Customer Reviews:
 A very superb CD! November 25, 2008
JAcl
I've been a fan of Morbid Angel since 1993, and I have to say that this is one of the best works they have put out, the other best would be "Blessed Are The Sick." David Vincent's vocals are very strong, and the music stays pretty solid all the way through. I would recommend this to any fan of Morbid Angel.
Stop reading and get this album NOW!!!................. November 22, 2008
Puzzle box (Kuwait)
Let me start off by saying that Covenant is a work of art, a masterpiece in the Morbid Angel catalog that everyone must have, every track in this album speaks for itself and it definitely deserves to be in every death metal fans collection. Covenant has just amazing production and artwork, the sound was the best in Morbid Angel's history, it's incredibly loud and clear. The album opener Rapture is an orgy of hard but catchy riffs, incredible drumming and amazing solos courtesy of Trey Azagthoth, Rapture is probably the best although Lions Den is also excellent with some great and memorable lyrics. This album also has some of the finest drumming heard up to that particular moment in time (back in 93) on any death metal album which were done by the immensely talented Pete Sandoval. The riffs on songs like Rapture, Pain Divine and Vengeance Is Mine are frankly genius. They happen to be fast, brutal and absolutely crushing. World of Sh** the promised land (nice title by the way) is for me, the best example of classic Morbid Angel sound. Its got breaks, repeat choruses and fast as hell drumming. The lyrics are not clever, but the song is a very creative piece of work and is quite superb, this particular track really lets David Vincent's voice shine as he growls like a total maniac.
The only weak track in my opinion was Blood On My Hands, the song just wasn't as good as the others and is forgettable but what follows was the amazing track Angel Of Disease where the track in particular has a raw punk sound to it making this one of the most unique Morbid Angel songs out there and also shows how Morbid were head and shoulders above most other death metal acts at the time, right on a par with Obituary's Cause Of Death, Deicide's Legion and Carcass' Heartwork as being another 90's death metal masterpiece. Then we have God Of Emptiness a dialogue between "The Accuser" and "The Tempter" it's a really crushing song, almost a classic; this one is maybe not as brutal as the rest of the tracks, but the impact of the lyrics and the intensity of its intro Nar Mattaru is just freaking awesome and pretty bizarre if I don't say so myself, it has some real slow and sludgy riffs that work really well and make the song sound more atmospheric as Dave starts chanting "bow to me faithfully". Anyway this album is truly one of Morbid Angel's Best works you should already have this on your shelf, if not then you're a poser who probably listens to [...] like Trivium and Linkin Park, thank Satan for Morbid Angel!! ;-)......
 Good, but it's no classic... June 28, 2008
Marcus (USA)
It's always hard to review an album like Morbid Angel's Covenant. For the most part, Covenant is considered a classic album of the early death metal scene, and as a result it's difficult to truly listen to it or review it objectively. Stripping away the album's reputation, Covenant is revealed as a good (but not great) album from death metal's formative years.
The album kicks things off right from the start with "Rapture," easily one of the strongest songs on here. It's fast, thrashy, and it's got some [...] riffs. It's the perfect way to start the album, and if every song on here was as good as it, Covenant might be worthy of 5 stars. But alas, it's not to be...
The next song is "Pain Divine," a good song, not as good as "Rapture", but still an enjoyable listen. "[...] (The Promised Land)" (great title!) mixes it up a little bit with a slow, slightly doomy intro, before breaking into a furious barrage of fast riffing and blastbeats. It's a great song, and the solos of Trey Azagthoth make it all the better.
Unfortunately, here's where the album starts to slip. "Vengeance Is Mine" is fast and brutal, yet ultimately forgettable. "The Lion's Den" is slightly better, reclaiming the passion found in the first three songs. However, the next song, "Blood On My Hands" is utterly unremarkable.
If there's one saving grace on this album, it's defintely track seven. "Angel Of Disease" was originally written as a demo track but rerecorded by Morbid Angel for Covenant. I've heard some say that it seems out of place here as a result, but in reality, it's the one song that saves this album. Starting off with some terrific soloing, "Angel" soon breaks into a barrage of catchy riffs and ridiculous pace changes. The guitar solos on here are simply incredible. At six minutes in length, I'd venture to say at least two to three minutes of that is pure soloing, which makes for an awesome track. Six minutes is over far too soon.
Coming off the adrenaline high brought on by "Angel Of Disease", the next song, "Sworn To The Black", continues right where "Blood On My Hands" left off. That is, of course, utter mediocrity. "Sworn" is simply boring. It's got decent riffing, decent soloing, but it's all just decent.
Finally, we have the closing duo "Nar Mattaru" and "God Of Emptiness." "Nar" is a creepy instrumental intended to set the mood for the final track, and to be honest, I think it works pretty well. Once "God Of Emptiness" rears it's blasphemous head, it's an interesting affair from then on. The song is slow and doomy, with some bizarre spoken vocals. As a Morbid Angel song, it's not that great, as the slow pace and lack of decent soloing make it somewhat mundane. As the final track however, it works well at closing off the album, being so unique and doomy.
As the closing chants of "Bow to me faithfully..." fade away, one is finally able to realize the simple yet fundamental flaw of Covenant: there's simply a glaringly obvious lack of good songs. At 10 tracks in length, one of these is an instrumental, one ("God Of Emptiness") is too bizarre to work as anything but the closer, and three ("Blood On My Hands", "Vengeance", and "Sworn") seen too much like filler. What you're left with is five thoroughly enjoyable Morbid Angel songs. Not only is this far too few for a full-length album, but considering "Angel Of Disease" wasn't even originally written for Covenant, it's definitely dissapointing.
However, one shouldn't be too hard on this album. The good songs are really good, ranking right up there with Morbid Angel's best works. The riffs, while being somewhat of a mixed bag, mostly come out ahead. The guitar solos, especially on "Angel Of Disease", are simply magnificent. As a matter of fact, I'd go as far to say the guitar solos on here are the best of Morbid Angel's career thus far. Unlike on Altars Of Madness, Trey's shredding on here is right where it should be in the mix, and has just the right melodic touch to make it something really special.
David Vincent's vocal performance on here is also notable. While he favored a tortured, higher pitched rasp on previous albums, Covenant sees him unleash a slightly deeper growl on some tracks, which gives the music a nice brutal edge. The drumming, while nothing really remarkable, holds everything together nicely and shows off some nice fills every now and then.
Unfortunately, the high quantity of forgettable tracks really drags everything down. Had Morbid Angel taken the time to write more standout tracks like "Rapture" and "[...]", Covenant definitely could have been a lot better. Sure, all the right elements are in place, and it's definitely an enjoyable album, but there's simply too many forgettable moments on here to warrant "classic" status. If you want to experience Morbid Angel at their absolute finest, I'd recommend picking up their debut, Altars Of Madness. That album does not have a single forgettable song on it. Covenant, unfortunately, just has far too many.
Christians to the lions! March 23, 2008
M. Seyam (Orlando,FL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is Morbid Angel's crowning satanic Death metal album. With grinding classics like 'sworn to the black' you will hear Sandoval's pounding blast beats and Dave's haunting growls. I saw these guys live back in 2003 and every Covenant live cut was album perfect. A lot of die hard MA fans prefer Tucker era but I think all the Dave albums with him on vocals(and bass)are the most brutal. Covenant is the most successful MA album, marquee tracks like 'god of emptiness' prove that.
B0W T0 ME FAlTHFULLY!!! February 11, 2008
Smegma Cheese (l got a hundred guns, a hundred clips 'coz l'm from New York, New York)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
At first l thought this album and the song, ''G-d 0f Emptiness'' sucked. Then l saw Beavis & Butthead make fun of the video for Emptiness and l thought it was hysterical. Since they don't play that vid on MTV anymore, in order to get a good laugh, l have to watch it on youtube.
B0W T0 ME FAlTHFULLY!!! tee-hee tee-hee
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