''Heretic'' is the seventh studio album by the Florida death metal band

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered ...

. This would be their last under

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

, as the band decided not to renew its contract, and also the last to feature Pete Sandoval and with Steve Tucker until his return on 2017's '' Kingdoms Disdained''. The album was recorded at Diet of Worms Studios by Juan Gonzalez. ''Heretic'' is the band's first album not recorded at

Morrisound Recording Morrisound Recording (also Morrisound Studios) is an audio recording facility in Tampa, Florida, United States, owned and operated by brothers Jim and Tom Morris. Since its opening in 1981, Morrisound has been responsible for the popularization ...

. The second track, "Enshrined by Grace", is featured on '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' soundtrack. It also had a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

which received airplay in the months following the album release.

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

vocalist/guitarist

Karl Sanders Karl Sanders (born June 5, 1963) is an American singer and guitarist, most widely known as the founding member of the ancient Egyptian-themed technical death metal band Nile. Early life Before creating Nile, Sanders was in a thrash metal ...

, played the outro guitar solo of "God of Our Own Divinity". The song "Born Again" is actually the outro guitar solo from the song "Secured Limitations" from 2000's ''

Gateways to Annihilation ''Gateways to Annihilation'' is the sixth studio album by the death metal band Morbid Angel. This album saw a change in musical style as the speed-laden intensity of the previous album '' Formulas Fatal to the Flesh'' was abandoned for a slower ...

''.

Track listing

The album was released in five different versions. The first simply contains ''Heretic'' in a standard CD case; the second is a box set featuring the album plus the 18-track CD ''Bonus Levels'' and a sticker—released in Germany only and limited to 10,000 copies; the third is a double-disc slipcase of both CDs—available only through US mail order and limited to 2,000 copies; the fourth features both discs in a double-CD jewel case—released in Europe only and limited to 20,000 copies; and the fifth is a 12-inch

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with no bonus CD limited to 1,500 copies. ;Bonus tracks The album contains additional tracks after "Born Again". Many of these are silent, while some contain guitar solos or ambiance (notably the sound effects from "Place of Many Deaths" on "Tortured Souls"). When ripped to a computer, the tracks with solos or songs have mostly comical names. The disc has 44 tracks and, according to interviews with Trey Azagthoth, the tracks' numbers and duration have some meaning. Tracks not listed are silent. Names given are taken directly from the

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on the disc. ;Bonus levels A few pressings of the album were made with an extra disc called ''Bonus Levels''. The first six tracks are all songs off the first disc, with synthesized drums and no vocals. The remaining tracks are guitar solos.

Chart positions

Personnel

Morbid Angel

*Steve Tucker – bass, vocals *

Trey Azagthoth Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered ...

– guitars,

guitar synthesizer A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnersh ...

, keyboards * Pete Sandoval – drums, piano, keyboards

Guest

– the outro guitar solo of "God of Our Own Divinity"

Others

*Juan "Punchy" Gonzalez – producer, mixing *Marc Sasso – cover art *Peter "Drunken Monkey" Tsakiris –

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*Alex Solca –

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References

{{Authority control 2003 albums Morbid Angel albums Earache Records albums