David Vincent was the bassist and vocalist for one of the most famous names in death metal, Morbid Angel , a very important band for the genre. He has also been involved in a number of other projects and currently leads I Am Morbid , along with his former bandmate and drummer, Pete Sandoval , and guitarists Bill Hudson and Richie Brown .
The band is coming to Brazil for a tour celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Morbid Angel's third album, Covenant , one of the greatest classics of death metal, with shows in São Paulo (October 19th) and Brasília (October 20th).
In an interview with Wikimetal , the vocalist spoke about how the album was recorded, with musicians Trey Azagthoth on guitars and Pete Sandoval on drums, in addition to himself on bass and vocals, “We’ve always been a two-guitarist band. On this particular album, we had some challenges with one of the members, so we still played in the studio as a two-guitar band. But Trey played both parts.”
Morbid Angel is one of the most prominent death metal bands, and Covenant was very successful, selling thousands of copies and becoming an absolute classic of the genre, having greatly impacted the scene and being remembered to this day, thirty years later. “Its impact is felt when I play it on stage. As you said, it's been thirty years since it happened, the audience is very enthusiastic and still really enjoys the music. So I don't know how much more impact it could have had beyond still being relevant thirty years later. It's quite an achievement.”
Regarding memories or recollections from the time of writing and producing the album, he commented: “This is the first record where we had an outside producer, called Flemming Rasmussen . He flew to Tampa, was there, and oversaw the drum recording. That was the most important thing for him: he wanted to record the drums in a way that he could work with them based on his experiences with Metallica, etc. And then we finished doing the vocals and guitars. And then we flew and mixed it in Copenhagen, at Sweet Silence.”
Speaking about some tracks from Covenant, the songs “Rapture” and “Vengeance Is Mine” are part of the soundtrack for the 1994 film Night of the Demons 2. Regarding this, Vincent commented: “I know it’s very strange. We got a call and the film producers liked our music. Maybe they thought it fit the story. To be honest, the film is terrible. But yeah, I’m happy to be included in things. I love horror movies, unfortunately this isn’t one of them, but anyway, it’s good to be included.”
Many songs end up being left out when putting together tour setlists, especially for festivals or opening acts. "That's something I've been trying to explain to people," he says. "When you go on tour, if you're playing a festival, it usually takes an hour. Other venues, maybe an hour and ten minutes or an hour and twenty minutes. You have a certain amount of time to play, so the more songs you have—in our case, we have several albums to choose from—the harder it becomes to put together a setlist that includes everything everyone wants to hear."
He concluded by talking about the importance of themed tours: "This gives us the opportunity to put back into the setlist songs that may have been left out over the years."
Still on the subject of touring, the bassist spoke about the possibility of doing more tours to celebrate album anniversaries: “It’s been discussed. We just have to see if that’s something the fans are interested in, so that’s still a discussion. I have other musical projects that I do. So it’s really about finding the right time and schedule to make these tours happen in a way that I don’t neglect my other projects.”
Vincent gave more details about his other projects: “We just finished recording a new Vltimas which will be released in early 2024. So I'll have to focus on that for as long as I want to focus on that. I'm very excited about this new album.”
The vocalist concluded by returning to the topic of touring: “But yes, finding time in the schedule to do everything I want is becoming increasingly difficult. I want to do so much and there isn’t much time. We’re doing the best we can, but everything is always up for discussion. If we do this, if we do another tour, for example, “Domination” was suggested. That will be in 2025, so we’ll see what happens. I mean, I don’t like to talk about things unless I have concrete plans.”
A Loudwire contributor compiled a "Big Four" list of death metal, and Morbid Angel is on it, along with Death , Cannibal Corpse , and The Black Dahlia Murder . Regarding this, David commented: “That’s someone else’s opinion. We have fans who are big fans of our music; there are fans who maybe have other bands they like more. The good thing about music is that there are so many bands to choose from, and you can decide what you like and what you don’t like based on those people’s lists. That’s their opinion. And I think I’m happy to be included on the list, those other bands, Death is obviously, Chuck Schuldiner did a lot for the genre. So I would certainly have him on the list. Yes, it’s a good thing.”
Despite Covenant 's success, death metal tends to be a very niche style of music, rarely breaking through the mainstream. When asked about the possible reason for this, the vocalist replied: “It's an acquired taste. The music has become more extreme, even in a way, in the pop scene, some of these bands that we consider commercial. They have some harsher vocals and heavier guitars, things like that. I don't think it's for everyone. Extreme music is for extreme people, and if you don't have that kind of musical taste, then you really won't like it.”
“And I think it’s good to have so many options because I’m also a music fan, I love listening to music, and so do other people. My mood changes. Sometimes I want to listen to the fiercest and most extreme thing in the world, and sometimes I just want to listen to classical music. And, thankfully, I have these choices to make.”
Speaking about the tour in Brazil, he addressed the topic fondly: “We’ve been touring Brazil for many, many years and we’ve made many friends there. The fans, the audience are great, the shows are great, I’ve always enjoyed that. Heck, my guitarist is Brazilian. So I’ve always had a very close emotional relationship with Brazil and all of Latin America. Over the years, we’ve done many shows there and, as I said, we’ve made many friends, met many new people. The shows are great, the fan support is incredible. That’s what drives us, it’s the fans. I’m not there unless it’s for the fans.”
“I think we’re going to have a great time. We have a great set, the band sounds really, really good, and like I said, this gives people the opportunity to hear music coming off the stage that they may never have heard before. It’s going to be an exciting moment.”
Vincent recounted an interesting experience from his last trip to Brazil: “Each tour we do is unique, it has some kind of unique touch. Last time we had the opportunity to eat at this wonderful restaurant, Henrique's. He's a top-notch chef. A big TV star, he has a great restaurant in São Paulo, and he invited us to eat with him. And, my God, that was one of the best meals I've ever had in my life. It was very good. They asked us: 'This guy is a fan of the band and would like to have you at his restaurant tonight.'”
He concluded by talking about the importance of not having a timed plan for all of life's actions: “So, when you open yourself up to allowing things to happen and they're kind of spontaneous like that, it's much more fun than having to plan every little thing. Sometimes things happen and you can't plan them, but you're sure you're happy that they happened, and that's what happened to us. So I'm always looking forward to that kind of personal experience we have, in addition to putting on great shows.”
