everything [about the Swedish scene]. Before that there was no clear distinction between death, speed, or thrash among regular metalheads. It was just brutal metal. But Altars of Madness opened people's eyes, and made us realize something new was going on. Everybody bought that record. Everybody. And thrash was executed by it – the whole genre just disappeared."^[4]

Altars of Madness has appeared at the top of lists of the greatest death metal albums from Decibel magazine and Terrorizer magazine.^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Immortal Rites"	Vincent	Azagthoth	4:04
2.	"Suffocation"	Vincent	Azagthoth, Vincent	3:15
3.	"Visions from the Dark Side"	Vincent	Azagthoth, Vincent	4:10
4.	"Maze of Torment"	Vincent	Azagthoth	4:25
5.	"Lord of All Fevers & Plagues"	Azagthoth	Azagthoth	3:26
6.	"Chapel of Ghouls"	Azagthoth, Mike Browning	Azagthoth	4:58
7.	"Bleed for the Devil"	Azagthoth	Azagthoth	2:23
8.	"Damnation"	Vincent	Azagthoth, Vincent	4:10
9.	"Blasphemy"	Azagthoth	Azagthoth	3:31
10.	"Evil Spells"	Azagthoth	Azagthoth	4:13

Personnel

• David Vincent – bass, vocals
• Trey Azagthoth – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Richard Brunelle – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Pete Sandoval – drums

Production

• Dig – executive production
• Morbid Angel – arrangement, production
• Tom Morris – engineering, mixing

References

1. "Dan Seagrave | Altars of Madness".
2. Birchmeier, Jason. "Altars of Madness - Morbid Angel". Allmusic. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
3. "Morbid Angel "Altars of Madness"". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
4. Ekeroth, Daniel. Swedish Death Metal.
5. "Terrorizer Magazine.....". Retrieved January 31, 2013.

• Bennett, J. (2009). "Chapter 7: Immortal Rights". Precious Metal. Da Capo Press. pp. 85–95. ISBN 978-0-306-81806-6.