This is a very diverse death metal album, which took a long time for me to get into. The muddy production on the guitars suits the music perfectly, as the Trey Azagthoth comes up with some really hypnotic slower riffs, which are better than those on "Blessed are the Sick," which ironically was an album hailed as a classic for its slow, hypnotic riffs. This cd has more dimensions to it as it goes into blisteringly fast parts, with their incredible drummer showing his wares. Unfortunately the guitaring in these parts often lacks creativity, and the listener just has to be content with the brutality and speed of the music. Of the 14 tracks on this album, 5 are instrumentals, and seem completely pointless in the context of the album. They are tracks 6, 10, 12, 13 and 14. All are worth skipping even on the album's first listen. The highlight for me is track 11, Invocation of the Continual One, which is a 9 minute song, with plenty of atmosphere, brilliantly written to captivate the listener all the way through. Track 9, Covenant of Death also shows the band's capacity to write an epic, captivating song. These two songs emphasise the diversity of this album. This album copped alot of flak, by me as well as many other people, but the truth is that this album was just too good for me at the time. I've now matured into it. I think Morbid Angel is better and more creative now that they got rid of that racist Dave Vincent.

This review is credited to:
Julian Forbes

Fomulas Fatal To The Flesh killed me when i first heard it.It took me time to adjust to the fact that David Vincent is no longer singing with Trey and the boys,but Steve Tucker is a great new addition to the Morbid crew.He has a more brutal voice than David Vincent.The music is also more brutal than Morbid Angel's earlier work.The opening track,Heaving Earth,is a perfect opening song cause it gets you right off your ass.It even has Tucker singing in Sumerian.Most of the tracks have something to do with Sumerian mythology and prasing the Ancient Ones(Chthhulhu,Absu,Amah-Ushumgal-Anna).Prayer Of Hatred,Nothing Is Not,Invocation Of The Continual One are the stand out tracks on this album.Trey Azagtoth is in pefect form as usual and shredding out some insane guitar riffs and solos.My favorite solo(s) is on the song Invocation Of The Continual One.Trey for God in 2000!Oh yeah,there's some funny looking guy named Pete Sandoval in the band too.I hear he's a pretty good drummer...

This review is credited to:
Death_Explosion