Morbid Visions

Morbid Visions
The airbrush-style image shows three white snake-like phantasms emerging from a crack in the ground and winding up the three crucifixes upon which Jesus and the two thieves (sometimes named as Gestas and Dismas) are dying. A large, winged, red demon, possibly Satan, is grasping Jesus while staring ominously at him. The band name "Sepultura" is written at the top in a large stylized whitish font with the "S" and "A" designed to look like scythe blades. In the lower left cover the album title word "MORBID" and "VISIONS" are written stacked upon each other in a majuscule, cut-style wispy white font.
Studio album by
Sepultura
ReleasedNovember 10, 1986
RecordedAugust 1986
StudioEstudio Vice Versa (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
Genre
Length33:30
LabelCogumelo (Brazil)
Roadrunner Records (International)
ProducerSepultura
Sepultura chronology
Bestial Devastation
(1985) 		Morbid Visions
(1986) 		Schizophrenia
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

Morbid Visions is the debut studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released on November 10, 1986, by Cogumelo Records. While later albums have a more political edge, Morbid Visions (along with the 1985 EP Bestial Devastation) is notable for Satanic themes and imagery. The band said many lyrics were fashioned after those of early extreme metal bands such as Venom and Celtic Frost (note the similarity of the album title to Morbid Tales).

The production quality of the album is rather poor. In the liner notes of Roadrunner's reissue of the album (which includes the tracks from Bestial Devastation), Cavalera admits that the band neglected to tune their guitars during the recording. They were only starting to learn English at this point, so they had to translate the lyrics word-for-word using a dictionary. All pre-1992 releases of Morbid Visions featured the first movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana ("O Fortuna") as an unnamed introduction. This composition was left off the CD re-release, probably due to copyright issues.[citation needed] This would mark the last appearance of the group's original lead guitarist Jairo Guedz.

The album, alongside Bestial Devastation, was re-recorded by Max and Igor Cavalera under the Cavalera Conspiracy name in 2023.[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Max Cavalera, Igor Cavalera, Jairo Guedz, and Paulo Jr., except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Morbid Visions"3:23
2."Mayhem"3:15
3."Troops of Doom"3:21
4."War"5:32
5."Crucifixion"5:02
6."Show Me the Wrath"3:52
7."Funeral Rites"4:23
8."Empire of the Damned"4:24
Total length:33:35
Bestial Devastation 1991 reissue / 1997 remaster
No.TitleLength
9."The Curse"0:39
10."Bestial Devastation"3:08
11."Antichrist" (lyrics by Wagner Lamounier)3:47
12."Necromancer"3:53
13."Warriors of Death"4:10
14."Necromancer" (demo version)4:00
15."Anticop" (live 1996)3:02

Personnel

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Cavalera - Morbid Visions". GRIMM Gent. July 27, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  2. ^ Avelar, Idelber (2011). "Otherwise National: Locality and Power in the Art of Sepultura". In Wallach, Jeremy; Berger, Harris M.; Greene, Paul D. (eds.). Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around the World. Duke University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-8223-4733-0.
  3. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation - Sepultura". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2005.
  4. ^ "Cavalera to Re-Record Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions After Joining Nuclear Blast". April 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Morbid Visions (liner notes). Cogumelo Produções. 1986. COG002.

References

  • Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34. ISBN 85-7326-156-0
  • Sepultura (1986). Morbid Visions. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The Sepultura Remasters (1997).
  • Sepultura (1986). Morbid Visions. [Vinyl]. Belo Horizonte, MG: Cogumelo Produções.