MORBID ANGEL's STEVE TUCKER Says TREY AZAGTHOTH's 'Whole Life Is About Just Serving This Idea Of Making Music'

"The Thunderhead Show" recently conducted an interview with MORBID ANGEL bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker. You can now listen to the chat below.

Speaking about what motivates MORBID ANGEL to keep going more than 30 years since the band's inception, Tucker said: "I think just trying to do something that releases what's inside; I think that's really what drives the people that make up MORBID ANGEL. I think it's sort of a necessary release. I think for Trey [Azagthoth, guitar] to write songs — if you've ever met Trey, he's sort of a different kind of person. He's said it since the day I met him — his whole life is about just serving this idea of making music. So, I think it's just that inner drive, that inner necessity that will make MORBID ANGEL last over 30 years."

Regarding the MORBID ANGEL lyric-writing process, Tucker said: "Through the years, it's been a combination. Trey's always written lyrics, and I've written lyrics pretty much my entire time in MORBID ANGEL. The first album I was on, [1998's] 'Formulas Fatal To The Flesh', Trey wrote literally every second of the album. But since then, starting with [1990's] 'Gateways [To Annihilation]', I wrote pretty much almost lyrics to almost every single song."

Tucker also talked in more detail about where he gets the inspiration for his lyrics. He said: "It really comes from what's going on in my head anyway. The main way that I write lyrics is I just listen to things repeatedly until lyrics start to happen. And that's just where they come from. It's about a vibe. I think MORBID ANGEL has always been about a vibe, and the lyrics are about sort of the verbal end of that vibe. You have the visual, you have the audio, and then, of course, you have the verbal end of it, which isn't always necessary in music."

Earlier this year, Tucker said that MORBID ANGEL was preparing to begin the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2017's "Kingdoms Disdained" album.

In April 2018, Silver Lining Music released a special two-disc digipack edition of "Kingdoms Disdained", featuring seven instrumental demo tracks previously only available as part of the deluxe box set.

"Kingdoms Disdained" was released in December 2017 via Silver Lining Music in the U.S. and JVC in Japan. The disc, which reunites founding guitarist Azagthoth with Tucker, was recorded at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and produced by MORBID ANGEL with Erik Rutan (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HATE ETERNAL, SIX FEET UNDER, BELPHEGOR).

Joining Azagthoth and Tucker during the recording sessions for "Kingdoms Disdained" was drummer Scotty Fuller (ANNIHILATED; formerly of ABYSMAL DAWN)

MORBID ANGEL in January 2017 announced the addition of Dan Vadim Von (guitarist/frontman of the American death metal band VADIMVON) to the band's lineup on second guitar. He joined the group as the replacement for Norwegian guitarist Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren),who left the band almost five years ago.