Retro-review: ‘Formulas Fatal to the Flesh’ by Morbid Angel

Back in 1998, Morbid Angel apparently decided they were going to take a break from Satanic lyrics and indulge themselves in the Mythos.

But, the thing that comes to mind when you think of the Mythos is water and space, which is quite a departure from the hellfire that we’re used to hearing from Morbid Angel.

The outcome was Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, a pretty solid death metal album which doesn’t really depart significantly from their prior musical fare. At least not what I’ve heard.

To start out with, let me make it clear that I can’t say I’m a Morbid Angel fan.

It’s nothing against them musically, it’s just that Trey Azagthoth really turned me off to him personally in an interview where he critiqued other bands. His comments on some of the bands, among them were a few I really liked, came off as rather harsh. He couldn’t say “that’s not my thing” he had to go and say “they suck.”

That being said, I can in no way deny that Azagthoth is a gifted metal guitarist. He adds that little extra something which elevates most of the pieces he writes, whereas another band may be…