Morbid Angel is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist and primary composer Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Azagthoth is the sole remaining original member. The band is considered one of the first to incorporate guttural vocals, up-tempo blast beats, multiple tempo changes, and a dark, atmospheric sound. Morbid Angel was also the first death metal band to achieve mainstream exposure
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Morbid Angel is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist and primary composer Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Azagthoth is the sole remaining original member. The band is considered one of the first to incorporate guttural vocals, up-tempo blast beats, multiple tempo changes, and a dark, atmospheric sound. Morbid Angel was also the first death metal band to achieve mainstream exposure, signing with Giant Records in 1992, receiving heavy rotation of music videos on MTV, and having the video for "God of Emptiness" featured on an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head. Their first three albums – "Altars of Madness" (1989), "Blessed Are the Sick" (1991), and "Covenant" (1993) – are regarded as classics of the death metal genre. "Altars of Madness" was ranked first in Terrorizer magazine’s list of the "Top 40 Greatest Death Metal Albums", and guitarist Trey Azagthoth was named the number one death metal guitarist by Decibel magazine. The band’s complex arrangements reflect the technical abilities of Azagthoth and drummer Pete Sandoval, who also played in the grindcore band Terrorizer. According to Nielsen SoundScan, "Covenant" is the best-selling death metal album of the SoundScan era with over 150,000 units sold, and Morbid Angel is the third-best-selling death metal act in the United States as of 2003, after Cannibal Corpse and Deicide, with over 445,000 units sold. In 2016, Loudwire ranked them as the 27th best metal band of all time. Morbid Angel’s early lyrical themes, largely guided by Mike Browning and David Vincent alongside Azagthoth, focused on Satanism, occultism, and blasphemous topics. From the 1998 album "Formulas Fatal to the Flesh" onward, under Azagthoth’s influence, the lyrics shifted toward ancient Sumerian deities, drawing on sources such as the Simon Necronomicon, H. P. Lovecraft, and Roman history. During Steve Tucker’s tenure, the lyrical focus included anti-religious and barbaric themes, emphasizing the triumph of the strong over the weak. Studio albums Altars of Madness (1989) Blessed Are the Sick (1991) Covenant (1993) Domination (1995) Formulas Fatal to the Flesh (1998) Gateways to Annihilation (2000) Heretic (2003) Illud Divinum Insanus (2011) Kingdoms Disdained (2017)
