Morbid Angel

As heavy metal hit its peak in popularity in the late 1980s, Morbid Angel were one of the first acts to amp-up the growling, down-tuned menace and added grinding, guttural riffs helping to create the sub-genre of death metal.

Formed in Florida in 1984 by guitarist Trey Azagthoth, the band played heavy instrumental jams in their early days, but really came together when they recruited front man David Vincent and high energy drummer Pete Sandoval to release their debut 'Altars of Madness' in 1989. Taking the dark satanic rock theatrics of Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne while seeking to be an even more extreme, visceral force than the thrash bands of the time like Anthrax and Slayer, they were the first death metal act to sign to major label Warner Brothers and their albums 'Blessed Are the Sick' and 'Covenant' became important, cult favourites with metal fans.

Steve Tucker replaced Vincent as front man in the mid-1990s and the band developed a more aggressive edge on 'Formulas Fatal to the Flesh' and 'Gateways to Annihilation', but Vincent returned in 2004 and led the band on lengthy world tours and the experimental, atmospheric, industrial album 'Illud Divinum Insanus' in 2011. Still recognised as pioneers of the intense, grizzly death metal sound and a huge influence on acts like Cradle of Filth and Cannibal Corpse, Tucker returned as lead singer in 2015 and the band took on a major world tour two years later with new guitarist Dan Vadim Von.