4. MORBID ANGEL

Morbid Angel was formed in 1984 in Tampa, Florida, by guitarist Trey Azagthoth and drummer/vocalist Mike Browning. The band made their debut in 1987 on the New Renaissance Records record label. They recorded their debut album, Abominations of Desolation, in 1986, but the band was unsatisfied with the final product and it remained unreleased until 1991, printing 10,000 copies.

In 1986, David Vincent of the grindcore band Terrorizer joined the band, replacing Michael Manson and Sterling von Scarborough as vocalist and bassist respectively. Fellow Terrorizer drummer Pete Sandoval soon followed. Their first studio album, Altars of Madness, was released in 1989, and is regarded by many as a death metal classic.

1991 saw the release of their second album, Blessed Are the Sick, which was met with widespread critical acclaim. The album differed from its predecessor, showcasing a more "sludgy" side to the band. Two years later, the band released the album Covenant, which went on to sell over 150,000 copies in the United States. The album spawned two of the band's most well-known tracks, "God of Emptiness" and "Rapture", both of which had videos made for them. The same year, guitarist Richard Brunelle departed the band.

The band released its fourth studio album, Domination, in 1995, which featured new guitarist Erik Rutan of Ripping Corpse. The album spawned one single, titled "Where The Slime Live".

In 1996, shortly after the release of their live album titled Entangled In Chaos, bassist/vocalist David Vincent departed the band and was replaced by Steve Tucker. With Tucker, the band released the albums Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, Gateways to Annihilation and Heretic in 1998, 2000 and 2003 respectively. Tucker briefly left Morbid Angel in 2001 and was replaced by former Hate Eternal bassist and vocalist Jared Anderson. In 2002 however, Anderson left the band and Tucker re-assumed his position as bassist and vocalist.

In 2004, Steve Tucker once again left the band, paving the way for former vocalist/bassist David Vincent to return. The band continued by touring and playing festivals such as Wacken Open Air in 2006.

Morbid Angel's appearance on some of the mid-summer 2008 European festivals was announced as a "short break from writing and pre-production of their new 8th studio album".In May 2008, it was announced that Thor Anders Myhren (Destructhor) of Zyklon and Myrkskog would be the band's new guitarist, and Destructhor would appear on the new album. Guitarist Florian Magnus Maier was the runner up.

On March 5, 2011, the band headlined the Scion Rock Fest in Pomona, California. This performance was their first in the US in six years, aside from a one-off show in Los Angeles in May 2009.On March 18, 2010, the band announced that Tim Yeung would play drums on the upcoming album, allowing Pete Sandoval to recover from back surgery.On June 22, 2010, the band entered the studio to begin the recording of their new full-length album..On March 9, 2011, Morbid Angel confirmed that their new album would be called Illud Divinum Insanus.The album was released on June 7, 2011 on Season of Mist. In an interview in December 2013, David Vincent confirmed that Pete Sandoval is no longer a member of the band, claiming that Sandoval had "found Jesus", and stating, "Pete Sandoval and Morbid Angel are not compatible", laying to rest speculation that Sandoval would eventually be returning to the band.

Asked in a December 2014 interview about Morbid Angel's plans for 2015, Vincent replied, "We're done for awhile. It's time to write.Yeung has said that the band is in talks of recording an EP.

On June 15, 2015, it was reported that David Vincent and Tim Yeung were no longer in the band. Former vocalist/bassist Steve Tucker has once again rejoined, and a replacement drummer has yet to be found.Later that day, however, Vincent denied that he had left the band.On his official Facebook page, Steve Tucker hinted in a post on the 17th of June that guitarist Destructhor is no longer part of Morbid Angel either: "Who will play second guitar? Time will answer that one..."On June 18th, 2015, this was confirmed, as Destructhor announced his departure from Morbid Angel to focus on the Norwegian death metal band Myrkskog.On June 19th, 2015, David Vincent confirmed that he left Morbid Angel, due creative differences.

Members

Current memberS
Trey Azagthoth – guitar, guitar synthesizer, keyboards, backing vocals (1984–present)
Steve Tucker – vocals, bass guitar (1997–2001, 2003–2004, 2015–present)

Former members
Mike Browning – drums, percussion, vocals (1984–1986)
Dallas Ward – bass guitar, vocals (1984–1985)
Terri Samuels – vocals (1984)
Richard Brunelle – guitar (1985–1992, 1994, 1998)
John Ortega – bass guitar (1985–1986)
Kenny Bamber – vocals (1985)
David Vincent – lead vocals, bass guitar (1986–1996, 2004–2015)
Wayne Hartsell – drums (1986–1988)
Michael Manson – vocals (1986)
Sterling Von Scarborough – bass guitar (1986) (deceased)
Pete Sandoval – drums, percussion (1988–2010)
Gino Marino – guitar (1992–1993)
Erik Rutan – guitar, keyboards (1993–1996, 1998–2002, 2006)
Jared Anderson – vocals, bass guitar (2001–2002) (deceased)
Tony Norman – guitar (2003–2006)
Destructhor – guitar (2008–2015)
Tim Yeung – drums (2010–2015)