Illud Divinum Insanus is perhaps more notorious for Morbid Angel then it really should be. This release marks the first full-length album in eight years, Heretic being the last effort from the group prior to this album, which was released back in 2003. This should be enough to make Illud Divinum Insanus a little more then memorable in the Metal community, but there is so much more going on. Recently due to a leak in the press community of another record from the label, Season of Mist basically put this release under lock and key, and issued promotional versions that were edited with random phone ringing effects, which at first had me funning around like a mad man for three minutes as it sounds exactly like the ring tone on my computer from my MagicJack program, and keeping the album primarily a streaming release on their press account, holding the unedited version until release date. However, the release was still leaked out the public apparently as many bands have heard the album with some of them, and many fans, declaring shenanigans on the effort. Illud Divinum Insanus seems to have the whole Metal community up in arms in more then one way, but the real question is: Is this album really that bad that it caused such an angry uproar from those upset over it, then those angered by those upset over the release?
Well, the upset with this album is completely understandable, but it's perhaps not of the most justifiable excuses for this release. Illud Divinum Insanus starts off with "Omni Potens", which comes off more like a viking march introduction. The whole introduction track really feels a little more hollow then it should, and doesn't really get the listener braced for impact, especially with what's to come next. "Too Exteeme!" hammers in with what sounds like Industrial synths on the bass kicks, which really just gives the song the effect of the song skipping like a scratched CD, and quickly become very repetitive, and increasingly annoying right from the start. The track is far from "extreme" in the first place, and the music itself also feels heavily Industrialized with some of the effects going on with the guitars, leaving the vocals to not be touched outside of cxertain low speaking parts and layered vocals during the chorus that have an Industrial effects to the ones in the background of the screaming traditional vocals, as well as the cymbols of the kit have a more natural non-Industrial feel to it. Plus, as you continue through the track, it just comes off as roughly six and a half minutes of self-indulgent stereotypical Industrial lyrics about the band being your Gods, mostly because they are extreme, and if that's not the point of the song, then it clearly has been lost in translation somewhere.
But, this track definitely shouldn't turn listeners away. There is a great deal of diversity throughout the recording, and each track has it's own unique charm once you make it past "Too Extreme!", which becomes one of the most important aspects about this release. You have headbang worthy cuts and mosh-inducing pounding Death Metal, but there's also that strong Industrial vibe that kind of gives off a modern Samael influence to some songs, and "Too Extreme!" is not the only one. "Destructos Vs. the Earth / Attack" obviously is one of them, and aside some random Industrial thud effects at times, the music has that same hard hitting Death Metal sound to it, though the track itself takes on a much more science fiction-based approach with a similar march-like music and vocal approach. However, this isn't to say it's bad. Sure, those not really into the Industrial style may not like it, but overall this track isn't really that much different from other songs on the release and, when approached as more of an experimental track, it can keep the listener's attention locked for the entire seven and a half minutes of it's life span.
Of course "Destructos Vs. the Earth / Attack" having less of an Industrial output, you can safely assume the band drops the actual Industrial elements for other songs, and after "Too Extreme!" it's almost like the band heard the song in the studio and realized how incredibly lame that all sounded, but couldn't part with the song from the final product, causing all that Industrialized material to be wiped away from the album, and what the listeners are given is solid Morbid Angel Death Metal on a more technical side. "Existo Vulgore" hammers away with the brutality the fans have come to know and expect, but still has a little bit of that marching vibe at times like "Too Extreme!", but with a more technical approach and traditional blistering double bass kicks and random blast beats where necessary. The track definitely brings a more primal brutality to it, but doesn't quite hit the skull-crushing levels of intensity it perhaps could, keeping the same screaming vocals that were established in "Too Extreme!", but without the effects. This remains the trend through much of the rest of the album, though "I Am Morbid" is definitely a song that brings in a different approach to the music. The song feels more like a Heavy Metal anthem through some old-school Death metal concepts. While the concept may seem a little rough by the title, or perhaps even a play on the song "Are You Morbid?" by The Crown, the track is neither of those, and it has a strong rebellious vibe to it through that aforementioned anthem-like sound, all working together to create a heavy track that makes head banging along a mandatory motion of respect to the band, all giving way once "10 More Dead" comes in with it's mandatory moshing approach through hard hitting riffs that pound away at the listener with a catchy aggressive approach.
But, the album doesn't stop shocking listeners with just Industrial influenced tracks mixed with varying degrees of Death Metal intensity and brutality. Towards the very end of Illud Divinum Insanus comes a track called "Radikult", which sounds a lot like an edgier Hard Rock track with, again, some slight Industrial elements. These elements, however, are more to just make the music sound heavier and really bludgeon the listener with a metallic-sounding edge when the song builds up to the chorus. It's an interesting approach for the band, and really just leads to an overall badass feel that, whether the listener thinks the band should sound like this or not, just really sounds good and can even have a bit of a Swing feel to the music, but that's more during the slower parts. The lyrics, however, can feel a little odd, and the main lyric of the slower parts seem to say something that may be a misunderstanding, but seem to say "Kill a cop" repeatedly, which is actually quite an odd thing to hear from Morbid Angel no matter how you look at it. This of course leads to the closing, which is essentially how the album started off with "Too Extreme!", but "Profundis - Mea Culpa" manages to be a little more intense then that and even "Destructos Vs. the Earth / Attack". It makes for a good song in the end, but it's just not that strong a finishing track to the album.
So, what is the final verdict? Well, honestly, despite the outrage making this album out to be such a terrible CD, it really isn't. Illud Divinum Insanus feels like a genuine trip of insanity, because with some of these more experimental tracks, it feels like the band is insane for even recording them, let along putting them on this CD. But, in the end, "Insanus" is right in the title, and the music kind of lives up to the expectations solely of that word: Insane, decemented, etc. Sure, the more Industrial-based songs kind of clash with the traditional Morbid Angel Death Metal tracks we expected to hear, but not all of them are bad, and "Radikult" itself still has enough of a strong impact to be enjoyed from start to finish. But, even if these tracks are not your cup of tea, there's still a good amount of mandatory head banging anthems to whip your head back and forth to that show off why Morbid Angel has been such a prominant name for this style of music. Even if you don't have an open mind, Illud Divinum Insanus is still well worth checking out.
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