Altars of Madness

Altars of Madness
Studio album by Morbid Angel
Released	May 12, 1989
Recorded	1988 at Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida
Genre	Death metal
Length	51:27
Label	Combat/Earache
Producer	Dig & Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel chronology
Altars of Madness (1989) Blessed Are the Sick (1991)

Altars of Madness is Florida-based death metal band Morbid Angel's debut album. Bonus tracks were included on the CD version as well as the remastered 2003 release. These are remixed versions of songs from the album. 2006 saw a dualdisc release with the 2003 remaster on the audio side and Live Madness 89 recorded at Nottingham Rock City on November 14, 1989 on the DVD side.

The album contains seminal live favorites,^{[citation needed]} including "Chapel of Ghouls", "Immortal Rites" and "Maze of Torment".

The cover artwork, by Dan Seagrave, represents the different moods of human beings.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Allmusic wrote that one "cannot deny its influence". UK magazine Terrorizer rates this album as Morbid Angel's and death metal's finest hour, describing it as "bludgeoning and raw but also technical, exacting and intimidatingly consistent". Robban Becirovic of Close-Up Magazine credits Altars of Madness with launching the popularity of death metal in Sweden:

"...Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness changed everything [about the Swedish scene]. Before that there was no clear distinction between death, speed, or thrash among regular metalheads. It was just brutal metal. But Altars of Madness opened people's eyes, and made us realize something new was going on. Everybody bought that record. Everybody. And thrash was executed by it – the whole genre just disappeared."

Track listing

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Immortal Rites"	Trey Azagthoth, David Vincent	4:04
2.	"Suffocation"	Azagthoth, Vincent	3:15
3.	"Visions from the Dark Side"	Azagthoth, Vincent	4:10
4.	"Maze of Torment"	Azagthoth, Vincent	4:25
5.	"Lord of All Fevers & Plague" (CD bonus track)	Azagthoth	3:28
6.	"Chapel of Ghouls"	Azagthoth, Mike Browning	4:58
7.	"Bleed for the Devil"	Azagthoth	2:23
8.	"Damnation"	Azagthoth, Vincent	4:10
9.	"Blasphemy"	Azagthoth	3:31
10.	"Evil Spells"	Azagthoth	4:13
11.	"Maze of Torment" (remix) (CD bonus track)		4:27
12.	"Chapel of Ghouls" (remix) (CD bonus track)		4:59
13.	"Blasphemy" (remix) (CD bonus track)		3:21

Personnel

• David Vincent – bass, vocals
• Trey Azagthoth – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Richard Brunelle – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Pete Sandoval – drums

Production

• Dig – executive producer
• Morbid Angel – arrangement, production
• Tom Morris – engineer, mixing

Bibliography

• Bennett, J. (2009). "Chapter 7: Immortal Rights". Precious Metal. Da Capo Press. pp. 85–95. ISBN 978-0-306-81806-6.