Classic Cover: Morbid Angel - Covenant

June 22, 1993, Death metal was still in it's prime, and yet another album was added to the canon on this day: Morbid Angel's Covenant.

So Morbid, and full of ANGLES!

This cover held nothing back, The Book of Ceremonial Magic on the right, the Pact Of Urbain Grandier on the left, and a daunting Grimoire with the MA's sigil and "Covenant" in gold lettering. To top it off, they even included a dripping candle, a feather quill and ink, and a dagger resting on top of the grimoire. If it's a crime to be overly dramatic, Morbid Angel is guilty as charged.

I've always liked their hokey logo, even though I usually highly disdain logos with everything imaginable crammed into them. It contains inverted crosses, a pitchfork with a demonic hand grasping it, and finally MA's classic Necronomicon-derived sigil right smack dab in the center. The letterforms are spiky, with some hints of curves to them to give a classic thrash/death metal appeal which was the prevalent look then.

The rest of the packaging for the CD version was very fitting as well, with medieval woodcuts adorning the booklet, back cover and CD. The cover and packaging throws the listener back into dark, medieval times full of plagues, forests full of witches and dimly lit ritual chambers evoking Satan himself.

This cover has been memorable from the first time I picked it up eons ago, and will stay with me for years to come. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for it's day-glow predecessor, but that's another article for another day.

Ewww