Morbid Angel made their vinyl debut in 1987 on New Renaissance Records. Morbid Angel was one of the original death metal bands signed to Earache Records, and was also influential in the transition of death metal from its thrash metal roots to its current form by adding guttural vocals, up-tempo blast beats, incorporating atonality in guitar soloing, and dark, chunky, mid paced rhythms. It was also the first death metal band to have a touch of mainstream success, such as being signed to Giant Records in 1992 and having the music video for the song "God of Emptiness" shown on an episode of Beavis and Butthead.
The original lyrical themes focused mostly on Satanism, paganism and anti-Christian subject matter, but from the second album, Blessed Are the Sick onward, the lyrics slowly moved toward the ancient Sumerian gods, though much of this is a nod to the Simon Necronomicon, which was influenced by Sumerian mythology as well as the author H. P. Lovecraft, as well as a fascination with the Roman Empire, though "anti-christian" elements continue to permeate the lyrics. Their albums are notable for being released in alphabetical order (their first album starts with the letter A, the second with B, etc.). Guitarist Trey Azagthoth has said in an interview that it was at first a coincidence with the first albums.
In 2008 appearance on some of the mid-summer 2008 European festivals was announced as a "short break from writing and pre-production of their new". After 3 years Morbid Angel released their expected 8th album Illud Divinum Insanus in June 2011. The album includes industrial and nu-metal elements. Also former Hate Eternal drummer Tim Yeung recorded the drum tracks for this album. The album was not well received by a big part of the fans, who liked the band's older and more purely Death Metal sounding albums.
But there were also fans who accepted and embraced Illud Divinum Insanus.
He Who Sleeps
Morbid Angel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of vengeance we rise
To devulge this enemy,
To enlighten the ones who sleep
Worlds have passed and so too has time
My slumber now disturbed,
This place of hate, thy worlds shall burn
Humans, I shall feast upon your ignorance.
You will destroy yourselves
Mortals, your slithering existence
Sickens the gods, my brothers
It awoke me, from timeless sleep
My dreams destroyed, my visions lost
And so I watch you pray,
And spite your worlds
Forgive me father? I am not your god
You crawl to me, and beg to me my sheep,
You have fallen, curse your empty lives
Blind, like wolves you turn on yourselves
The lyrics of Morbid Angel's song "He Who Sleeps" convey a message of awakening and vengeance. The song talks about a powerful entity that has been sleeping for ages and has now been disturbed from its slumber. This entity rallies its brethren to rise up against their enemies and enlighten those who have been sleeping. The entity expresses disdain for humanity and their self-destructive tendencies, proclaiming that they will feast on their ignorance. The song paints a bleak picture of a world filled with hate and destruction, and the entity watches on as mortals turn on each other like blind wolves.
The lyrics of "He Who Sleeps" are open to interpretation, but one possible explanation is that the song is a metaphor for the struggle against tyranny and oppression. The entity that awakens from its slumber represents the oppressed masses who have been silent for too long. The call to action is a rallying cry for people to rise up and fight against their oppressors. The song suggests that the enemy is hidden in plain sight, and by waking up, the entity can enlighten others to recognize the enemy and take action.
Overall, "He Who Sleeps" is an intense and thought-provoking song that captures the essence of the death metal genre. The lyrics are dark and ominous, and the music is heavy and intense. The song is a testament to the power of metal music to evoke strong emotions and convey deep meanings.
Line by Line Meaning
Awaken my brothers,
Calling upon fellow beings to rise and take action
Of vengeance we rise
Seeking revenge to right a wrong
To devulge this enemy,
Uncovering and exposing the enemy's true nature
To enlighten the ones who sleep
To awaken those who are unaware or ignorant of the truth
Worlds have passed and so too has time
Eons have gone by, marking the passage of time
My slumber now disturbed,
Interrupted from a deep sleep
This place of hate, thy worlds shall burn
Promising destruction to the enemy's world of malice
Humans, I shall feast upon your ignorance.
Contemptuous attitude towards human ignorance
You will destroy yourselves
Belittling humanity's self-destructive tendencies
Mortals, your slithering existence
Disdainful condemnation of human frailties
Sickens the gods, my brothers
Gods are displeased by human behavior
It awoke me, from timeless sleep
Provoked to wake up from an eternal slumber
My dreams destroyed, my visions lost
Having lost direction due to changing times
And so I watch you pray,
Observing humanity's religious rituals
And spite your worlds
Showing contempt towards humanity's false beliefs
Forgive me father? I am not your god
Asserting non-divinity and disassociating from religion
You crawl to me, and beg to me my sheep,
Condemning followers who seek help from their oppressor
You have fallen, curse your empty lives
Harshly judging humanity for their lack of significance
Blind, like wolves you turn on yourselves
Humanity's destructive tendencies are likened to animals
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MORBID MIRROR
Awaken my brothers,
Of vengeance we rise
To devulge this enemy,
To enlighten the ones who sleep
Worlds have passed and so too has time
My slumber now disturbed,
This place of hate, thy worlds shall burn
Humans, I shall feast upon your ignorance.
You will destroy yourselves
Mortals, your slithering existence
Sickens the gods, my brothers
It awoke me, from timeless sleep
My dreams destroyed, my visions lost
And so I watch you pray,
And spite your worlds
Forgive me father? I am not your god
You crawl to me, and beg to me my sheep,
You have fallen, curse your empty lives
Blind, like wolves you turn on yourselves
dominion shadow
Lyrics
Awaken my brothers,
of vengeance we rise
to devulge this enemy,
to enlighten the ones who sleep
Worlds have passed and so too has time
my slumber now disturbed,
this place of hate, thy worlds shall burn
Humans, I shall feast upon your ignorance.
you will destroy yourselves
Mortals, your slithering existence
sickens the gods, my brothers
it awoke me, from timeless sleep
my dreams destroyed, my visions lost
and so I watch you pray,
and spite your worlds
Forgive me father? I am not your god
you crawl to me, and beg to me my sheep,
you have fallen, curse your empty lives
blind, like wolves you turn on yourselves
LunaTik Husky
Morbid Angel ruled since Altar of madness, They are genious musicians. Hail to the DEATH METAL GODS. I'm 50 years old and still love their insane solos and drumplay. OMG they owe the metal scene
Robbie Schmitz
The metal scene OWES them
Jason Brasher
Abominations of desolation and thy kingdom come my guy.
JOSEPH CORRAO
This entire album is the definition of death metal
DimeBrad
Lol. This album is so brutal. It's just a damn master class of death and doom. It's like the Gods handed this music down to MA and said here guys go crazy.
DimeBrad
Kenneth fuck yeah! 🤘
Gort
@DimeBrad dawg what good description on how this was made
DimeBrad
@Gort lol thanks. This is weird.....so I'm on my way home havnt listened to this record in weeks probably more.....but I put on a track from this album. Only 30 seconds in and you replied to me about this record from my old comment? Lmao. Those coincidence things happen everyday with me seems like in metal. Fuck yeah. But anyways this shit is unreal. 🤘
lashedandscorned
@DimeBrad I think you'll enjoy As Decreed By Laws Unwritten by Alkaloid, and Cthulu also by Alkaloid.
kenzowinester
his vocals is fuckin great here