The Top 11 Reasons That We'd Be Glad if David Vincent Really Did Leave Morbid Angel

Photo by Rodrigo Fredes / courtesy of David Vincent's official Facebook page

Longtime guitar wizard and dungeonmaster extraordinaire Trey Azagthoth recently told heavy metal gossip rag Blabbermouth a few things that led them to believe that Morbid Angel had parted ways with their current vocalist—your biker uncle, David Vincent—and reunited with former frontman Steve Tucker. It's thought that perennial drummer-for-hire Tim Yeung has gotten the boot as well (he's already been wiped off the band's Metal Archives page, poor guy), though it might be a pipe dream to hope that revered OG Pete Sandoval will return to the fold anytime soon. However, according to a nasty email that David Vincent's personal publicist sent us around 8PM last night, Blabbermouth's report was false, and Evil D himself had a statement of his own to make—"I am aware of Trey Azagthoth's announcement of a collaboration with Steve Tucker on new music. However, the inference that I have left Morbid Angel is incorrect. To be clear, I have not left Morbid Angel nor have I been asked to do so."

Obviously, this is disappointing news. Not only would the return of Steve Tucker signal a sure stylistic about-face for a band that's still licking its wounds over the spectacular failure of 2011's largely unlistenable, electro-tinged sonic abortion, Illud Divinum Insanus, but it would also mean that Dave Vincent would no longer wield any creative control over the band. I'm sure he's a swell guy and you can't argue with his work on the first four Morbid Angel albums (or on Terrorizer's World Downfall, for that matter), but his contributions to Morbid Angel post-1995 have been questionable at best. His resume doesn't inspire a lot of faith, either: Evil D first left the band in 1996, spent almost a decade playing bass for his wife's industrial band, returned in 2004, and shat out the aforementioned "I" album from hell.

Steve Tucker, on the other hand, has spent the majority of the past two decades keeping his death metal skills tight in well-received projects like Nader Sadek and his own Warfather. His three albums with Morbid Angel—1998's Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, 2000's Gateways to Annihilation, and 2003's Heretic—are among the band's most beloved releases. While Vincent has spent the last few years living hardcore and radical, Tucker hasn't mellowed, lost his edge, or gotten weird.

If he did indeed come back, Morbid Angel just might have a shot at reclaiming their glory—or at least, their relevance. Here are a few reasons why we'd love to see that happen.

This article has been updated to reflect the statement sent by David Vincent's representative, Suzanne Penley.

Kim Kelly is getting radikult on Twitter - @grimkim