DAVID VINCENT On His Reunion With PETE SANDOVAL: 'It Feels Really Good To Reconnect With An Old And Dear Friend'

In a new interview with AndrewHaug.com, Australia's first-ever dedicated 24/7 rock and metal online radio station, former MORBID ANGEL frontman David Vincent spoke about his reunion with ex-MORBID ANGEL drummer Pedro "Pete" Sandoval in I AM MORBID.

I AM MORBID, which features Vincent (bass, vocals) and Sandoval (drums),along with guitarists Richie Brown (EXMORTUS, THE ABSENCE, TRIVIUM) and Bill Hudson (NORTHTALE, DORO),just completed a 17-date European tour. Presented by The Flaming Arts Agency, the trek ran from August 1 to August 19 and 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 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".

Regarding how his renewed collaboration with Sandoval first came about a year and a half ago, David said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, so as it turned out, TERRORIZER, that particular incarnation of TERRORIZER, was on tour with NILE in the States. And I just happened to be in town when they were coming through Texas, and I said, 'I wanna go see Pete.' I hadn't seen him for — too long. And I went to the show, and I didn't tell him that I was coming and I asked everyone else not to tell him that I was coming. I think they still led on to it. But I saw him and I just immediately… I watched him play, I watched the whole show, and I missed him. I was just, like, 'Man, I really miss this guy. How did fate lead us to this point?' So we hooked up after the show and talked about old times and had some good discussions. It was just kind of a — it was a process. And we had to just… There was a few things that we kind of discussed and going forward."

He continued: "All that aside, I can only say that it feels really good to reconnect with an old and dear friend, someone who we created a lot of greatness together and lived a lot of our lives together. I mean, we spent an awful lot of time together over the years, obviously. And both of us sort of perfecting our craft as we go. And these are things that you can't erase. You can't unlive glory. You can remember it, you can redefine it. Life changes and everything else. But we got back together and we started playing again and it just felt so good. And I think it just sort of rekindled our bond and our friendship that I wouldn't say was lost, but it was kind of put on the back shelf for a while because we had to continue to do stuff. And he had some serious injuries that he had to address. But he's doing really well now. And I'm just happy to be in his presence, and I would imagine that he would tell you the same thing."

Vincent went on to say that "there is no one like Pete. He is a one-of-a-kind individual there," David said. "There's no doubt in my mind about that at all. And I've really — especially on this tour — I recognize that more than ever. And that's a good thing. That's a good thing, though."

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 told Invisible Oranges in a December 2013 interview that Pete had "found Jesus," which meant that Sandoval and MORBID ANGEL were no longer "compatible."

Sandoval has spent the last few years recording and touring with TERRORIZER, whose latest studio album, "Caustic Attack", was released in October 2018 via The End Records.

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".