Covenant

Morbid Angel’s third album somehow wound up on Giant Records, a division of the major label Warner Music. Was it in any way a concession to commercial tastes? Not in the least, though they did get their video for “God of Emptiness” featured on Beavis and Butt-Head. Second guitarist Richard Brunelle having departed, the group’s creative core — guitarist Trey Azagthoth, bassist/vocalist David Vincent, and drummer Pete Sandoval — assembled a collection of songs that were technically difficult and often quite dynamic without making a fetish of complexity. Their bludgeoning power seemed almost caveman-ish at times, especially given Vincent’s hoarse barking, but the minute Azagthoth uncoiled one of his brain-melting guitar solos, the music was catapulted into an entirely different realm; his solos had as little to do with the songs as Greg Ginn’s did in Black Flag, and had the same shocking impact.