The majestic beauty of Morbid Angel – “Desolate Ways”

In our previous analysis of “The Rack” by Asphyx, we noted that sometimes complexity paradoxically presents itself as elusive simplicity: the ascetic attempt at communicating as much as possible through the barest of means, demanding from the composer a painstaking perfectionism that those who aim for less expressive works are spared from.

Morbid Angel’s “Desolate Ways” could be used as a textbook example of what we just described. Appearing near the end of the band’s second album “Blessed are the Sick”, this stunningly beautiful sonic poem is solely composed by three interwoven themes, all played on a fingerpicked acoustic guitar. The first one is the only that is (partly) repeated in between the others, like a connective leitmotif. It obeys this structure:

A – B – A – C

A consists of (mostly) suspended chords spaced by a series of descending notes that are consistently raised to descend again from an higher pitch, in a movement similar to the immutable rise and fall of waves. As the song goes on, both the notes and the chord that kickstarts their short sequence gradually rise, first from an E suspended second to a regular E chord, then an F suspended second and G suspended second. The corresponding notes are always played on the same fret of the guitar as the chords.

B breaks this “tightness” by bringing a much looser mood; the fingers now glide freely and joyously through the frets by playing the chords from the previous section directly one after the other. Using essentially the same musical components as the preceding section but in a different disposition, we have an ingenious way of emphasizing continuity while letting on a clear change of emotional state (melancholic calm to active agitation).

C, introduced after a reprise of A’s last breaths, marvelously harnesses the momentum of everything that came before in a powerful synthesis, like two rivers that disembogue into the same sea, which, despite including them, is greater than their sum. The descending motion from the first theme is retrieved in chords different from A’s but played in the same frets, complemented by new notes and dynamics that eventually subvert this descending tendency by the end; this leads to a sense of subtle triumph and resolution.

These “movements” are always separated by a strummed chord (that also breaks down the finishing segments of the last one), followed by a pause. These interruptions in comparison to the gentle flow of the fingerpicked sections seems to suspend time altogether and offer a glimpse of the motionless eternity. Yet, at the sound of the plucked strings, we return to the stream of becoming which, enobled by this vision, appears to us as divine, purposeful, mythical and worthy of contemplation.

Starting more prominently with this album, Morbid Angel began exploring tracks and “interludes” deviating from their iconic metal sound, from synth ambience to piano pieces, this practice becoming a common feature of their work. None of them are, however, as acccomplished as this truly magnificent piece that stands alone as a particularly inspiring example of relatively “simple” music that nonetheless aims for and attains noble goals, bearing the mark of great art.