Altars of Madness
Altars of Madness is the debut studio album by American death metal band Morbid Angel, released on 12 May 1989. It opens the story of a band that would go on to make eight more studio albums, from Blessed Are the Sick in 1991 through to Kingdoms Disdained in 2017. Several of its tracks began life in sessions recorded in 1986 for an earlier planned debut, Abominations of Desolation, which didn't emerge until 1991.
What makes it worth hearing is how far it pushed things. Both the instrumentation and the lyrics set a new standard for heaviness and extremity, and the record is regarded as one of the most celebrated and influential in death metal. If you want to understand where the genre's sound was heading at the end of the 1980s, this is a very good place to start.
Altars of Madness on Riffology
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Altars of Madness: tracklist and credits
9 tracks · 35:09Tracklist
- 1Immortal RitesTrey Azagthoth and David Vincent4:04
- 2SuffocationTrey Azagthoth and David Vincent3:15
- 3Visions From the Dark SideTrey Azagthoth and David Vincent4:10
- 4Maze of TormentTrey Azagthoth and David Vincent4:25
- 5Chapel of GhoulsAzagthoth, Browning, Angel4:58
- 6Bleed for the DevilTrey Azagthoth2:23
- 7DamnationTrey Azagthoth and David Vincent4:10
- 8BlasphemyTrey Azagthoth3:32
- 9Evil SpellsTrey Azagthoth4:12
- Produced by
- Morbid Angel, Digby Pearson, Dig, Flemming Rasmussen
- Recorded at
- Morrisound Recording (Tampa)
- Recorded
- December 1988
- Mixed at
- Morrisound Recording
- Engineered by
- Tom Morris
- Artwork
- Dan Seagrave
- Labels
- Relativity Records, Earache, Combat (US)
- Length
- 35:09
Line-up
- Trey Azagthoth · guitar
- Richard Brunelle · guitar
- Pete Sandoval · drums (drum set)
- David Vincent · bass guitar, vocals
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Also released on 12 May
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More from Morbid Angel
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The best of 1989
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More on Relativity Records
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | September 1989 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 12 May 1989 | |
| Wikidata | 12 May 1989 | |
| US release | 1989 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1989 | earliest UK or European date |
20 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | GB | Earache Records | other | |
| 1989 | US | Relativity Records | other | |
| 1989 | GB | Earache Records | 5018615101116 | other |
| 1989 | US | Earache Records | other | |
| September 1989 | GB | Earache Records | 5018615101123 | original |
| 21 November 1991 | JP | TOY’S FACTORY | 4988061885636 | other |
| 2002 | GB | Earache Records | 5055006501117 | other |
| 25 February 2003 | US | Earache Records | 745316110127 | other |
| 2006 | XE | Earache Records | 5055006501179 | other |
| 2011 | GB | Earache Records | 5055006501131 | other |
| 20 July 2011 | GB | Earache Records | 5055006501155 | other |
| 15 November 2012 | XW | Earache Records | other | |
| 13 May 2016 | XW | Earache Records | 5055006501193 | other |
| 11 November 2016 | XE | Earache Records | 817195020221 | other |
| 31 March 2017 | US | Earache Records | 817195020221 | other |
| 28 November 2018 | US | Earache Records | 817195020931 | other |
| 20 May 2020 | GB | Earache Records | 5055006593013 | other |
| 30 May 2025 | — | Earache Records | other | |
| 21 November 2025 | — | Earache Records | 5055006901191 | other |
| — | — | Earache Records | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 800×800 | upscaled |