''Illud Divinum Insanus'' is the eighth studio album by American
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling ...
. It was released on June 7, 2011, by independent French record label
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...
. It is Morbid Angel's first album since ''
Heretic
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
'' (2003), the band's longest gap to date between studio albums. This is the only Morbid Angel album to feature guitarist
Destructhor
Thor Anders Myhren (born 8 March 1978), better known as Destructhor, is a Norwegian musician and composer, currently the vocalist and guitarist for metal band Myrkskog and guitarist for black metal band Nordjevel. He is also the former guitarist ...
and drummer
Tim Yeung
Tim Yeung (born November 27, 1978) is an American extreme metal drummer. He currently performs in the band I Am Morbid, which plays Morbid Angel songs and also features Morbid Angel's former vocalist/bassist David Vincent (musician), David Vinc ...
, making it their first not to feature
Pete Sandoval
Pedro Rigoberto "Pete" Sandoval (born May 21, 1964) is a El Salvador, Salvadoran-born United States, American death metal drummer. His first significant stint as a drummer was for the grindcore band Terrorizer, formed in 1986, where he began to ...
, who was recovering from surgery. It is also the band's only album to feature bassist/vocalist
David Vincent since he rejoined in 2004. The album is controversial for its eccentric influences and sound that differs heavily from Morbid Angel's traditional musical style, fan backlash to the record was harsh but most critics were generally mixed.
Recording and production
''Illud Divinum Insanus'' is the band's only album featuring Norwegian guitarist
Destructhor
Thor Anders Myhren (born 8 March 1978), better known as Destructhor, is a Norwegian musician and composer, currently the vocalist and guitarist for metal band Myrkskog and guitarist for black metal band Nordjevel. He is also the former guitarist ...
, the first with bassist/vocalist
David Vincent since ''
Domination
Domination or dominant may refer to:
Society
* World domination, which is mainly a conspiracy theory
* Colonialism in which one group (usually a nation) invades another region for material gain or to eliminate competition
* Chauvinism in which ...
'' (1995), and the first to not include longtime drummer
Pete Sandoval
Pedro Rigoberto "Pete" Sandoval (born May 21, 1964) is a El Salvador, Salvadoran-born United States, American death metal drummer. His first significant stint as a drummer was for the grindcore band Terrorizer, formed in 1986, where he began to ...
, who had undergone back surgery when recording began.
Former
Hate Eternal
Hate Eternal is a death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: '' Conquering the Throne' ...
drummer
Tim Yeung
Tim Yeung (born November 27, 1978) is an American extreme metal drummer. He currently performs in the band I Am Morbid, which plays Morbid Angel songs and also features Morbid Angel's former vocalist/bassist David Vincent (musician), David Vinc ...
recorded the drum tracks for this album.
''Illud Divinum Insanus'' took more than five years to materialize. Work on the album began in 2006, and it was originally going to be released in 2007, but was pushed back several times while the band continued touring and writing new material. After four years of writing, Morbid Angel began development on the album from June 2010
to January 2011 at several studios, including Mana Recording Studios and Red Room Studios for the drum recording, and D.O.W. Studios for the bass, guitars, and vocals. ''Illud Divinum Insanus'' was mixed in Hollywood, California, with
Sean Beavan
Sean Beavan is a musician, record producer, and audio engineer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, God Lives Underwater, and Slayer. His production style is typically heavy, with heavily saturated guitar ...
.
Promotion and release
The cover art for the album was unveiled on March 30, 2011. It was designed by Brazilian artist Gustavo Sazes, who commented:
The album's track listing and information of various release formats were unveiled on April 5, 2011. Prior to the release of the album, a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
for the song "Nevermore" was made available on May 16 as a
digital download and on 7" vinyl. The cover artwork for the single was designed by French artists Valnoir and Fursy Teyssier for Metastazis.
The single also contains an exclusive version of the song "Destructos vs. the Earth", remixed by
Combichrist
Combichrist is an American aggrotech / industrial metal band formed in 2003 by Norwegian vocalist Andy LaPlegua, who also founded the bands Icon of Coil, Panzer AG, Scandinavian Cock and Scandy. Combichrist was formed in Atlanta, Georgia and is ...
.
In 2012, a double remix album called ''Illud Divinum Insanus – The Remixes'' was released.
Reception
The album received mixed reviews from critics and generated a strong backlash from fans, many of whom were dissatisfied with the group's attempt to add an
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
element to the album.
''Louisville Music News'' labeled the album a "failed experiment" and a "joke", and described ''Illud Divinum Insanus'' as Morbid Angel's ''
St. Anger'', in reference to the
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
album. Metal Injection gave the album 3/10 and described the album as "a joke" and an "overall bummer to listen to." They criticised the lack of heavy, interesting guitarwork and Pete Sandoval's absence from the album, writing that "Instead, we’re left with fifty-six plodding minutes of (mostly) forgettable death metal and/or offensively terrible industrial metal." They also highlighted David Vincent's lyrics for particular criticism, describing them as "atrocious" and "pretty awful pretty much the entire time". Blabbermouth criticised the album, particularly for the programmed drums, and argued that even the four best tracks on the album sounded "uninspired and even if the band dumped blood, sweat and tears into these songs, that still wouldn't make up for the fact that a track like "Radikult" takes up space on the same album."
Conversely, Phil Freeman of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
said that while "those who love the band's earliest records...are bound to see ''Illud Divinum Insanus experiments with industrial...as betrayals of everything the group once stood for", "many of the songs on Illud...are as raw and savage as anything the band's ever recorded", and that the album is "a left turn by a band that's already made many of them throughout its...career".
''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' gave 9/10, describing the album as "a twisted, confrontational masterpiece".
The album received praise before its release from artists including
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (; born 17 April 1974)[Mikael Åkerfeldt](_blank)
, Op ...
from
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...
,
Anders Nyström
Anders Nyström (born 22 April 1975), also known as Blakkheim (or formerly Blackheim), is a Swedish musician.
Biography
Nyström founded the Swedish metal band Katatonia with singer Jonas Renkse in 1991. Nyström is involved in the songwriti ...
from
Katatonia
Katatonia are a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them to ...
and several other metal artists. However, drummer
Pete Sandoval
Pedro Rigoberto "Pete" Sandoval (born May 21, 1964) is a El Salvador, Salvadoran-born United States, American death metal drummer. His first significant stint as a drummer was for the grindcore band Terrorizer, formed in 1986, where he began to ...
disliked the album, saying, "I don't know why they did that with the DJs, they could've have
icjust done a separate project without calling it a Morbid Angel album. That might have been better." Sandoval was unable to contribute to the recording of ''Illud Divinum Insanus'' due to injuries, and later left the band entirely.
Guitarist Trey Azagthoth calls the album "a confused effort", whose unfocused direction ultimately led to David Vincent's departure in 2015, and offers no apologies over the computerized beats and effects, with a comment about the song "Radikult", calling it "a silly song", "...I had nothing to do with that thing."
Track listing
Personnel
Morbid Angel
*
David Vincent – bass, vocals, keyboards
*
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
*
Destructhor
Thor Anders Myhren (born 8 March 1978), better known as Destructhor, is a Norwegian musician and composer, currently the vocalist and guitarist for metal band Myrkskog and guitarist for black metal band Nordjevel. He is also the former guitarist ...
– guitars
Session musician
*
Tim Yeung
Tim Yeung (born November 27, 1978) is an American extreme metal drummer. He currently performs in the band I Am Morbid, which plays Morbid Angel songs and also features Morbid Angel's former vocalist/bassist David Vincent (musician), David Vinc ...
– drums
Production
*
Sean Beavan
Sean Beavan is a musician, record producer, and audio engineer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, God Lives Underwater, and Slayer. His production style is typically heavy, with heavily saturated guitar ...
– engineering, mixing
* Gunter Ford – management
* Juan "Punchy" Gonzalez – engineering
* Mark Prator – engineering
*
Erik Rutan
Erik Rutan (born June 10, 1971) is an American heavy metal musician and producer from New Jersey. He is the guitarist and lead vocalist of death metal band Hate Eternal and lead guitarist for Cannibal Corpse, who he fully joined in 2021 after ...
– engineering
* Gustavo Sazes – cover art, design
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illud Divinum Insanus
Morbid Angel albums
2011 albums
Season of Mist albums
Industrial metal albums