Morbid Angel - Entangled in Chaos

One thing Europe has that America doesn’t is girls who are into metal. At my first metal show (Enslaved) here in Berlin, I was astonished to find that 40% of the long hair there was in fact female. Each time I go to the record store, there’s at least one hot girl in the metal section. In America, usually it was just me and some child molester-looking dude. At a record store here, I once saw some giggling teenagers come in, pink backpacks and all, and exclaim excitedly over Iron Maiden CD’s. Another time, I saw a hot Finnish blonde earnestly discussing (in English) with her equally hot friend the technicality of Amon Amarth’s riffs. I could have cried.

While I haven’t yet scored with any of said metal girls, I have scored a copy of Morbid Angel’s Entangled in Chaos (on Earache). This was released only in Europe, and when I lived in America, I could only curse at its exorbitant import price. So I was ecstatic to see this on sale for 11.50 euro, which is about $15 USD. In America, that’s nothing special, but it’s practically a giveaway here, where CD’s typically cost around 17 euro each.

Entangled in Chaos is the “E” in Morbid Angel’s alphabetically sequenced albums. It’s also the band’s one live album, recorded during its 1996 Domination tour. The liner notes don’t specify what show(s) the album is from. Since the tracks fade out, the album likely culls from a number of shows. The band lineup is the classic one with Erik Rutan on second guitar. The album is only 39 minutes long, with 11 tracks skewing towards older albums. There are five songs from Altars of Madness, two from Blessed Are the Sick, three from Covenant, and one from Domination. Surprisingly, there’s no “God of Emptiness” or “Where the Slime Live.”

Chapel of Ghouls (live)
Rapture (live)

The set begins shakily; the band both lags and rushes the beat, but it eventually settles down, hitting its stride midway through. The last few songs are energetic and fast, almost dangerously so, but the band holds things together. Generally, though, the performances are solid. The sound is good for a live album; it’s probably a soundboard recording, with crowd noise mixed in at the end of songs. Trey Azagthoth’s solos really crackle through the speakers. His strange, spontaneous phrasing and visceral two-hand tapping make him the true heir to Eddie Van Halen. If you see Morbid Angel live, be sure to stand close to stage left near Azagthoth.

Entangled could have functioned as a greatest hits of the David Vincent era, but its track list is just too short. Thus, it’s probably best left for completists. If you’re one, you needn’t scour the Internet too hard for it. You can find it

@ Amazon
@ eMusic
@ Metalhit