Definitive Proof of the Mastermind behind Illud Divinum Insanus
Why does Illud Divinum Insanus sound the way it does? It’s been one of our favorite points of discussion in the blog. Who’s at fault, Evil D. or Trey? Well today, I present to you definitive proof that I’m right and the people who doubted me are wrong.
Months ago, I saw people in the Facebook group blaming David Vincent for the more electronic approach taken on much of Illud Divinum Insanus. At the time, I stated that it was more lead guitarist Trey Azagthoth’s doing than Vincent’s, but I couldn’t remember exactly why I thought that. To his credit, I believe that the Beargod backed me up. The argument smoldered for months until Max published his excellent essay in defense of Illud Divinum Insanus. Again, Vincent was blamed, but this time, a vague glimmer of truth shined in the recesses of my memory. I recalled vaguely reading an article in Decibel where Azagthoth claimed chief responsibility for the more exotic sounds on the album, but I still couldn’t seem to locate the particular feature.
The argument died down again until news of Steve Tucker’s return surfaced. Evil D. detractors were seen dancing in the streets proclaiming the year of jubilee. Still, I, like a lone sentinel on the wall, was skeptical. In vain I tried to warn the masses that their hope was a false one because the primary songwriter of Illud Divinum Insanus remained in the band. The roar of the crowd was deafening, though, so I once again had to slink back into the shadows where truth festers in the dark.
But not this day, for this day I present to you definitive proof that Trey Azagthoth is the chief architect of Morbid Angel‘s demise. Today I present to you a scanned page from the article “Are They Still Morbid?” written by J. Bennett for Decibel Issue No. 81 from July 2011.
You may need to stab to embiggen, but needless to say, the evidence is pretty damning. Choice quotations from the article include:
- “He’s not a typical, normal guy in any way. He’s a special guy. There are things that come with that, and they’re worth it.” – David Vincent on Azagthoth
- “I did three songs that were definitely a whole new approach. One was based on industrial hardcore, one was based on speedcore and one was based on terrorcore, which are inspirations I’ve been getting into lately as far as electronic music.” – Trey Azagthoth
- “I’m basically just trying to explore music and push boundaries and create something new, which is something that we’ve been doing anyway.” – Azagthoth, again
- “When Trey was working on this material, I walked into the studio and heard stuff that didn’t even sound like a guitar.” – Vincent
There you have it. True, Evil D. did write at least one of the cheesier cuts on the album, “Radikult”, but the majority of the maligned tracks were penned solely by Azagthoth. Trey also appears to have been the primary creative force behind the album, guiding and shaping its eventual format.
Does any of this matter? No, not at all. As the article points out, Morbid Angel, like many established musicians, didn’t write this album as fan-service. They poured their creativity into it and stood behind it. That takes a laudable amount of integrity in the music business today. How you feel about the end result is entirely up to you. I merely wrote this article to settle the argument and to prove that I’m right and those who said I was wrong are incorrect. So there. Petty? Of course, but this is a Sunday Open Swim, and I don’t care. It feels good to be right.
All of that said, I’m very curious to see what happens with the next Morbid Angel album.
(Photo VIA)
