Morbid Angel was instrumental in the transition from thrash to death metal (according to various sources), beginning in 1984, and has been mining that vein ever since. For brevity's sake, here's an explanation of their lyrics from their Wikipedia page: "The band's original lyrical themes focused mostly on Satanism,  occultism and anti-Christian subject matter, but from Blessed Are the Sick onward, the lyrics moved toward the ancient Sumerian gods. Much of this is a nod to the Simon Necronomicon, which was influenced by Sumerian mythology, the author H. P. Lovecraft and fascination with the Roman Empire. However, some anti-religious elements continue to permeate the lyrics. Their albums are notable for being released in alphabetical order (their first album starts with the letter A, the second with B, etc.). Guitarist Trey Azagthoth commented in an interview that it was a coincidence with the first two albums, but has been done consciously since then."  And here you thought death metal rockers were a bunch of dumb slackers. They'll be at Headliners, along with VadimVon, Grave and Dark Funeral on September 22. Tickets are $25.

--Paul Moffett