This was a performance I'd been looking forward to ever since I became a Morbid Angel fan. It is not often that you can come across what can be considered as a bona fide legend in the music world. The longevity, quality and influence of this band can never be underestimated, and Domination stands as one of my most treasured musical belongings. Arriving rather early by accident to the Garage, I got a chance to properly peruse a merch stand rather than running up at the end going, 'I want XL in that one, ok you have none left, that one!'. A side note and not overly important to the gig but it was great to see a selection of 7 different designs of shirt, rather than the paltry two or three I am used to at concerts these days. Anyhoo, supporting act and local band Achren were a decent support, although yet another whose enthusiasm for the slot wasn't matched by the crowd response. A shame really because they were solid and entertaining.
And so to Morbid Angel. What a performance. David Vincent is every bit a frontman, his witty banter between songs keeping the crowd entertained, such as imploring a young lady not to dive off the balcony because she was too pretty to die. He almost looks like an evil(er) verion of Gene Simmons, surely the only man who can still get away with a skin tight plasticy-leather black shirt with a big silver pentagram on the front, and the usual cliched remarks about how metal fans strength comes from within and it doesn't matter what people think of you take on a new passion when spoken by an elder statesman of the genre. His performance was awesome, belching forth the classics: Maze of Torment, Chapel of Ghouls and Pain Defined were all dropped early in the set, and was followed almost by a greatest hits set, although disappointingly devoid of anything from Blessed are the Sick, which I felt was unfortunate. But it was a small disappointment, minature at best when the band created an effort like this. Tracks like God of Emptiness and Where the Slime Live take on a new level of malevolence in a live setting, Trey Azagthoth's labyrinthine style of riffing creates such a frenzy that he doesn't even need to head bang to create a pit frenzy. An excellent example of how quality musicianship is more important to a live performance than enthusiastic headbanging! Destructhor of Zyklon was an excellent second guitarist and Pete Sandoval's drumming was simply phenomenal. How he doesn't suffer from some form of muscle strain after every song astounds me. A rarely heard outing of 'Bill Ur-sag' from Formulas Fatal to the Flesh and a new track, Nevermore from the upcoming album were also both warmly welcomed. The new track was particularly excellent, a lurching behemoth with a catchy refrain and remiscient of their slower, later work rather than the hurtling intensity of Altars of Madness.
The gig did end rather early for my liking, only an hour and a quarter or so after they first strode onto the stage, but Morbid Angel slayed tonight. If they can create yet another essential album and come back for a longer set, there's going to be more than enough life in the old beast yet. Awesome
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