DAVID VINCENT says I AM MORBID has talked about making original music: “I just don't know if anybody would care”
16-06-2025
In a new interview with Altars Of Metal, former MORBID ANGEL bassist/vocalist David Vincent was asked if there are any plans for him to record new music with I AM MORBID, the band which has spent the last few years exclusively performing material that Vincent recorded with MORBID ANGEL. He responded: “We’ve talked about it. I have some songs. I just don’t know if anybody would care, because it would only be compared to the classic MORBID ANGEL records.”
He added: “There’s a lot of time that passes, and as time passes, you grow. And if there would’ve been a continuum for so many years, and new record, new record, new record, probably what I would do now would be a bit different, because music and art is a reflection of where you are today. And where I am today is much different from where I was in the ’80s.
When the interviewer noted that an album of original I AM MORBID material wouldn’t sound like a new version of “Blessed Are The Sick” or “Covenant” but would be a musical representation of whatever was fueling Vincent creatively in 2025, David said: “Maybe. We’ve talked about it. I just don’t know that it’s a good idea. I mean, I really wanna keep this kind of as a legacy project. That’s what’s important to me. And I think that’s what’s important to fans. And every band probably goes through this. I mean, IRON MAIDEN could come out tomorrow with the very best record that they’ve ever done — musically, sonically, the composition, et cetera — but when they play live, what do people wanna hear? They wanna hear ‘Wrathchild’, they wanna hear ‘The Number Of The The Beast’, they wanna hear ‘Flight Of Icarus’. All bands have the same problem. So, nobody cares about the new stuff. They wanna hear their favorites.”
When the interviewer brought up METALLICA as an example of a band which has been able to retain many of its original fans while also making new music which has been embraced by younger followers, Vincent said: “But the thing is that METALLICA has been METALLICA. Other than the bass player, they’ve been a consistent unit that has continued and continued and continued. So the changes and the growth that they’ve had has been gradual and eventual. It’s been a minute since the four (MORBID ANGEL) records that we’re talking about now were originally recorded and released. So there’s not a continuum to go further than that, and people would be, like, ‘Oh, yeah. Okay, well, hopefully they’ll do ‘Covenant Part 2’,’ or something. And that’s just not gonna happen. That’s not where I am right now. So I could force it. I could just think a lot and really try to force something, but I don’t write that way, number one. Number two, I would feel really bad about myself to do something that was only because it’s what’s expected. I mean, I’m a rebel. I’ve always been a rebel. If somebody expects me to do something, that’s a perfect reason not to do it. That’s my attitude.”
David didn’t completely close the door on the idea of I AM MORBID making new, original music, saying: “Well, we’ll see what happens. We’ll leave it there. We’ll see what happens.”
During the same chat, Vincent touched upon his reasons for launching I AM MORBID in the first place. He said: ”What happened was we felt like that we needed to sort of keep our legacy alive. And that’s the reason for creating I AM MORBID, because these are my children, all of these albums. And it’s important to me to be able to perform… I love the music. I love everything that I’ve done. Thankfully, the fans do too. So, it’s been good. And the response has been really good. We’ve been doing this for a while now. So, I’m happy to be alive and healthy and able to do it.”
I AM MORBID, which also features former MORBID ANGEL drummer Pedro “Pete” Sandoval (drums), along with guitarists Richie Brown (EXMORTUS, THE ABSENCE, TRIVIUM) and Bill Hudson (NORTHTALE, DORO), recently completed a 17-date European tour. Presented by The Flaming Arts Agency, the trek celebrated the 30th anniversary of “Covenant”, MORBID ANGEL‘s third full length album, considered to be one of the greatest death metal LPs of all time and a landmark album in the genre.
I AM MORBID played a combination of festivals and club shows during the tour and will performed material from “Covenant” as well as tracks from other classic Vincent-era MORBID ANGEL albums “Altars Of Madness”, “Blessed Are The Sick” and “Domination”.
Last October, I AM MORBID parted ways with guitarist Kelly McLauchlin (POSSESSED, DIABOLIC, UNHOLY GHOST) and replaced him with Brown.
Brown made his live debut with I AM MORBID at the Grita Fest in Colombia.
I AM MORBID‘s spring 2022 European tour marked the first time Sandoval and Vincent played together in 12 years.
Sandoval, who now lives his life as a born-again Christian, was forced to leave MORBID ANGEL in 2010 after undergoing surgery for a prolapsed disc.
Vincent left MORBID ANGEL unvoluntarily in 2015. He has since been replaced by a returning Steve Tucker, who previously handled bass and vocals on MORBID ANGEL‘s “Formulas Fatal To The Flesh”, “Gateways To Annihilation” and “Heretic” LPs.
In 2019, Vincent released “Something Wicked Marches In”, the debut album from his supergroup VLTIMAS, also featuring guitarist Rune Eriksen (formerly of MAYHEM) and CRYPTOPSY drummer Flo Mounier. Two years earlier, Vincent issued his debut country single, “Drinkin’ With The Devil”.
Two years ago, Sandoval released an Instagram video in which he addressed some of the most commonly asked questions regarding his time with MORBID ANGEL. He said: “I’ve been asked about who’s my favorite singer or which era is my favorite one — the era with David Vincent or with Steve Tucker. Well, I wanna tell you that I love both eras. I had fun. I had a great time working with David Vincent, and I had a great time working with Steve Tucker as well. So, from ‘Altars Of Madness’ (1989) to ‘Heretic’ (2003), they’re all masterpieces for me. We worked hard (on) those albums. So I’m telling you my answer that I don’t have a favorite album, I don’t have a favorite era, I don’t have a favorite singer — I love ’em all. I had a great time in both eras with every album.”
Sandoval added: “And as far as the album released in 2011” — referring to MORBID ANGEL‘s controversial “Illud Divinum Insanus” LP — “please don’t ask me any questions about it, because I have no comments about it — no comments at all, man. I stay what I am, I did what I did, and I am so happy and grateful that I did what I did with these guys.”
In a 2011 e-mail chat with Brazil’s Som Extremo, Sandoval was asked for his opinion of “Illud Divinum Insanus”, which incorporated industrial and electronic elements into MORBID ANGEL traditional death metal sound. “No comment! I don’t play on that album,” he wrote. He was then questioned about what he thought he would have done differently on “Illud Divinum Insanus” had he played on the record. “More extreme deathgrind metal and less DJ, boring awful typical I care less industrial experimental same as everybody boring bull!” he said. “This is not what MORBID has been all about! …Hmmmmmm, and I really care less…!”
Vincent left MORBID ANGEL in 2015. He has since been replaced by a returning Steve Tucker, who previously handled bass and vocals on MORBID ANGEL‘s “Formulas Fatal To The Flesh”, “Gateways To Annihilation” and “Heretic” LPs.
In a May 2019 interview with Jorge Botas of the “Metal Global” radio show, which airs on the Portuguese public TV and radio broadcaster RTP, Vincent said that he had every right to perform MORBID ANGEL‘s classic songs with I AM MORBID.
“Times come and life works the way that it does,” Vincent said. “And there are times when… It’s like a marriage — sometimes they don’t always work forever. But that doesn’t mean that the children that we’ve had together, that I don’t still love my children. Although Trey (Azagthoth, MORBID ANGEL guitarist and sole remaining original member) and I have some irreconcilable differences, that doesn’t in any way preclude me from still having the love and the passion for all of my children.”
Asked what he has to say to people who insist that he should not play MORBID ANGEL‘s early material without the other members of the group’s classic lineup, David said: “There’s examples of this very situation… I mean, when Ozzy (Osbourne) left BLACK SABBATH, that didn’t stop him from playing ‘Paranoid’ every night, even though he didn’t write the song. All of the songs that I’m singing I wrote. So I don’t really understand that. But different people become attached to different things. And they have their opinion and I have mine. And I don’t really consider this kind of negativity. I don’t have it in my life.”
In 2019, Vincent released “Something Wicked Marches In”, the debut album from his supergroup VLTIMAS, also featuring guitarist Rune Eriksen (formerly of MAYHEM) and CRYPTOPSY drummer Flo Mounier. Two years earlier, Vincent issued his debut country single, “Drinkin’ With The Devil”.
Social media