"...It’s not like Altars of Madness is the be all, end all of brutality. Sure, they’re heavy as hell, especially for 1989. They make more intense thrash metal bands like Slayer and Sepultura sound tame in comparison. It’s more that the songwriting is absolutely top notch, and yet incredibly unorthodox and wild sounding. Trey Azagthoth and Richard Brunelle are an absolutely insane sounding guitar duo, in this sense Morbid Angel does compare to Slayer with their spontaneous guitar solos which have a very prickly edge to them while not sounding overly sloppy. But they implement these outbursts of energy into incredibly memorable tracks like the iconic opener Immortal Rites with its backwards intro which leads into its unforgettably groovy main riff. Maze of Torment is my personal favorite, a more thrash inspired main riff with a memorable hook and some incredible performances all around. Chapel of Ghouls is another highlight; it is utterly satanic with David Vincent’s chants of “your god is dead!” and relentless double bass from drummer Pete Sandoval. I can name highlights, but in reality all ten tracks (or all nine if you have the vinyl copy without Lord of All Fevers & Plague) would be top of the line tracks on any other album."

 - LedZeppelin2112, metal-archives.com